Out and About

So you have your hens and you have a home for them, protected from foxes and badgers. But they want to come into the rest of the garden, what to do?
Letting your hens roam around is not a necessity, but they will certainly thank you for it. Apart from that, they are great entertainment and will follow you around to see what you are doing.

Points to remember, just make sure your garden is secure, they will get out if they can! Also remember to keep a shovel handy!! Also, by personal experience, if you go out, put them away. The fox will know you are at the shops!

The smallest of eggs

All hens will go through a rest period, where they will stop laying eggs, this is quite normal. You may notice smaller eggs being produced or sometimes eggs with thinner shells. However if your eggs are all getting thinner shells, it could mean your hens need more grit to aid in the shell production.

The hen that thought too much

Some hens seem to have a spooky ability in making you think they are planning something...unless they actually are!

This naughty Warren has taken to escaping into our next door neighbours garden and has developed cunning ways of being re-captured.

It could be that as being hybrid birds they are further up the evolutionary ladder!

Box Clever

Hen's always prefer to lay their eggs in a safe space. A nesting box is what you will need or some elevated space with straw or similar material that they can lay on. Think of it as a nest so the other hens (or you) don't stand on eggs on the ground. We have two boxes elevated on bricks and made from nailed together bits of wood, with a lip at the front to stop the wood chips that it contains from spilling out.

It is amazing how egg production is affected by changes in the weather. Our six hens (x2 Vorwerks, x3 Warrens and x1 Bluebell) were in pretty much daily egg production but a change in warm and dry to wet a chilly weather virtually stopped production. Now it has warmed up a little they are back to full lay mode!!

Hen's take a Bath

Hen's are taking a communal dust bath, but why do they do this? Hen's do suffer from parasites and the fine powder of dust (do not be tempted to use sand as this could hurt their eyes) is no good for lice and such, but very relaxing for the girls.

Eggs is Eggs

But they do tend to come out a different colour! This is just down to genetics as each breed will create different shades and colour tones depending on the breed of hen you have. However, there is no difference in taste!