Summertime at last! The mercury is rising and we’re all spending a lot more time in the garden enjoying nature at her most radiant and sublime.
It’s also – lucky you – the very best time to enjoy your hens. But beware! Pitfalls still lurk.
Our resident expert Alison Leggett has a few timely warnings on the perils of fly strike and the warm-weather risks every hen keeper should have on their summer reading list.
What is fly strike?
Fly strike occurs when flies lay their eggs on an animal. It can happen to any animal.
With hens, flies may be especially attracted if the bird has an injury, or if she has a really mucky bottom with dirt all around her vent area. The flies come, lay their eggs, and within about 12 hours those eggs will hatch into maggots.
Yikes.
The maggots then in turn burrow in and eat the flesh of the hen.
It’s quite serious, and left untreated, it can kill within a day. If you notice maggots on your hen, we recommend taking her to a vet. There may be maggots deeper in the flesh that you can’t get to, and she may need proper treatment and support.
So the lesson is, keep an eye on mucky bottoms?
Hens are quite clean creatures in themselves. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t have a dirty back end. Their bottoms are designed to stay clean.
If a hen has muck around the vent, flies are going to like that. They’ll lay their eggs there, and those eggs can hatch very quickly.
Does a dirty bottom always mean they have diarrhoea?
No. Sometimes people phone us and say, “My hen has diarrhoea,” but when you talk it through with them, it may be that the hen is sleeping in the nest box or on the floor at night.
Hens do a lot of droppings overnight. If they’re asleep on the floor or in the nest box, they don’t get up to go to the bathroom like you or I. They just poo where they are, sit in it, and it sticks to the feathers.
If they are dirty, a quick once over with soapy water will do the trick.
Diarrhoea would usually be more like a line running down from the vent, or it may squirt out completely and you might not notice unless you see it happen.
When is fly strike a risk?
When there are flies around, there is a possibility of fly strike. That means from warm spring days in May, through summer and into early autumn, depending on the weather. It’s not something to panic about, but it is something to be aware of.
So how often should keepers check their hens in summer?
At least once a day, and ideally just with a quick visual check. When you let them out in the morning, have a glance at their back ends. Maybe do the same before they go to bed at night.
It’s not about picking every hen up every day, tipping her upside down and checking everything. It’s about keeping a close eye. If a hen becomes unwell in warmer weather – look for changes in her behaviour – then pick her up and check her properly.
What behaviour changes should keepers notice?
If one suddenly goes and hides under a bush, ask yourself why she’s doing that. If she’s normally first out, first to food, or always busy, and suddenly she’s standing apart or behaving differently, that matters. It’s about knowing their characters, knowing their behaviour, and knowing what’s normal for each hen.
What’s a good piece of advice for new keepers?
Get your deckchair out. Get a coffee, and a chocolate biscuit, and go and sit with your hens.
That’s it. Spend time with them, especially when you first get them. Watch how they behave. Learn who is confident, who is shy, who eats first, who hangs back, who likes to take herself off. That’s how you spot changes quickly.
What should keepers do if they’re worried?
If you see maggots, wounds, a very dirty vent, sudden lethargy, or behaviour that feels very out of character, act quickly. With fly strike, we recommend going to a vet because it can move very fast. With grass or crop concerns, don’t wait if your hen seems off-colour, hunched, not eating, or her crop feels wrong.
And if you’re unsure, contact use our Hen Helpline. That’s exactly what we’re here for.
