How to Keep Your Hens Healthy in the Cold

During winter, feathers are your girls’ best friend. Not only are they excellent insulators – they have an oil coating which waterproofs them. Chickens can even puff up their feathers and trap air, heating it with their bodies to add another between them and the cold outdoor temperatures. However, they aren’t able to do this during their autumn moult – so it’s important to step in and help out.

To keep your coop warm, regularly replace the bedding in your chooks’ nesting boxes. Fresh bedding is a great insulator, plus it will also keep mites and other parasites away – all of which are looking for a warm haven over the cold months.

Tie in your bedding upkeep with a general coop check-up. If a chook’s body temperature isn’t maintained, it can get sick and go downhill very quickly – so it’s important to keep your coop clean and free of draughts. Make sure you balance this with good ventilation to reduce ammonia build up.

Chickens may not lay during winter, but replacing lost feathers and maintaining their core body temperatures still takes a lot of energy. So, it’s crucial they’re fed the proper nutrients. This gives them a great start to spring, when laying season begins.