Chicken has bad overgrown feet!!

[DuckCrazi]

As you can see this hen has quite overgrown feet. She is a three year old silver dorking and this has been going on the last few weeks. She would be the last to come out of the house and then goes and sits under it. You can see from the picture of her face that she is quite drowsy. What do you think it is and what can we do? Thanks

 

[my sunwolf]

First I would check her for mites and lice (check around the vent and around the oil gland), to see if that's what's causing drowsiness. Are there any other symptoms?

From the photos, I see that she has scaly leg mites. Slather vaseline on her legs once a week for a month and you should kill the leg mites. Some people soak the legs in an epsom salt bath, then dip in thick cooking oil (to smother the mites) or motor oil (to kill the mites).

While you're treating the leg mites, just clip her nails back with human or dog nail clippers. Try to do just a little bit at a time as the quick (where the blood is in the nail) can grow with the nail. So, do a few centimeters, then come back in a few days to clip more, until they are normal chicken length again.

Good luck, she looks like a beautiful hen!

 

[Wyandottes7]

One reason that she may be drowsy is because of a worm infestation. It wouldn't hurt to worm her, just in case. Some good dewormers are SafeGuard, Valbazen, and a product called the Worminator (http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584). Another option is Wazine, but this dewormer only kills roundworms. I myself use the Worminator, and do not have any problems with worms.

And, by looking at the pictures, her eye appears to be cloudy. Is this true? If so, she may be blind, or have eyeworm. It is probably nothing to worry about, but it was an observation.