Thursday, January 15, 2009

Good Thursday Evening

Let me tell you what folks, its no foolin around serious COLD outside, and it hasnt even dipped into the single digits yet as they predict for tonight and tomorrow night. The wind out there will cut through you like a knife cuts through hot butter. My two polish girls are warm and happy in the living room tonight. Ian brought me some boxes home from work and I put together an indoor pen for them. After the bath they can't go back outside, its just too cold and they are still damp underneath in spots.

Now this is not my first go around, but let me tell you what I know to be true from personal experience. Polish are DRAMA QUEENS. Oh at first they put up a fuss about getting their bath...then they usually give in and try to drown themselves by sagging their head into their bathwater. You have to hold it up for them, because they act as if you are killing them. I use baby shampoo and warm water, thats all. No torture devices were used in bathing them, though you would think it. The bath really is the worst part for them. The first girl was really very good considering she has never been through this before. Her sister...well, not so much. She was stubborn and didnt want to give in. She was flappin and I was soaked. It was only when I was rinsing her that she relented and let me do what I had to do.

Not only do they get a bath, but I take a soft bristle toothbrush and clean their nostrils, beaks, scales on their legs, under toenails, between toes...scrub a dub dub all the way. ;)

Before I gave them I bath I went over every scale on their legs for stubs. I found a couple in between the toes, but that was it. I think as they mature and get older I will find more of them and have to make sure to pluck every little one.

Now they are resting quietly and sleeping off the trauma...it really isnt that bad. They are really good and as you can see, I took a video of me blowdrying one of them. They really do like this part. The dryer they become the more they begin to perk back up. The video I have of Rod being blow dryed last year for a show is really good, you can really tell he was getting into that warm air blowing on him.

Tomorrow I will do some more fluffing and blow drying any underparts that may still be damp. Then it will be time to put on the shine stuff, put the mineral oil on the legs and feet. I will take all this with me and probably do it again once I get there Saturday morning, fuss fuss fuss over them til time for the show at 9.

Okay, enough babble, here are the pictures I took. I only took pictures of the first girl...as it would be somewhat redundant to do it the second time around with the other girl.


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"I am so humiliated...can you believe what that woman did to my hair, I mean REALLY! Did I say I wanted a mohawk look? Noooo I did not!"


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"This has to fall under the category of torture, it just has to."


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"The Spa Treatment for the Stars this is NOT lady."


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"Okay, the blowdrying was kind of nice, but I am wore out so I am hitting the old roost bar for the night folks, now its my sisters turn...he he..."

Here are a couple of pictures of her sister after her bath. She was not so cooperative and thrashed about in the sink and acted as if I were drowning her as her neck went limp and her head hit the sink bottom as if she were dying. (I promise, I was very careful when rinsing their heads. Just like I used to rinse Shelbys hair when she was little, I held their head back and rinsed away from their ears, eyes and nostrils) She miraculously came back to life and enjoyed her blowdrying session...and here she is bedding down for the night. I took a close up of her head. It is just so stunningly perfect, like someone painted those feathers.


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Paula, I keep forgetting to tell you...I had thought of using a putty knife spatula thingie, but I hunted for one all over the house and garage and came up with nothing, so we were thinking on the same line, I just didnt have the right tool for the job. ;)

Night night...sleep tight...don't let the bed bugs bite.

Oh I almost forgot...the video is still loading on Photobucket, very very slowly...so I will just post that later.

8 comments:

Lisa said...

Well it sounds like you had a bath too! It is so amazing how you bathe & then blow dry them. I would have never thought this possible until I met you.

It is damn cold. I will be freezing my butt off tomorrow morning. Our temps sound about like yours with a wind of -10 tomorrow am. I have my snowmobile boots & bibs ready - now just what to do with my hands.
xxx

Linda's World said...

That's amazing. I tried once to give my less than 5 pound Gabi a bath & was afraid her howling would cause the neighbors to summon the Human Society. I can't imagine bathing a chicken. Amazing~just amazing! You're a brave lady. Linda in Washington

MammawsDecorativeArt said...

I'm back from the dead. LOL Thanks for being one of only three people to ask about me. What you do with those birds is an art form. You are right. Those feathers do look painted on. I've got a lot of catching up to do on your journal and with you but I will call you later. Love what I saw so far.

Love you and try to not let anything freeze and fall off. jk We're bringing our cats in tonight too. Awfully cold.

Nelishia

Janie said...

lol Too funny about her head going back like she was dead.. not really funny but can just imagine how it looked. Have a great week. Janie

Helen said...

Sounds as if they are kinda hard to bathe. Imagine dropping their heads in the water LOL. I bet you have heat lamps on all of those outside tonight. Hugs, Helen

Sage Ravenwood said...

Tomorrow will find me at the pet store buying dog booties. It's so cold on Pickles paws, her legs cramp up. That's bad! It's not like she's an old dog either.

I remember the video of Rod's bath last year. The girls are beauties. They seem younger than Rod was. Have you picked a name for them yet? (Hugs)Indigo

Anonymous said...

Great pictures, but damn lot of work. I love animals, but I KNOW I'd get tired of all that. Spoiling cats is easier then your days for sure. I can do one but not the other.

breakaway said...

AHH beautiful girls! just think...I HAD one of those! UGH! I'm so upset that it didn't make it :( Did I have one of the offspring's of these two?