Care and upkeeping for feathered feet?

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I have a 6wk old Dark Brahma hen and she has the cutest feathered feet! I am wondering if I have to do any upkeeping for them? Keeping them clean, avoiding mites, etc. I also have a Cuckoo Maran pullet (same age) who has lightly feathered feet, would she also need care?

Any tips are my appreciated!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

We raise silkies, so feathered feet and legs. I dust the coop monthly with food-grade diatomaceous earth; however, that stuff keeps the regular mites and lice away, but not the SLM (scaley leg mites). Our feathered feet birds are more prone to them, and in eight years we've treated them three times.

Other than that, there's no upkeep. They go out in the snow, but our coop is heated to 40°F, so at night they can thaw their feet out.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Hi,

We raise silkies, so feathered feet and legs. I dust the coop monthly with food-grade diatomaceous earth; however, that stuff keeps the regular mites and lice away, but not the SLM (scaley leg mites). Our feathered feet birds are more prone to them, and in eight years we've treated them three times.

Other than that, there's no upkeep. They go out in the snow, but our coop is heated to 40°F, so at night they can thaw their feet out.

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How do you treat SLM and how do you know that they have it? Thanks for the tips!

 

[Debbie292d]

How do you treat SLM and how do you know that they have it? Thanks for the tips!

They're feet you'll notice will start looking scaly, even crusty. They should be smooth.

The way we treated them the first two times was to go in at night when they are roosting and slather vaseline all over their feet and legs. You do that every three days for three total times, then repeat that whole thing after 10 days.

The last time they had them, we had doubled our silkies and thought we'd try Ivermectin. The 5% Pour On I found amounted to 2 eyedropper drops per bird. How much simpler! For your Brahma's, probably 4 drops. You just go in at night while they're roosting, part the feathers on the back of their neck and put the drops there. Repeat in 10 days.