Spring has sprung

By now, spring is well and truly upon us which brings with it lighter, warmer days to spend pootling around the garden with our feathered friends. While we’re revelling in the extra Vitamin D, is there anything extra we need to consider doing for our hens at this time of year?

Here we give you the lowdown on caring for spring chickens.

Grass clippings

While you’ve got the mower out making the most of the spring sunshine, feeding grass clippings is not advisable, despite having some nutritional value. Mowing grass immediately starts the breaking down process, so, if eaten, clippings can cause issues such as diarrhoea and crop impaction. In addition, the length and sheer quantity is likely to be too much for your girls who could become seriously ill if they gorge on it.

Broody hens

The arrival of warmer weather can act as a biological trigger for some hens, and you may therefore spot some odd behaviours. If you notice your hen spending all her time in the nest box and giving you some nasty pecks if you try to move her, she may well be broody. This is perfectly natural and should last no more than a few weeks – the time it takes to hatch eggs. Remember, if you hatch eggs, expect cockerels.

You can help your hen by regularly collecting eggs and encouraging her to leave the nest box to eat and drink. Keeping her underside cool will help to reduce her core temperature, too.

Sunny side up

Your hens will stay up later and get up earlier as the number of daylight hours increase – roll on lighter evenings spent in the garden with our girls! Longer days also means more light, warmth and time spent outside which may mean an increase in egg production.

Watch out for unwelcome visitors

We all enjoy the spring weather and brightness and that goes for lice and mites, too. This season can lead to an increase in these creatures, especially if the temperature rises above what is average for this time of year. Luckily, staying on top of your general coop hygiene should keep them at bay, and you can introduce some additional products to your routine such as Diatomaceous Earth; pesky critters don’t like it.