by Kim Berg, CoopCrate staff writer
Bathing is a controversial topic amongst chicken owners. In general, chickens do a decent job keeping themselves clean without human assistance. They often take dust baths to remove excess oils from their skin and feathers, and to keep mites and lice at bay. A chicken could spend their entire life without receiving a “real” bath in water! But there may be some circumstances where this kind of bath is needed. Keep reading to find out when you should bathe your chickens!
You are preparing your chicken for a show.
If your chicken has an upcoming show, you will want to bathe them a few days prior, that way they can rebuild some of their natural oils that soap tends to remove. Pay special attention to their feet, vent, combs, waddles, and ears.
Your chicken has an excessive amount of feces on their bum.
Unfortunately for you and them, a chicken will not be able to clean up their bum on their own. If feces are left on the feathers, your chicken might experience irritated skin, feather loss, or an excessive amount of pesky flies. Before bathing your chicken, try trimming off the dirty feathers beforehand. If you only need to clean your chicken’s bum, you can try just bathing their lower half!
Your chicken has been pooped on by another chicken.
This is actually quite common when you have multiple chickens roosting together. A chicken that is higher up in the roost might poop on an unsuspecting chicken below them. This means a bath might be necessary!
Your chicken is covered in a broken egg.
There’s a reason that people choose to “egg” cars as an act of revenge… broken eggs are hard to get off anything and everything! This includes your chicken. Broken eggs can get under your chicken’s feathers and attract flies. If you have attempted spot cleaning with no luck, your chicken may need a bath instead.
When it’s bath time…
Assuming your chicken needs a bath for one of the above reasons, you’ll need some items to get it done right! Consider using a plastic tub, mild dish soap, and warm water for the initial cleanup. You can use a gentle toothbrush to help get debris and dirt out of feathers. Once you are done with the soap, rinse your chicken with a bucket of warm water and some splashes of apple cider vinegar to help remove the soap. A final rinse of warm water only will finish out the bath! Throughout the whole process, always ensure that your chicken does not get their head dunked under the water. Dry your chicken in a towel and let them out into the sun to dry completely.
When you shouldn’t bathe your chickens…
If your chicken just appears dusty, there is no need to worry and no need for cleanup! After a dust bath, you’ll notice your chicken shaking off all the dirt and dust themselves! And remember, your chicken will shed dirty feathers throughout their annual molts.
