Chicks & Dirty feet ?
Should I clean them myself. They step in their own poop a lot
Answers
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I would clean their cage/container more often, or maybe create a bigger space for them. Then they wouldn't be walking in their poop so much. I used several inches of bedding material to help with this myself.
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@Save the frogs I agree with Jenny.
Have you moved them outside to their pen yet?
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yes just for the day i put them back in the crib at night cuz we have to finish securing the coop from predators. i just noticed their feet today after bringing them in and if I should wipe them down.
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@Save the frogs I put lots of dried herbs and wood shaving on the floor in the coop. It looks like they have clean feet all the time. And then they wash themselves in dust or sand.
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If the pen is wet with poop, they can develop poop balls on their toes which can cause issues. If this happens, siak their toes in water & gently work them off. If you just pull those dry, you will rip the skin.
If they develop bumblefoot (sores on the bottoms of their feet), you will need to keep everything very clean & dry & apply an antibiotic salve to it. There are many natural salves that can be used. Honey is a great healer as well. If you apply anything that stuff could stick to, gauze can be used to wrap toes & the bottom of the foot. Althetic tape is a good tape to use to keep the gauze on.
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Does your coop have an actual floor or you put the shavings on the ground. Do you clean it with a rake ?
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My coop has a solid floor. I keep a thick layer of bedding in there. It only gets extremely dirty under the roost bars. I clean that out regularly. In the covered run I put bedding down so that the poop will compost easily on its own. I only notice the chickens feet having poop on them when I let them pasture with the ducks. Given the clean space in the run and an area for a dust bath the chickens do a great job of taking care of that themselves.
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my coop where they sleep has a wooden floor where they sleep and roost but the run doesnt its just the ground.
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One of my coops has a wooden floor. I use straw in there. The chickens are pretty good at scratching the bedding & keeping it dry & sort of fluffy.
The others are in outdoor trap covered pens either a dirt floor. We put straw in there and let them do as they wish. When it gets a bit dirty (or colder in winter), we just add more straw. It eventually rots, but does build up.
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They are spending their first night in the coop tonight so precious. What foods should we not share with them ?
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Their feed should be mainly grower. Give only 10% treats/scraps.
This link has good information & a graphic on what you can & should not give.
Any potatoes given should be cooked, never raw. Never give any type of moldy food. Bread & sugars are usually discouraged due to the possibility of contributing to angel wing in growing birds.
This site covers foods and brings up the issue of age of bird as well.
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