The Spa Treatment

The first step in the Spa Treatment is to give your hen an Epsom salt soak. Fill a tub with water that is warm but not too hot, the temperature that you would want to bathe in. Add a cup of Epsom salt to the water. Set your hen into the tub. Few hens struggle to get out. Yours should settle right in. You might have to gently encourage her to sit down. The water should come up to her chest, but no higher. Let her soak until the water cools. If she is particularly poopy or dirty, you can use soap and wash her, then refill the tub with water and Epsom salts and soak again. (To see how to bathe a hen, watch this  YouTube video.) Gently lift her out of the bath and pat dry with a towel, then use a blow dryer on low. The hens like that, too!

Next in the Spa Treatment is to dose with olive oil. Enabling a hen to clear out her intestinal tract can often set a hen right. Hopefully, your hen is strong enough to eat. Two teaspoons of olive oil helps to move whatever is in her system along. The easiest way to give this to her is to put it on her favorite treat and let her eat it (try it in cooked oatmeal or pieces of bread.) If your hen is not able to peck at and swallow even her favorite treat, then she is likely too sick for the Spa Treatment to work.
Lastly, she needs TLC. If the hen likes being in the quiet safety of a dog crate, away from bullying hens, give her some time on her own. If she prefers to be with the flock, put her back with her friends. Hopefully, all of this care will alleviate the symptoms. If the Spa Treatment is going to help your hen, you’ll know within twenty-four hours. If you see a positive change in your bird, you can give the treatment one more time. However, if there is no change, then whatever she has is more serious that than the Spa Treatment can help. If it doesn’t help, at least it hasn’t hurt, and you’ll have narrowed down what might be causing the symptoms.