Lovely update. Pleasant weather changes everything. Good to see Mow's leg up close. It looks much improved.
Andre and Merle, our feather-legged Marans brothers, both have funky leg issues, from wacky scales to curled-up outer toenails. I may post photos at some point for advice on whether to intervene.
Merle does the leg-kick thing while walking. A feather growing on the
bottom of his foot may be to blame. Meanwhile, it's hard to tell if Andre is troubled by thick leg scales or if his bumbling gait is fully the fault of orthopedic issues.
He'd have trouble with under-foot feathers as well if he didn't live with Peck, who came by her name honestly and is happy to help out by wrenching feather from foot at the merest hint of irritation.
"Shall I peck this for you?"
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Recently, Peck has also been great at "treating" Andre for mites by removing select feathers around his comb and tail, 2 of his mite hotspots. Andre has so many nooks & crannies that it's hard to effectively treat for mites, but Peck's method works exceptionally well.
Here's 3 minutes of Peck grooming Andre. I had just noticed mites on his neck and had mite treatment in hand when Peck beat me to it. I obviously held off on dusting him and let Peck work. There were no mites to be found on Andre for weeks afterward.
Question of the Day - Friday, February 13th, 2026
