Spa Bath for your Hen

When your hen is feeling unwell, the first thing to do is give her a spa bath.  It relaxes their abdomen and muscles, helps reduce swelling and can even help gunk shift from inside and just like us, it feels wonderful to soak in a tub! 

First, make sure your hens vent (bum) is clean as no one wants to soak in a bath when they have a dirty bum. 

Fill a tub with warm water around 15-20cm deep (not too cool, not too hot), add a cup of epsom salts.  If you want to give them a little more luxury then add in a couple of drops of essential oil – lavender, chamomile or lemon eucalyptus are lovely oils to add. 

Gently put your sweet hen girl into the water, put your hand on top of her body and give her a gentle wiggle so she squats down and relaxes into the water as you want her abdomen and vent submerged.  Add more warm water if she insists on standing!  

I have been known to play soft classical music for my hens while they are bathing!  Not as weird as you think but I’ll talk about music our hens love, another day.  

For 15 to 20 minutes, you can sit with her and sip a cuppa and have a chat to her or you can drape a towel over the tub so she’s in a warm semi dark place where she will stay and relax.  You can give her a little massage too, along her abdomen if you think she is egg bound or has any reproductive or digestive issues.  

When she’s good and soaked, have a towel ready (your special hen towel!), take her out of the bath, wrap her in the towel, gently stroking along the line of the feathers to help remove the excess water.

If it’s a cold day, you need to dry her well.  Use a hair dryer on medium heat and gently blow her dry, making sure you don’t get the dryer to close to her and keep it moving across her feathers, under her wings, on her bottom and chest.  If you don’t have a hair dryer and it is a cold day, keep her inside where it’s warm until she’s dry.

If it’s a warm day, then let her dry herself naturally in the sun.  

The Hen Spa Bath is a lovely time for you and your hen.  It’s the simplest, loveliest remedy for all small ailments and could be just what you hen wants.