Olly Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 During the recent rain Hilda ended up with balls of mud on her claws (her sister stayed out of the mud!). I thought she'd peck these off, but they are still there. (This was when they were free-ranging, not in the run). Today I let them out, and to my , as they followed me onto the patio I heard her feet clicking on the slabs like a chicken wearing hobnailed boots! In 'Keeping Pet Chickens' it advises a footbath, so I filled a cat-litter tray with warm water and stood her in it - the mud seemed to soften a bit, but I needed both hands to keep her there so it was impossible to actually clean her feet. Advice please - will these balls of mud do her any harm, or cause her discomfort? If so, how do I get them off (other than waiting till Saturday when I can get a friend to come over and help). Curiously, most of my friends don't seem keen on either cleaning a chicken's muddy feet, or holding a cross chicken while I do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I think you could probably manage on your own depending on how you hold them. If you try gripping her legs with your fingers and supporting her with your arm as recommended in the omlet guide then you should be able to get a free hand to do some gentle scrubbing. I reckon you will get wet though! Kev. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starboyhull Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I sort of scoop the girls up, leaving their legs dangling (which stops them trying to jump about) if they where like this you could easily pick the mud off her feet.........Saying that ours are quite easy to pick up..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 well I guess it didn't help that I tried to do this in the precious hour between getting in from work and leaving for choir practice - and yes, I was still wearing my work clothes (washable, but I didn't really want to get mud or worse on them). I'm not that good at picking them up, I admit - but my assessment yesterday was that the mud was so hard it would need soaking off. Maybe it's a fashion statement on her part home-made Crocs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 Mine don't mind having their feet washed with a scrubbing brush when i clean out the eglus. They crowd around me whilst i'm cleaning anyway, so i just give a quick scrub whenever one comes near enough. If they are very bad then i pick them up in the same way the others have suggested and pick the mud off their feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
