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!

I’ve been playing with the portrait mode on my phone as I take pictures of chickens.

My eldest helped me with another chicken check. We really should be doing these monthly. I read that feathers growing back in is painful and have been trying to minimize contact. We treated everyone for scaly leg mites with a essential oil ointment. Most of the chicken feet looked OK, but a few had definite lifted scales. Some have gained weight, some have lost. Taco and Tigger were the lightest and they both have the lifted scales on their feet and legs. Gail Damerow, in her chicken health book, recommends slathering the legs in petroleum jelly for a week. Taco is our hardest catch, so we’ll do what we can.