Very dirty hens (and cleanser selection)

[MatthewMChickens]

Hi everyone

It has been very humid, rainy and muddy for the past 6 months.
Its been hard to keep dust bathing areas dry so they just end up bathing in dirt that is dry but seems to be a bit more sticky.
They are mostly clean, however, this morning, one of the eggs was broken in the nesting box and so they all decided to sit on it after.

Their undersides are consequently filthy, matted and sticky. One of them was walking around with an egg shell hanging from their underside, I think it is now at a point where they require human assistance. They can't have a good 'dust bathe' for a few days because of the rain.

I've read about cleaning hens and bathing them, but I was wondering mainly about cleansers. I was thinking (only on advice) of using a soap-free fragrance-free cleanser to help detangle/remove the yolk that has adhered to them. Something like QV or Cetaphil? Or should I just not worry?

Thank you
Matthew

 

[rosemarythyme]

Not sure if it's necessary to bathe them in this case, but Dawn dish soap would be the common recommendation, as it's safely used on birds during oil spills.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Dawn. It what I use on my birds. I have a half written article on bathing birds that you can read if you want.

 

[MatthewMChickens]

Thank you all for your suggestions and I will take a look at the article

Not sure if it's necessary to bathe them

Thanks for the reassurance, I won't bother at the moment with all the rain. Maybe when it gets a bit nicer!