New to this site - and new to chickens

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Coach P

Coach P

Chirping
11 Years
Jun 27, 2014
28
6
92
Nashville, TN
Hi,
Coach P. here. I love this site, and bought my first chickens based on reviews and opinions posted here.
I now have 6 Isa Brown hens. They were all supposed to be pullets, but now that I've had them for a couple of weeks, it's obvious some are older and some are younger, based on their body size and the size of their combs. Even the oldest ones, though, appear to still be young, (in chicken years.)

My concern is about one particular hen, Lady Bug. She has fat legs compared to all the rest. And her legs are very scaley. At first I thought she had poop stuck to her legs because they are kind of knotty in places and literally look like dirt or something is stuck to her. Both legs look this way. The others all have nice thin legs - even the ones that appear to be her age. She is the only one with really ugly, dry, scaley legs. Is this something to be worried about?

Again, Love this site.
Coach P.
 
Welcome to BYC, Coach P.! It could be that Lady Bug has scaly leg mites, but if so, they can be treated. You can read about them at http://www.livingthecountrylife.com/animals/chickens-poultry/chicken-scaly-leg-mites/ As far as the gender of your Isa Browns, it should be easy to tell. Isa Browns are Red Sex Links produced by crossing Rhode Island Red roosters with Rhode Island White hens. The resulting offspring can be sexed by color at hatching (males are whitish and females are reddish) and these color differences remain throughout their lives (roosters are mostly white with some reddish feathers on the saddle and neck, hens are mostly reddish with some white feathers in their tails). Isa Brown hens are egg laying machines. Good luck with your flock.
 
Coach P said:
Hi,
Coach P. here. I love this site, and bought my first chickens based on reviews and opinions posted here.
I now have 6 Isa Brown hens. They were all supposed to be pullets, but now that I've had them for a couple of weeks, it's obvious some are older and some are younger, based on their body size and the size of their combs. Even the oldest ones, though, appear to still be young, (in chicken years.)

My concern is about one particular hen, Lady Bug. She has fat legs compared to all the rest. And her legs are very scaley. At first I thought she had poop stuck to her legs because they are kind of knotty in places and literally look like dirt or something is stuck to her. Both legs look this way. The others all have nice thin legs - even the ones that appear to be her age. She is the only one with really ugly, dry, scaley legs. Is this something to be worried about?

Again, Love this site.
Coach P.
Click to expand...

Hi and :welcome, If I where you I would post in the emergencies/diseases/injuries and cures section of the forum!
 
images


Welcome to BYC!

Congrats on your new flock! Yes, sounds like leg scale mites. You can dip the legs in some baby oil and pat dry. Then rub in some vaseline all over the scales.. Repeat this procedure daily for a few weeks and you should be able to clear this up. Don't pick at the scabs or scales, just let them heal on their own. You might want to give all your birds a treatment once a week incase they have it as well. Spray around the roost bar with some permethrin spray a couple times a week too to get any bugs that might be hiding there too.

But you might still want to post this in our emergency section for more help with this.

Enjoy your flock and I hope you can get this bird healed up soon!
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good advice/links above, good luck with your hen.
 
Thank you to everyone. I'll definitely get started on that treatment. This site is the best!

Now, I have to learn about worms!!! Saw a live one under a runny pile of poop when I was cleaning the coop!!

thanks again,
Coach P.
 

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