Had a really interesting morning yesterday with chicken’s feet! As I have been watching them ( them being seven ladies, Tornado the boss lady, Pinta and Keggy the Speckledy hens, Nosey Rosy, Screamer, Robin and Crewman Hen) I had noticed that some had really scaly looking feet and lower legs. Looking things up on the internet I decided that maybe they had scaly leg mites, so determined to treat them. There are many different suggestions for what to do in cases of SLM, some of which involved dipping the affected legs in petrol!!! Being an advocate of the most natural methods, I would like to add another, olive oil and garlic, mainly on the grounds that garlic is known to be repellent to all kinds of bloodsuckers. Of course, planning and execution are two different things, especially with hens, and particularly with hens like Screamer who was named for the fact that as soon as you try to do anything with her she screams as though she is being murdered (and it sounds just like Help! Help!)! However, I had a ‘cunning plan’. Snipping the very toe end off an old pop sock I cornered my hen, after bribery with spinach leaves, slipped the sock over her head, down past her wings and voila! neatly trussed, non-flapping hen, feet available for treatment. I got some very curious looks from them as they wondered what had happened. Feet washed in anti-bacterial soap, garlicky olive oil liberally applied, no struggles, although usual screaming from the aforementioned Screamer, the pop sock slipped back neatly over their heads as they backed out of it. Job done! I’m not actually sure it was SLM, though, as not all of the hens had it, only the brown ones that we had been given as chicks, and they had feather stubs growing out between the scales, sometimes one or two of them actually has feathery feet, but I will continue with treatment for about four weeks to make sure, If the worst comes to the worst and we have to eat them, at least they’ll be pre-seasoned!
Topic: An interesting morning (Read 3161 times)
