tielfan wrote:
I've never given a bath to a baby either, although I've cleaned dried poop off of heads a couple of times. The parents usually keep the chicks fairly clean, and if you get the babies wet there's a risk that they might get chilled.
When they are very young I don't give them a bath with water. I just pluck of the dried pieces of droppings that stick to the feet and kneejoints. Sometimes I have to pull some of the back feathers. I have to do that now and again after they are ringed, dirt tends to get stuck in between the ring and the leg. I don't want germs to grow there or any other problems to occur due to the footring. When I do use water I only try to get the legs wet, nothing more. I always do it indoors (no wind to cool them of) and with handwarm water. I also papertoweldry them afterwards.