The season of change is upon us, bringing with it glimmers of colour, warmer weather and lighter days, all of which are a joy for humans and hens alike. While we revel in the promise of sunshine, how does spring affect our feathered friends, and is there anything we as hen keepers should do to keep them happy and healthy at this time of year? Here we bring you the lowdown on caring for spring chickens.
Don’t feed them grass clippings
It’s an easy trap to fall into: cut the grass and give your hens the clippings as a treat. However, while you’ve got the mower out making the most of the spring sunshine, feeding them grass clippings is sadly not advisable, even if it does hold some nutritional value.
Mowing your 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 of clippings is likely to be too much for your girls – who could become seriously ill if they gorge on it.
Find out more about grass for hens here.
Broody hens
While maternal instinct isn’t limited to specific times of year, 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.
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.
For more information on broody hens take a look here.
Sunny side up
You’ll have no doubt noticed your hens staying up later and getting 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 and time spent outside for our hens which they love just as much as us, and may mean an increase in egg production. Now that they’re expending less energy to keep warm they’ve got more in the tank for producing eggs for your daily breakfast or baking exploits. Eggciting!
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 pesky creatures, especially if the temperature increases beyond 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 to keep lice and mites at bay. See our hen house spring cleaning guide for more information.
Do you want to know more about the fascinating lives of hens? Or are you keen to learn about hen health and welfare? Then head here for more articles.
