Washing a broody hen?

[Blue Ninja]

I have a silkie hen sitting on a couple of eggs and she has made quite a mess of her nest. She has major poopy-butt too. I do not have an incubator, but I feel she REALLY needs to be cleaned up. Also, I would like to replace her nest with fresh hay. What would be the best way to go about this and keep eggs warm enough? I checked the eggs and they are getting kinda dirty too now.

 

[gryeyes]

Broody hens usually get off the nest once a day to go eat, poop, and stretch their legs. This can take up to an hour, or sometime just a few minutes.

If you get your materials, soap, towels, etc., all arranged and ready, you could bathe her pretty quickly, and while she's being dried off, change out the nest materials.

Leave the eggs alone, no need to wash 'em, really.

 

[Blue Ninja]

Ok thanks! I know what I'll be doing tomorrow...

 

[duckdad]

The quick easy way to wash up a bird with crusty butt is to utilize the shower massage. Have some warm water in the tub,(belly high) place the hen in there, and use the shower massage to rinse her from top down...and underside. If she wants to splash around....let her. Just hold her with one hand and rinse under her from the front to get her breast area and butt rinsed off well. front to back. Spraying from the rear seems to be too traumatic for some birds and its hard to get a good angle....
If the bird is nervous or sensitive I will dial down the water pressure and just use the minimal spray so the bird is not too upset by a hard spray...another advantage of the shower massage.

Whenever my ducklings play in the tub they always poop in the water...so they go thru a "rinse cycle" before they are allowed out of the bath. heck, one is so used to it she stands there upright with wings open to get rinsed...! She knows the drill.......

If your hen needs something to loosen dried on poo....plain 'ol dish soap works very well. Dawn is used on rescue birds of all type from oil spills. A sponge with some soap and brush in the feather direction.

Your heating pad works great as a way to provide warmth to a nest while the hen is away...or under the nest to use as an incubator. I had a heating pad once. Now my yard ducks have one....

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
I really don't know why this struck me so funny, but it did! I dang near snorted lukewarm, late afternoon coffee all over the work surface of my cubicle.

"My yard ducks have one..."
Bwaaahaaaaaaahaaaaaaa!