| Give The Gift Of A Hen This Christmas | Coop Maintenance |
Coop maintenance
As well as the run area, make sure your hens’ coop is as secure as it can be to protect from predators who are more opportunistic during autumn and winter.
A few pre-winter jobs to tick off now include:
• Checking the coop and run for any signs of damage, damp or draughts.
• Replacing any soggy bedding with fresh, dry material—wood shavings or hemp are good options.
• Patching up any holes that could let in predators or rats.
• Making sure your feeders and drinkers are raised off the ground to stay clean and dry.
Moulting support
If your hens start shedding a few more feathers when the weather gets chilly, fear not. It’s perfectly normal at this time of year and is all part of a hen’s natural cycle.
When feathers do start to drop and new ones emerge in their place, as odd as it sounds, these new quills taste nice to other hens which may result in pecking and plucking, so watch out for signs of this.
You can help your hen through a moult by ensuring she has a high protein and calcium feed or introducing a supplement like Zolcal D if necessary. Re-growing feathers is hard work, and so there may be a dip in your hen’s egg production if, like many, she didn’t get the retirement memo.
Please don’t knit a jumper for your hen, as these can inhibit new feather growth – simply let nature take its course and your hens will emerge with a fresh, glossy plumage in no time.