Could he be a "fighting" cock?

[Lollipop]

Quote:
The idea of treating scaley leg mites, is to drown them. Burnt motor oil, baby oil, cooking oil, anything oily. I`m especially fond of WD40. It can be sprayed on the legs generously and on the roost to get the ones hiding in the wood cracks. Ya might as well do your hens while you`re at it as they probably have some obtained from him. Just takes a while to see the evidence. Also, be sure to treat them about once a week for about a month, or until his legs start looking better. Ya got yerself a fine rooster there.......Pop

 

[Yoder Farm]

Should I put a "hood" or sock over the rooster's head when I go to do this? Maybe it'll keep him from struggling? Oh this is so new to me. I am not afraid of picking up the chickens but I am afraid of handling that rooster. Also what about their bedding, is there anything I should put down in their bedding to get rid of the mites or to keep them from coming back?

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Quote:
Get some Food Grade Diatenatious Earth and sprinkle it in the bedding and dust bath areas. That roo is awesome.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Get some Food Grade Diatenatious Earth and sprinkle it in the bedding and dust bath areas. That roo is awesome.

DE may work if the bedding stays dry, but we`re talking leg mites here and they seldom stay in the bedding. Other kinds of lice/mites can inhabit the bedding. While ya got the boy in yer hands(at night), take a good flashlight and look closely around his vent and under his tail. If you see any tiny bugs scurrying for cover, then ya gotta treat for lice/mites. Sevin Dust is the best for small flocks that aren`t heavily infested. Sprinkle it all over all the birds and kinda fluff it in, especially under wings and tail. Apply to nests, bedding, dusting areas, etc. Sevin is safe for broodies and chicks, so don`t worry about safety. I`ve been using it for decades. Don`t be afraid of handling the boy, ya just gotta get a good hold of his legs. He won`t hurt you on purpose, but spurs ARE weapons and he`s not used to being restrained. You can catch him in an old pillow case. That seems to work nicely. Once ya got him, hold on. Gonna be fun.........Pop

 

[poodlepill]

WOW

what a handsome bird!!!!

 

[Yoder Farm]

Heh... my husband is telling me he's picked Henry up before with no problem so now I'm like "okay, YOU do it..." LOL. Thanks everyone. Yeah I've checked all the birds behinds for "bugs" before and have never seen any. As far as I can tell, they are healthy and I had no idea about the mites. I had to take some pics of the chickens' legs a few days ago (an artist friend of mine needed some reference) and as far as I could see, they looked very healthy, bright yellow, no scales sticking up. So maybe I am catching this problem just in time before it becomes something serious. They all did have a very rough winter and both hens did have frostbite on their combs which healed, so we always assumed what was going on with Henry's legs were either age or maybe frost-related damage. His legs have always looked like that for as long as I can remember seeing him. But we'll check anyway and do the oil treatment just to be safe. Thanks everyone for the great advice and compliments

 

[geepy]

WOW, He's a fine looking roo! It sounds like he's a real gentlemen too. Why can't I ever have a stray like that come in my yard? I did have three turkey's, two tom's and one hen, move in this winter.

I usually use old motor oil for leg mites but it makes a mess. Thanks to POP I'm now going with the WD40 method.

 

[Yoder Farm]

It's funny, my exact comment to my neighbor when I went to tell her she had a bird up in her tree after that snowstorm was "you feel like chicken tonight?" LOL. In all seriousness though he's now a shared pet / almost a neighborhood "celebrity". Everyone walking by the yard stops to look at him and the chicks and watch their antics. We're the only people in this part of our neighborhood with chickens and a huge vegetable garden and we share the eggs and vegetables with a lot of our neighbors. So almost everyone here knows the rooster, a few of them joke about his habit of crowing at 5 AM when the gas station lights come on but nobody seems to really mind him.

 

[farmerChef]

WOW!!! He's almost blue laced red in the chest!!!

 

[Vcomb]

I would say that if he has any game blood in him that he is half blood at most, not pure. his back is too horizontal, and considering that his wattles and earlobes are intact I am going to guess he wasn't dubbed. based on his color and body type I would say he could be a Wyandotte (likely blue laced red) cross, possibly to American Game, or silver bird of similar build.