Quote:
Originally Posted by
rodriguezpoultry
As for the neosporin, I'd do it once. Generally speaking, those legs can take a lot of beating.
Now, the Adams, I would use every 3 days for the first week, every 4 days for the second, etc. When the feathers are all the way in is when I stop the spritzing. I don't know why the hens do it, but it seems as though when the feathers come in completely, they stop picking. Just weird. Also seems to happen more among pullets than older birds.
As for the baths, I can no longer give him a bath in the sink. When he sits down, his legs keep him from being comfortable in the bath. So, he has to go into the tub. The hens have no issue in the sink, but the poor guy...I just need a REALLY deep sink in order to do it! Along with a wide one!
I knew I needed to wait until full dark, but went ahead and tried to corner him about dusk - he spooked of course. I waited for him to head into the hen house, but he sleeps up on the highest rung on their stair-stepped roost. It didn't work out well either -- had to try before the hens filled up the rest of the roost, so of course he wasn't even settled down yet and my climbing up just caused him to jump down. I didn't want to get into a chicken wrangling scene. Then my brain kicked in and I did what I should have done in the beginning.
I have a divided run -- one section for the main hen house, and another with a topper that originally housed the roos purchased for meat. I had put our double-decker (fenced lower, boxed upper) brooder coop in that section when our chicks were about 1.5 weeks old because 2 of the 3 hens that hatched out the hybrids, and that I placed the Marans and Welsummer hatchery chicks under, decided to squabble and seriously harass the third hen and her mixed brood. The 21 chicks are about 2.5 months now and the flocks are almost blended -- I leave the gate between the runs open all the time now unless giving treats that I want the chicks to get some of. He and most of the hens can't get into their coop. So I turned on their light (off normally due to trying to attract the babies into moving into the larger hen house all on their own). Sure enough he was on the roost outside of their coop trying to get as close to the light and company as possible.
All went well from that point on. I think the ointment felt great on his legs and neck. He was about asleep in my daughters arms by the time I got done. He didn't like the mist though. Thanks again so much for your advice.
On a side note-- At the beginning of last winter when we were dividing the meat roosters from the hens, we placed the topper up on hay bales, slid a 4X8 sheet of ply-board on the edges of the bales and covered it with hay for the young roos to hunker down in. It is used for shade now by all of the chickens. We decided to reclaim the ply board for another use and so our babies got their first main lesson from the definitely experienced hens in the way-cool fun and tasty art of catching mice!!! My beloved husband is always amazed that the hens go crazy over mice. Our neighbors chickens tolerate mice in their quarters. Wish I could loan them some of my hens for a day!!! We'd do a trade - a hen lesson for tasty food.
They're so cute.
and i think i am going to pick up some Blue amercanas some time this week, may have to find a rooster too 
