SECRETS OF THE SHOW BIRDS' TOILET 143 



Put enough of the soap solution in the first tub to make a good 

 lather; take your bird by the legs with the left hand and set it down 

 in the tub. Let go of the feet and gently force the bird under water, 

 except the head. Hold it by one wing while you souse and paddle 

 around it with water with the other hand until the feathers are 

 thoroughly saturated. Then take a small hand scrub brush and scrub 

 along with the feathers. Beginning with the head and neck, pass along 

 the breast, abdomen and legs, then come back and go over the neck 

 and back route; taking the tail and all around the back portion, always 

 working with the feathers; then return to the wings, scrubbing each 

 in turn under and over so as to get all the dirt. When the bird has 

 been scrubbed all over, take a wash cloth or sponge and wash out all 

 the soap and dirt that will come. 



Then put the bird in tub No. 2, with the water just about one 

 degree cooler than tub No. 1. Go over the bird in this tub more to 

 wash out the dirt that was loosened in the other, and to get out the 

 soap; when the bird looks clean, squeeze the water out of the 

 feathers as before and pass him along to tub No. 3, in which the soap 

 must be gotten out thoroughly. Souse the bird up and down to get 

 the clean water through the feathers, and if necessary, pour warm 

 water over the back. When all the soap is out, and not before, pass 

 the bird into tub No. 4, where the blue water is. This water should 

 have the chill taken off but not over warm; when the feathers are 

 well saturated with the blue water and to all appearances the bird 

 is ready for drying, squeeze the water out of the feathers and put 

 the bird on a table where several nice, clean cloths are ready. Wipe 

 him off well and put him before a fire, or if a nice sunny day, out in 

 the sunshine to dry. 



Now the drying is, if anything, more important than the washing, 

 as unless the feathers are nice and fluffy they will never make a bird 

 look good to the judge's eye. 



The drying pen illustrated is of the following dimensions; 6 feet 

 long, 5 feet high, and 2 feet wide. It is divided in the middle into 

 upper and lower compartments with wire netting on top of each. 

 The wire netting that forms the floor for the top compartment is 

 covered with double burlap that has been washed to take out any 

 coloring that might be in it. The back, ends, and lower part of front 

 are boarded; the four corner pieces are 2 inches square by 5 feet long. 

 There is a roost 4 inches wide on which the fowls stand, placed 2 

 inches above the wire netting top of the lower compartment. 



A door is shown at the lowest part of the front, through which two small 

 coal oil stoves are inserted. This door is narrower than the opening, 

 so as to allow fresh air for the stoves. 



More Stoves Can Be Used. One small stove is required for every 

 two feet of space, or length. A pen 6 feet long will accommodate 



