xChicken04x Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Hi all, our two white hens Gemma and Mischief are getting very mucky. Mischief's bum is very dirty and she has a poo stain on her wing. Gemma is pretty much the same. I have checked Mischief's bum but there is nothing wrong other than her knicker feathers seem to get in the way of her poo . I would like to was them, just to make sure they are nice and clean before winter really sets in. But the problem is it is already cold around where I live, we thought about hair drying them but with the way Mischeif is (very flighty) I think she would be traumatized. But then I thought about washing them in the evening, drying them with a towel, then putting them in a box in our house for the night, where its warmer. Do you think this would work? What do other people do? Any advise would be great! xx Do you think that would work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 i'd wash them in the morning, towel dry them and then they have the rest of the day to dry off naturally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 ours would just get mucky the following day - to show that they could we bathed 2 of our girls because there was some feather plucking going on (got a bit nasty). bathed towel dried hair dryer on lowest setting did this at night when they were drowsy - they seemed to enjoy it just be careful leaving them wet as it is winter and they could get poorly if they get a chill, I personally wouldnt leave them to dry themselves off, they arent like ducks, cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 (edited) keep them somewhere warm while they dry off? I think it's better if they're moving around rather than going to sleep damp but that's just my opinion. I only suggested that because she said she couldn't use the hair dryer, obviously a hair dryer is the best option Edited November 19, 2007 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 I just give two of my girls a regular botty wash and feather trim as they are inclined to get a bit daggy. Warm water, sometimes a tiny spot of ecover, and a thorough dry with an old towel kept especially for the purpose. They seem to appreciate it as they croon happily during the procedure. I always wait for a sunny day so that they don't go to bed with wet feathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Someone on here dries their girls off by the tumble dryer vent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Someone on here dries their girls off by the tumble dryer vent! I could do that - I vent mine through the cat flap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xChicken04x Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 Thank you everyone for the advise! I would be a bit reluctant to leave them to dry naturally, because its quite cold around here. The hair dryer is a huge no with Mischief, she would hate it. I dont know about Gemma though. I'm sure she would kick up a fuss Do you think, washing them in the evening, then towel drying them, then putting them in a box with shredded paper in our house is the best option? Do you think the girls in the cube would get upset, with them not being there? Thank you again, sorry for all the questions! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I think just minimise how wet you get them. I washed one of my girls bums the other day, and I just used warm water and ecover and an old flannel so I could just use the flannel on that particular area instead of just dunking or tipping water on her, then dried her with a towel, she dried pertty quick and wasnt bothered at all. The idea of doing it beofre bed sounds pretty good, as she wont get a draught round her and will be able to cosy up to the other girls for warmth, just make sure you have the elgu door shut over night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheshire Chooks Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Have I missed something here? These are birds and there are billions of them getting wet every day all over the world. Some of them live in the Arctic!!! Getting wet or cold is surely not a problem????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 This is how mine looked once. They cleaned themselves up. During the summer you have to be careful with flystrike. http://club.omlet.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=14888 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Have I missed something here? These are birds and there are billions of them getting wet every day all over the world. Some of them live in the Arctic!!! Getting wet or cold is surely not a problem????? I've never heard of chickens in the Arctic, have they recently been discovered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 This is how mine looked once. They cleaned themselves up. During the summer you have to be careful with flystrike. http://club.omlet.co.uk/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=14888 I've heard of flystrike in Merino(sp?) sheep and the horrible things the farmers do to the sheep to prevent it but I didn't know chickens could get it. What do you do to prevent it and it is it common in chickens in the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 see here http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13432&highlight=flystrike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 blimey, thanks for that Jules- does it only happen in the summer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 p.s. wouldn't it be useful to have that link as a sticky in the chicken clinic with the title 'flystrike'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Yes, it would and so it has been stickified . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Someone on here dries their girls off by the tumble dryer vent! Tis me Clare! After a wash here my girls go in the garage and stand in front of the tumble dryer - they love it. We just wash ours with a bowl of warm water with ecover in it, we always do it in the morning of a sunny day so they have the day to dry - I wouldnt do it in the afternoon/before bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Ahhh, I couldn't remember who it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
