So I'm new to the backyard chicken world. I own 3 speckled Sussex chicks and 3 white leghorn chicks. The more I started getting in to the chicken world the more I realized I wanted Silkies. After pricing chicks on several websites and hatcheries, I found a local woman who needed to downsize her flock and bought 5 Silkies about 1 year of age, 4 hens and one rooster. When we came to see the chickens they looked healthy and were in a chicken hutch separate from her personal flock. When we got them home though I looked at them more closely and there feet are horrid. Overgrown toenails, feces stuck to their feet and there skin is just rough and ugl, some of their toes even appear contorted. I think they Had been in the hutch their entire lives and thats why they look like that because the floor was wire. So my question is what can I do to fix their feet. I want healthy happy chickens, and I want them to be comfortable. Any ideas. Also any pointers would be helpful just in general.
You can start off by giving them a bath to remove the crud, a healthy diet of gamebird feed, and a clean coop/run area should clear up some of the ugliness.
Actually, silkies feet look ugly even when completely healthy, in defense of the previous owner. Their toes will look crooked, and the feathers collect dirt & poo no matter what you do. Check them often for feather & skin problems on their feet, and you can avoid real problems. Also, check them for scaley leg mites because feathered feet birds are especially suseptable to them. Get them cleaned up and you will absolutely love them! And they will love you too.
vaseline will help with the scaley feet and legs. as previous poster stated game bird feed will help or if you have ascess to an allway crumble (20%) they will love u and lay like crazy. this is a non mediated starter thru layer. it is by Big V feeds from Oklahoma
