Will my hen clean her beard?

[Relleoms]

This is June, my EE, in October (left) and today (right). Do I need to bathe her, or will she clean her beard on her own? Or does it even matter? It’s awfully crusty, but doesn’t seem to be affecting her health. She’s a hot mess

 

[LilJoe]

She can't clean it since her beak doesn't reach it. If your really concerned about it then wash it off with some warm water. Add some Dawn dish soap to the water if the water doesn't work by itself

 

[The Phantom]

I would wash it

 

[nminusyplusm]

How long has it been crusty? I've noticed that in my flock of 5, birds lower on the pecking order will engage in allopreening the beard of a bird above them.

Even my single beardless pullet will do this while the bearded bird holds still. It's very gentle and interestingly not necessarily about food particles stuck in the beard. It looks social to me and makes sense as LilJoe said they can't reach there themselves.

If there's no mutual beard cleaning going on though, I'd clean it so it doesn't collect stuff and get dirtier.

 

[aart]

My EE's tend to preen each other....
....sometimes to the degree that the beard disappears.
Not sure I'd wash with soap and water, just use your fingers/nails or a tooth/nail brush...or just ignore it<shrugs>.

 

[Relleoms]

How long has it been crusty? I've noticed that in my flock of 5, birds lower on the pecking order will engage in allopreening the beard of a bird above them.

Even my single beardless pullet will do this while the bearded bird holds still. It's very gentle and interestingly not necessarily about food particles stuck in the beard. It looks social to me and makes sense as LilJoe said they can't reach there themselves.

If there's no mutual beard cleaning going on though, I'd clean it so it doesn't collect stuff and get dirtier.

I think I’ll leave it up to the girls to clean each other, at least until the mud has dried up. I’m afraid we’re all going to struggle to stay clean for a few more weeks until the snow melts. They do clean each other a bit, and June is one of the higher birds in the pecking order, but I’d really hate to see them preen off their beards completely!

 

[Relleoms]

My EE's tend to preen each other....
....sometimes to the degree that the beard disappears.
Not sure I'd wash with soap and water, just use your fingers/nails or a tooth/nail brush...or just ignore it<shrugs>.

As long as it’s only a cosmetic issue, I’ll maybe try to comb it out with my fingers, otherwise leave it to nature!

 

[Chickassan]

You can clean it if you want, I use a soft baby hairbrush on my bearded ladies. The others do try to help but it isn't gentle so besides thinning out the problem its not much help. During this time of year where every other day is nasty I just let it be as fixing it is pointless.