I went out to the coop to get eggs the day before yesterday and my rooster scratched my leg with his back 'claw'. He was very testy and cranky....

I noticed his feet were very pink. (They are normally a willow green). The next day he behaved, but his feet were really red. I was mortified....I thought, my heavens, does he have erythromelagia? PN? Do I call the vet for a chicken??

Nope.....he has 'Spring Fever'....which doesn't need any other treatment than a few good looking hens. Thank goodness for the internet.

Granted, we are a ways from Spring.

Oh my, to think I almost tried to 'treat' his feet.

I was put on some low dose prednisone last week and it made a big difference for me....now what, I ask, as I pop the last one??

Hi cyclelops,

What was it prescribed for, and how/in what way(s) did it make a difference?

a rooster, it'd be 'natural' to assert his turf?
Can I ask, how COLD it was out in the coop? Could the Temp change the color of his feet? What I know about Chickens is zilch... had parakeets tho and I don't think that counts, except when they were either in breeding mode or moulting their beek noses would change color....
Just watch YOUR scratches, PLEASE! It's those little ones that can evolve into nasty ones if your'e not careful!
Remember? Each day now is longer than the one before! There is hope for a SPRING!!!! Hugs etc. - j

That rooster would have been dinner!! LOL

when I was just about 4 & visiting gmas farm, a hen did go after me, and she was dinner!

LOL, he almost was dinner....except he is my best rooster.....he really defends my flock, against hawks, or whatever.....he was basically enamoured with my fleece pants blowin' in the wind, lol. Thought I was some fancy hen, I guess.

As for the coop temp....they have an insulated coop with a 250 watt heat lamp....and really chickens don't need it....think wild turkeys! Rooster feet get red when they are smitten.

As for the prednisone, I have some autoimmune process going on....got so stiff I would have qualified for a perch in a museum. Moving was like pulling very stiff taffy.

I looked and felt like a rusty cartoon Transformer going up the stairs....boom, boom, click, boom. It's better now. Now I have new problems, but I will take the mobility and energy the low dose prednisone afforded.

I have heard of other people who have been put on prednisone for another reason then neuropathy but it helps with the PN pain too. I wonder why doctors don't try this med more for PN?
That is neat you have a little farm and eat the eggs from it.

I hate chickens, ducks, & geese.
(unless in a roasting pan or carved on the dinner table)
They chase little children and scare the he11 out of them.
Scared the he11 out of me, when I was an adult.

I carry a big stick and a few times per year, catch my roosters and tickle their bellies-hard and rub their feet untill they relax. (A soft roughing up, lol). They have a great deal of respect for me, lol. I can easily reach under a hen and get my eggs, with no complaints from them. I have 3 roosters who get along!! They are all in fear of the wicked witch from the East. Lars just couldn't help his hormones. His feet are back to willow and he is back to being docile. That said, I wouldn't put my face near them, and they are in a penned in area. They have to be, since I have hawks who dive trying to catch them. They can't clear the fence, so as long as chickens are in their 40 by 40 area, where ever I choose to locate it, the hawks cant get them.

Yep, I eat a lot of eggs lately.

Well out into the snow (again) to feed the fowl. Did I say I hate winter??

Turkeys are pretty tough birds. (pun intended). they will chase children and not back down from an adult.

Hi daniella,

In the case of PN, the risks outweigh the benefits.

Pred can have significant adverse effects, suppress the immune system, and is rarely used for longer than seven days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prednisone

Doc