*52 
The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
do them no harm, as long as you do not lay on so heavily as to break them. If the bird is rough 
in the water, as some that have never been washed before sometimes are, keep one hand across the 
bird s back and wings, by which means you will easily hold it quiet. Be sure and rub your hand 
well among the fluff and feathers about the breast. 
“To wash the head, take it between both hands, and rub it well backward and forward, as if 
you were washing something in the balls of your hands. Do not be afraid of the water going into 
its mouth, as the soap and water will do it no harm whatever, but the contrary, as it will tend to 
clear it out ; in fact I have often washed birds when I could not get anything else to cure them of 
disease, and it has answered remarkably well on many occasions. 
“ When you see the bird is quite clean, then take and rinse thoroughly with clean cold water : 
put plenty on it, until the soap is well out, for if you leave any soap in, the feathers will not come 
right in a reasonable time. When clear of soap, let them stand to drain a little, and don’t be 
afraid of their taking cold, as the cold water prevents that by closing all the pores of the body : 
then press as much water off the feathers with your hand as possible, and, as I said before, don’t be 
afraid of hurting the feathers, as they will come all right again as they begin to dry, and will begin 
to web again in the course of an hour. When this is done, take the bird and put it before 
a nice fire — not too hot, but what we should call a good fire — and keep turning them with the wet 
parts towards it, taking care not to have them so near as to blister their face and combs, as they soon 
blister after washing. When the birds are nearly dry, you may put them in baskets that have got 
lining in, such as we use for exhibition; and if night, you may put three or four together, if the 
basket is large enough for them to lie down in comfortably. By this means it will create a warm 
steam that will pass through the whole of the body-feathers, and cause them to web beautifully, 
and the bird will be quite ready for exhibition in twenty-four hours. 
“ If the bird is looking very ill after rinsing, keep it in motion as much as possible, by getting 
hold of it under the breast with one hand and lifting it up, when it will use its wings freely, and this 
will cause the blood to circulate ; also give one or two cayenne pods, which will warm it as well. 
This is when you see a bird that goes black in the comb, and looks as if it would die, which heavy 
birds sometimes do ; also handle them pretty freely, as it will do them good. Sometimes a bird 
will faint when put in warm water to wash ; in that case I always throw cold water on it, when 
the bird will recover at once, and after a minute or so you may put it in again, and finish washing 
it without its showing any symptoms of fainting again.’’ 
Most good washers prefer to dry the fowls after washing in a cage or box of ample size, 
littered with clean and well-broken straw. This box is to be wired in the front and top, but closed 
at back and sides to prevent draught, and placed with the open front at just such a distance from 
an ample fire that a genial warmth may fill the box ; but avoiding a scorching heat. We may 
add that it is in drying that judgment and experience are chiefly required, as too strong a heat 
withers up the plumage and makes it ragged, while too little causes it to hang together and 
appear draggled ; but if the right temperature be hit upon and the soap has been thoroughly 
washed out, by degrees the plumage fills out, and in a few hours the birds assume their “company 
clothes.” It is to assist this that Mr, E. Smith so strongly advises leaving the birds with a little 
dampness still in the plumage, the steam assisting the fresh webbing of the feathers. In summer time 
the cage may be put out in the sun if preferred ; but the glare seems to distress the birds much, 
and we should prefer a fire. Some poultry-men are unusually clever in drying fowls, and by 
holding them near the fire and carefully removing them for a little whenever they appear distressed 
with the heat, manage to avoid the scorching we have spoken of, and can dry a pen of Cochins 
