Normal Feet or Scaly Leg Mites? Please help!

[PrettyChicky25]

Once she gets healthy and calm again, she may lay you some eggs.

This will be reason #1 why my parrots decide they love her.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Thank you! I guess that would be necessary since chickens lay eggs lol. Boy do chickens poop a lot. I never saw any birdie poop so much in my life. BUT, she's so cute...

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!

 

[fluffycrow]

Yes, she looks like a serama! Hope she lays some delicious eggs for you, and I'm guessing it won't take that long, baaed on the color of her comb and wattles

 

[fluffycrow]

But I'd highly encourage you to get a second hen, maybe another serama, chickens are social creatures, and interactions between other species is not exactly the same thing unfortunately

 

[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.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

If you have a space that is not "dust-free" (like a garage) you can make a box of peat moss as a dust bath. Mine love that and it keeps them busy in winter on days they can't go outside. I agree with prior commitment that chickens like the company of other chickens. Other birds are just not the same as language and social cohesion. They get nervous when they lose their flock.

She will call out to announce to any nearby chickens to see if she can locate a flock

 

[FunClucks]

Chickens make a lot of dander and poop. If you must keep her inside, consider building her an indoor enclosure. If you have a garage, she can live happily there - chickens do just fine down to about -25F as long as they have a draft free place with plenty of ventilation over their heads to sleep.

An extra large dog crate (2'x4') covered halfway up the sides with housewrap or old feed bags, or cardboard, could be a good enclosure for her. You can connect (with zip ties) two crates side by side or end to end if you get the ones with two doors and then you still have a door you can clean out each cage through. 2-4" of pine shavings in the bottom of the cage, food and water and a nest box, also some perches could be put in these. You can sprout alfalfa, wheat, or any number of other greens for her, and provide covered or uncovered cat litter boxes for dirt bath and nest box. Hanging chicken skewers for treat distribution/entertainment.

This would give her somewhere to run around without a diaper and a safe place for her to stay when you can't watch her. I do think you should get her at least one other chicken. They do much better and are much less stressed in a flock. Be sure to get another bantam so they're the same size. Your girl is beautiful!

ETA: rule of thumb is chickens need at least 10 sq feet in the run per standard chicken, so I guess it would be slightly less for bantams. An extra large dog crate would be 8ft square. Like this:

https://www.ruralking.com/catalog/product/view/id/137471

 

[PrettyChicky25]

If you have a space that is not "dust-free" (like a garage) you can make a box of peat moss as a dust bath. Mine love that and it keeps them busy in winter on days they can't go outside. I agree with prior commitment that chickens like the company of other chickens. Other birds are just not the same as language and social cohesion. They get nervous when they lose their flock.

She will call out to announce to any nearby chickens to see if she can locate a flock

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[PrettyChicky25]

Chickens make a lot of dander and poop. If you must keep her inside, consider building her an indoor enclosure. If you have a garage, she can live happily there - chickens do just fine down to about -25F as long as they have a draft free place with plenty of ventilation over their heads to sleep.

An extra large dog crate (2'x4') covered halfway up the sides with housewrap or old feed bags, or cardboard, could be a good enclosure for her. You can connect (with zip ties) two crates side by side or end to end if you get the ones with two doors and then you still have a door you can clean out each cage through. 2-4" of pine shavings in the bottom of the cage, food and water and a nest box, also some perches could be put in these. You can sprout alfalfa, wheat, or any number of other greens for her, and provide covered or uncovered cat litter boxes for dirt bath and nest box. Hanging chicken skewers for treat distribution/entertainment.

This would give her somewhere to run around without a diaper and a safe place for her to stay when you can't watch her. I do think you should get her at least one other chicken. They do much better and are much less stressed in a flock. Be sure to get another bantam so they're the same size. Your girl is beautiful!

ETA: rule of thumb is chickens need at least 10 sq feet in the run per standard chicken, so I guess it would be slightly less for bantams. An extra large dog crate would be 8ft square. Like this:

https://www.ruralking.com/catalog/product/view/id/137471

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.

 

[PrettyChicky25]

But I'd highly encourage you to get a second hen, maybe another serama, chickens are social creatures, and interactions between other species is not exactly the same thing unfortunately

I have a mirror in her crate right now and she does sit by it a lot. Unfortunately I won't have room for another chicken in my condo, but if she's not happy here I will find her a good home. I have a feeling though she will be very happy. My rescue dove coos all day but he coos for me now when he wants hugs and cuddles. He's happy. I got him squishmallows and he plays with them along with all his other stuffed animals. Patience is about to be gifted a stuffed chicken plushie that looks like her.