Hi - I have 4 hens, aged 6 months - 3 years. Speckled, Ex-battery, Welsummer and Copper Maran so a colourful bunch. I've been away for 6 weeks and have had friends taking care of the birds. I come back and my Maran is quite lame and is limping but still laying daily. She has poo around her bum and seems quite quiet. All of the hens refused to roost tonight and instead lay huddled under their coop. I cleaned out their coop and replaced hay with sawdust (this is their preference). Is this red mite? Or sore feet, and if so why? It's been a hot and dry summer here in the UK but temperatures are (I'd guess) no more than 8 degrees centigrade at night, which isn't super-warm. Any ideas? I locked them into the coop in the end tonight, all except the Maran, who looked so sad I left her alone.
