Normal Feet or Scaly Leg Mites? Please help!

[PrettyChicky25]

Hi everyone! I found a chicken while out running one day and boy has she been through the war. She had an infection that is now clearing up but the only other thing I am worried about is her feet. She is a bantam and I read that their feet are supposed to be yellow. Please see the pics of my chicken and her feet. Do these look normal to you, or is this the beginning of scaly leg mites? I started dipping her feet in vegetable oil after soaking them in an epsom salt bath for ten minutes...

 

[Aunt Angus]

They just look dirty to me. The scales are evenly shaped, and they aren't lifted. I bet if you take a soft toothbrush and gently clean them, they'll look good as new

What a lucky girl she is! And beautiful!!! What's her name? Is she your only one?

 

[PrettyChicky25]

Thank you! Her name is Patience and she is my only chicken. I have parrots and a dove too. I am hoping to keep her inside if everything works out. I already tried using a toothbrush to clean her feet but it didn't seem like anything came off. I will try again. I wasn't sure if dirt could get under her scales or not since I've never had chickens. I can't risk giving anything to my other birds. Patience has been vet checked and is being quarantined in a separate room for a month or so.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Thank you! Her name is Patience and she is my only chicken. I have parrots and a dove too. I am hoping to keep her inside if everything works out. I already tried using a toothbrush to clean her feet but it didn't seem like anything came off. I will try again. I wasn't sure if dirt could get under her scales or not since I've never had chickens. I can't risk giving anything to my other birds. Patience has been vet checked and is being quarantined in a separate room for a month or so.

Then I wouldn't bother cleaning them again. I'm sure it's just mud. It'll correct itself in time. My girls get that after digging around post rainstorm.

 

[fluffycrow]

I agree, she's gorgeous, and her feet look good

 

[Aunt Angus]

Oh okay, thanks so much. I could see that given she was in the woods for god knows how long. What do you think about the color of her feet though? Have you seen white/pink feet before in chickens? (I only ask that because I had found a website that said white feet is the beginning of scaly leg mites and her legs are white.)

Oh, yeah. Lots of white and pink legs. I have different birds with white, pink, black, gray, green, and yellow legs.

 

[fluffycrow]

White legs are not the beginning of leg mites! So much so, that some standards for some aseel types say that the only acceptable leg color is white. On a different note, I would highly encourage you to get a second chicken to keep her company

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Thanks for your input! I appreciate it. I have a couple of parrots and a dove. I am hoping she will socialize well with them. It's an interesting dynamic. I teach them to respect each other and they get along well. Also, I work from home so I spend a lot of time with them. If for any reason I think she isn't happy here I will certainly look to place her somewhere with other bantams of her breed.

one thing to consider is that chickens need to dig and scratch around and they need to dust bathe. it keeps them happy and healthy. maybe she can have an outdoor area to do this daily? she's very cute.

 

[PrettyChicky25]

oh yes, chickens poop a lot! and the bigger girls, the poop is bigger than my small dogs poops! it was shocking hah! you may want to have her in an area that is like a pen filled with bedding so you can just scoop out the poops so she doesn't always have to have diapers on? no idea your set up. best of luck!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Was going to maybe build her a cage for the time that she's not out of her cage and in a diaper. I've literally been cleaning up each poop as they come out. She calls out to me ("buck buck!") to let me know when she needs me to come and get a poop. It's so funny.

 

[FunClucks]

Thank you for your feedback and for your kind words about Patience! I already have her in a dog crate for right now while she is healing. (That was an upgrade from her Tupperware container. lol) I do have a playpen for her and diapers. I am also thinking of building her a cage so that her poop can fall through a grate for when I am not home to clean up after her. The pine shavings sound like a good idea to put in there if newspaper doesn't work. I also love the cat litter box ideas! I will try that. I just gave her a bowl of spinach and strawberries which she seemed to really like.

Commercial chicken feed is optimal for a laying hen, minimum 16% protein if you feed no treats, recommend 20% protein feed if you feed treats. You can feed a laying hen diet (which already has needed calcium in the formula) or all-flock diet with calcium (oyster shell) in a separate container. Either way, make sure there's a container of grit available free choice for her if she eats anything besides commercial feed (scratch, treats, bedding, etc.). My personal favorite is Purina Flockraiser (all-flock), but there are many other good options. You can re-feed her her own egg shells and eggs, either cooked or raw - it's very nutritious for them. Sometimes I bake my shells to dry them out for better storage, sometimes not. I make sure to crumble the shells, as I don't want my chickens to start eating their own eggs. A fake egg or a golf ball in the nest box can encourage them to lay their eggs there.

If you cuddle your hen by your face at all, please wear wrap-around safety glasses that chickens can't get around or past. Some chickens will randomly peck you in the eye. You may never think it will happen to you, or that you can avoid it, and your hen will never show any signs, but then they take you by surprise. Wouldn't want you to be injured. It does happen.

Your hen will need a rock of some kind (e.g. cinderblock) to sharpen/wear down her beak on, or it may over grow. They trim their own beaks a little each day as they grow out. Toe nails may need clipping if she doesn't wear them down on their own. If you set the waterer or feeder up on a cinderblock so she can eat at head height and keep the shavings out of the food/water, this solves both issues.

Stuff folks commonly use as chicken bedding. The first product, if you add some small amount of water, turns into sawdust, then is easy to scoop the poops out of. Hopefully I've linked the correct product for you. Other stores may have better prices. If you can avoid putting her on wire, that would be more natural for her - they love to scratch the ground to find food. If you use a solid floor and bedding, you can broadcast Scratch grains or pelleted food and let her go crazy picking them out of the bedding. It's hilarious to watch and one of the favorite things chickens do. If you do end up with wire at least one person has had good luck with 1/2"x1" wire. (1/2"x1/2" is generally too small for the poops to fall through, and larger, their feet fall through).

Good luck and happy chickening!

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