If you are going to show,whether its at your local county fair ,or at the National you MUST clean the birds
Mites crawling off your bird and on to the judge is no way to get to Champion row.Condition plays a huge part in the judges
decision .A shiny ,clean bird will catch the eye of the judge,a filthy bird with feces on its legs ,feet,or feathers is going to make a judge want to rush right past you birds
This is a description of how I wash our Polish and Sumatras
You need to adjust the instruction to fit your breed and climate
I first gather all my supplies
Ivory Liquid,White Vinegar,Malathion, Borax, Laundry Bluing, Spray and Wash ,small nail brush and 5 large containers filled with warm water
If the air is cool(under 75 degrees) then do this inside a warm area.Theres nothing worse than a wet hen but a cold wet hen can die.
I first check for lice and mites.Mice are little beige creatures that suck the chicken blood ,all lice and mites must be removes,not only for showing but to maintain the bird health
Feather mites
crest lice on a white polish
On polish,I first dampen the crest,and then spray "Spray and Wash" in the crest being careful not to get any in the birds eyes , mouth and face. Work it in and rinse...repeat if necessary.Then dip the crest in the first bucket which contains malathion and Ivory Liquid.Soap it up,,then squeeze as much liquid out as you can(on non crested breeds you can skip this step)
Then lower the bird feet first into the barrel,soaking the bird to the neck.Holding the legs with one hand,gently wash the feathers.If stained feathers don't come clean use spray and wash and hopefully the stain will come out.
Don't use bleach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will yellow the feathers and make them brittle
Rinse the bird (head first if crested) in the next barrel,which is water and vinegar.The vinegar cuts the soap.
I then dunk and wash them in a barrel with borax in it
It also helps with stains and kills what creepy crawlies the malathion missed
I then move on to the next barrel which is just plain water,rinse well,and then if the bird has white feathers I dunk in a bucket with laundry bluing.CAUTION-Just a few drops of Bluing!!!!!!!!! More will turn your bird BLUE. You should just barely detect a blue color to the water.
Nothing that I know of will turn a yellowed white bird bright white again
The bird should be gently squeezed to get some of the excess water off,then wrapped in a towel and towel dried,drying with the direction on the feathers .I have old towels that are dedicated to just bird washing. Some people get a little upset over using a towel after a chicken did....can you imagine?
If the weather is nice and sunny and warm,confine the bird to a cage or clean fenced area to let them dry
I usually start washing in the mid morning so the birds are dry by late afternoon
If its nasty or cold out ,keep inside an enclose warm area next to a heater,or blow dry them.
When dry spray with an appropriate mite and lice repellent.We use Frontline SPRAY , use an eyedropper and put a drop on the crest(if a crested breed) behind the neck,under the wings and in the vent area
Remember to check the vent area for caked on feces,
check for stubbs(small feathers on legs of birds that are NOT of the feather leg breeds)
Use vet RX on comb,wattles,legs and feet