Chicken Baths
Note: Post contains videos. Watch at the website.
We have loving chickens. They come running to us like toddlers after you’ve been on a long trip and promised to bring them candy upon your return.
The weather has been beautiful and while I was enjoying the back deck, one of them decided she wanted to be on my lap.
Because they are so loving, and because we have the time and resources, they have been living a largely ideal chicken life. (Besides their sister being killed by a hawk.)
They also have the funniest fluffy petticoats for butts.
These beautiful petticoats can be seen in this video showing Buddie playing “Spit out apple bites for them to find” game.
RIP third chicken.
Because of that flouncy fluffiness, it took me a few days to realize one of them was not looking so pristine as usual, at the same time, I noticed we weren’t getting two eggs/day, AND, someone was taking a really long time in the egg laying box each day.
One day, after I let them both out to run around the yard, she went back into the coop and stayed there. Her sister wanted so badly to be out running around the yard, but she didn’t want to be alone, so she came and stood by our back door, begging one of us to come out and walk around the yard with her. (They truly are pack animals.)
In general, regular dust baths are a great way to stay clean for chickens.
But, I finally accepted that something else was needed, plus she didn’t seem to be feeling totally herself, so after extensive reading and research, I conscripted some helpers to give them both butt baths.
They both seemed to like the spa treatment, and the one that hadn’t been herself was seriously in need of some help to clean herself off in the keister area, so it’s good that we decided to do this.
Yessa and Buster both helped to keep us supplied with warm water for the washing and the rinsing, and Yessa agreed to take photos and video for us. Also huge kuddos to Buddie because not only did he hold the chickens, but if we weren’t careful he was continually having water; soapy, poopy, or clean water poured all down his leg; all in the name of animal husbandry.
This video is long, and you don’t need to watch, but for future us, it’s a fun reminder of the first time we gave our chickens a bath. I doubt it will be the last.
Oh my gosh, and I totally forgot. When I was telling Teresa about the need to help out the chickens she wanted to know if they were “eggstopated.” Bwahahaha.
