Hi, thanks for the advice! I'm planning to quarantine him away from my flock for a few wks for observation. He did come with a bantam companion (his daughter) so they have eachother during quarantine. He seems to walk fine but is holding up either foot intermittently with a lot of shaking. Maybe he's nervous settling in to his new forever home. He has gray residue at the base of some of his feathers so I treated both birds for mites. The previous owners said they wormed them last month. My kids & I are ecstatic to have a bantam pair! I haven't had them since I was a kid. Any tips on integrating them with full size hens? (Once quarantine is done & successful) I currently have 8 birds on about 3 acres.
Cute little guy!
Hard to see his legs clearly, but if the scales are raised, crusty or dry looking, then I would apply a nice thick coating of vaseline and work it up into the scales.
While you're tending to him check the foot pads really well for any scabs or swelling.
The holding up of the feet intermittently with a lot of shaking - what is the shaking - like a leg tremble, he's shaking his foot? That's interesting.
Wonder what the previous owner dewormed with? I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but often people count on something like DE, garlic, vinegar, etc. to take care of an infestation. While those ingredients/products won't necessarily do any harm and can possibly be beneficial when given with care, they aren't an effective against and infestation.
Integration. Sighs...LOL You just really don't know what birds are going to do when introduced. They surprise me. Even with a lot of room, depending on the personality of your existing flock, they may be just bullies. They may LOVE having a rooster and new friend or somewhere in between. Since it sounds like you range your birds during the day, I would probably let them mingle outside the coop/run - this gives space. See how it goes.
