Hen Husbandry

Hen-keeping is incredibly rewarding and life-enriching, and your girls will soon become beloved members of the family. We want your hens to live happily and healthily for their retirement and we want you to enjoy them, whilst also being flock wise, so here are some basic tips on keeping your hens in tip-top condition.

• Commitment to daily care – hens are sentient creatures and therefore need commitment before you even think about welcoming them into your family. Make sure you’ve got the time and energy to give them the care they need.
• Secure accommodation – Wood or plastic? No matter which you choose, the most important factor is that your hen house is protected against attacks from predators such as foxes and badgers. A sturdy hen house is best and will also need nest boxes and perches appropriate to the number of hens you keep.
• Separate enclosures – Keep ducks and geese separate from your hens where possible. Ducks and geese can be unwell without showing clinical signs, having separate enclosures reduces the chance of any infections being passed on to your other birds.
• Introducing new birds to your flock – Take care when introducing new pets; All new hens should ideally be kept separate but within sight and sound of your existing flock for a week/ten days. For more information about merging your flocks, click here.
• Daytime access to fresh water and food – an average-sized adult hen will need 100–120g of feed per day and feed can either be given in a rationed amount daily, or via a feeder that is large enough for several days’ feed. Fresh tap water should be put down each morning and topped up as necessary. For more information on feeding your hens click here.
• Access to ponds/lakes – If you have a lake or pond close by which is visited by wild ducks, swans or geese, restrict your birds’ access to these water sources. This is to reduce the risk of your birds contracting bird flu or other disease passed on by wild birds.
• Daily coop clean – Don some rubber gloves and pick up droppings and patches of wet bedding on a daily basis.
• Weekly coop clean – A thorough clean should be undertaken weekly, including sweeping out bedding, and using a paint scraper to remove floor debris. A fresh layer of bedding will make your coop cosy again.
• Good hygiene – Make sure your coop is cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis with a government approved disinfectant; this can be used monthly.
• Prevent wild birds and vermin stealing poultry food – Keep your feed bin secure inside your hen house or a shed/garage to prevent access by wild birds and vermin. If you have a rodent problem, control it as rodents can be a threat to hens.
• Routine health care such as regular worming and treatment for parasites – Routine worming should be carried out three or four times a year using a licensed product. Also regularly check your hens and their coop for external parasites such as red mite.
• Check whether your birds are in a Higher Risk Area for Avian Influenza on www.gov.uk

The most important piece of advice we can give you is to spend a bit of time watching your girls each day (it’s very therapeutic!) and you’ll quickly learn their normal behaviour and how to spot if one or more is out of sorts. Here is a link to our helpful Hen Examination Guidelines if you think a hen may be under the weather. Maintaining good husbandry at all times will help you, and your hens. Be flock wise. All commercial hens are vaccinated against the following diseases:

• Mareks
• Gumboro disease
• Infectious bronchitis of various strains
• Coccidiosis
• Salmonella
• Newcastle disease
• Mycoplasma
• Infectious Laryngio Tracheitis
• Egg drop syndrome
• Avian Rhinotracheitis
• Sometimes Pasturella and E. Coli