So I’ve read over and over that the best time to treat chickens is when they are asleep on their roosts. Not my chickens, until now.

Previously going into the coop at night meant the hens would be awake and would start moving around on their roost. They seemed to never sleep. This is what happened the first time I tried giving leg treatment for scaly leg mites at night as well. We had to keep track of who was treated by looking to see if their legs were shiny with the VetRx oil!

Three days later we treated again. Same time, but I had moved the roost a little further from the wall to give room to get around, and we used a blue light instead of red. (We have a flashlight that has white, red, and blue options.) The night was also much colder. I’m not sure the light made the difference, but the hens did not have an escape party this time. They stayed in their place on the roost as I rubbed their feet and legs with the oil. We will continue to apply every three days until the skin on their legs no longer looks dry. This method is so much easier than chasing them around during the day!