Scaly leg mites? Or something else?

[renk777]

My grandparents once had a single Cochin rooster in their flock, all the other birds had clean legs. Because he is different and has feathered legs he is pecked at by the other chickens, they think that something is stuck to his legs because everyone else has clean legs, so the rip it off of him. The same thing happens with polish and other feathered head breeds. The other chickens don't like it and think it is weird so they try to make him normal. There's really no way to fix this unless you want to re home him or get more feather footed birds. If you get more birds like him then the other chickens will accept it as a normal thing.

4 of the birds we're introducing this fall to replace the retired hens have feathered legs, the rest are clean-legged. But the ratio will be better. That's reassuring! Thanks!

 

[Kessel23]

You should separate him, if you haven't already, because even if what I suggested is not the problem the other birds will still pick at his legs because they are so red and oddly colored.

 

[coach723]

Slightly off subject but, if you 'seed' the other nest boxes with fake eggs or golf balls (what I use) you may find that they spread out and use the other boxes more. For whatever reason I find that they prefer a 'used' box to an empty one, so if they see 'eggs' it becomes more preferable. I just put two golf balls in each box, much less fussing over favorite boxes.

 

[renk777]

Go out there and measure this other coop. Report back its size.

I think you might be right...though if they were utilizing both coops, there's more than enough space. But they're not...so regardless of how much is available to them, if they're not using it, my argument is lost. The larger coop is all hutch as there's no run attached. It's 4' W X 6' L X 5.5'. It was given to us and we were told it was good for 10 birds but could possibly hold more with an additional bar..which we added. The other coop was rated for 8 so when our flock tipped over 20, it was tight but we never had any issues so we didn't question it. We put 8 birds in the one and the rest in the other...some chose to sleep on perches in the run at night so no one space ever seemed packed. Though, as I stated elsewhere, I personally felt it was too many birds and so we've downsized as birds retire and adopted the one roo out for a more manageable flock. But your comment made me look up how to determine coop / bird ratio which I hadn't in the past as I had no reason to question. And I'm now alarmed! How we got through the 20+ bird months without aggression is a bit of a mystery...perhaps it worked because they free-ranged 3/4 of the day and the roos were raised together? Because if I'm calculating correctly, that 2nd coop is suited to 6 birds...perhaps 8 since we have 3 roosting bars...maybe 10 in the winter when it's cold and they like sitting next to each other for warmth...but certainly not 12. Our first 11 birds came with the coop and my inlaws hadn't had any issues so I never thought to investigate the size. The birds were happy. Now I feel terrible! Enlightened...but terrible! I have a reputation for spoiling my animals and now I feel as though I'm wearing a scarlet letter. I'll have to make it a point to put 5 in the smaller coop at night and leave the other 6 in the larger for now. Once it becomes habit, maybe they'll choose those coops on their own? And I'll have to revisit the flock we planned for the fall and sell some of the pullets when they start to lay. Can't go into the winter with that many birds again. Not now that I know better. Unless we move before then. Ack. Thinking @Kessel23 might be onto something with the feather plucking. I have a potential home for the boy where he'd be utilized in breeding EEs so there are lots of other feather-legged birds. Didn't really want to adopt him out as he's my boy and I adore him but perhaps it's something to consider. He has gone after my small children a couple of times but didn't really hurt them. Though as he builds nerve/spurs, that could change. I dragged my feet on the decision over the winter as they had little contact with him but now that everyone is in the yard together, I worry. So far this Spring, he's been the perfect gentleman. I suppose if his feathers are contributing to the problem, maybe that's another reason to rehome him. Always learning...but sometimes the lessons aren't very fun

 

[Kiki]

2nd coop is good for no more than 6. See why I was determined to find out the size of your coops now?

 

[aart]

They're 18 months...temps are still pretty cold. You don't think they might molt now?

They might do a partial molt now....but usually the decreasing day length in late summer is what triggers a molt, not age.

You're in NJ, correct?
Would be good if you added it to your profile: