Whether you are getting your chicken ready to go to show or thinking your chicken just needs a little extra special treatment these chicken spa days tips will help you make your bird look and feel better.
Lady Silkie (2017). Chicken Heaven On Earth
Sometimes chickens need more than a dirt bath to keep them clean and healthy. An occasional bath, manicure, and moisturizing can improve your bird's health. We like to make sure our chickens have a great start for summer during early spring when all of our chickens get some real special treatment. Of course, we have a lot of chickens so this process sometimes takes us a couple days to accomplish but if you only have a few chickens you can get it done pretty quickly. Set aside at least one day a month during warm weather for a chicken spa day to clean your birds, clean their coops, nest boxes and anything your birds use. Doing this will keep your birds and their housing cleaner, healthier and reduce the chances of viruses or bacterial illness. Using a Biosecurity Guide also reduces the chances of contagious diseases spreading through your flock.
Things To Do on Chicken Spa Day
Bathing:
Every chicken in our coop gets a bath in warm (not hot) water with Dawn original dish soap. We also use a hair conditioner to make their feathers very shiny. Then we put them in a warm room without drafts until they are dry.
Trim their toenails:
All toenails are clipped and filed to a smooth edge. Be sure not to clip the blood vein as this will cause profuse bleeding.
Trimming Rooster's Spurs:
Trim or remove roosters spurs to prevent damage to hens and to prevent damage to other roosters if they get into a fight with each other.
Vent feather trimming:
Trim vent feathers (around their butts) regularly to prevent fece build up which can cause fungal and bacterial infections.
We use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or coconut oil, and apply a light coating to their comb, wattles, legs, feet, and vent area.
Pest Control:
After the birds are dry we spray them with permethrin (a synthetic insecticide of the pyrethroid class, used chiefly against disease-carrying insects). We make sure that all of our cats are put up during this process as permethrin is deadly to cats.
Cleaning the chicken coop:
All bedding is removed from the chicken coop and put in our compost. All roosts, walls, windows, and nest boxes are washed with hot soapy water.
Preparing the coop:
Fresh food, water, and bedding is placed in the coop and nest boxes.
Clean and Disinfect:
Before returning your chickens to the coop the coop, roosts, walls, nest boxes, feeders, and waterer's should be cleaned, disinfected, and fresh bedding put down. After all birds have been dried, trimmed, treated, and groomed, they are returned to their fresh clean chicken coop.
Every chicken in our coop gets a bath in warm (not hot) water with Dawn original dish soap. We also use a hair conditioner to make their feathers very shiny. Then we put them in a warm room without drafts until they are dry.
Trim their toenails:
All toenails are clipped and filed to a smooth edge. Be sure not to clip the blood vein as this will cause profuse bleeding.
Trimming Rooster's Spurs:
Trim or remove roosters spurs to prevent damage to hens and to prevent damage to other roosters if they get into a fight with each other.
Vent feather trimming:
Trim vent feathers (around their butts) regularly to prevent fece build up which can cause fungal and bacterial infections.
We use petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or coconut oil, and apply a light coating to their comb, wattles, legs, feet, and vent area.
Pest Control:
After the birds are dry we spray them with permethrin (a synthetic insecticide of the pyrethroid class, used chiefly against disease-carrying insects). We make sure that all of our cats are put up during this process as permethrin is deadly to cats.
Cleaning the chicken coop:
All bedding is removed from the chicken coop and put in our compost. All roosts, walls, windows, and nest boxes are washed with hot soapy water.
Preparing the coop:
Fresh food, water, and bedding is placed in the coop and nest boxes.
Clean and Disinfect:
Before returning your chickens to the coop the coop, roosts, walls, nest boxes, feeders, and waterer's should be cleaned, disinfected, and fresh bedding put down. After all birds have been dried, trimmed, treated, and groomed, they are returned to their fresh clean chicken coop.
References: Chicken spa: Kingston and Celine. (Dec. 30, 2015). Youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP0d_tl1iXM
