Hints and Tips

Cold Cold Cold...

Lots of chickens are perfectly hardy and can withstand the cold weather, however there are some things you can do to ensure they're happy, warm and safe from frost.

1. Use an old carpet / blanket etc. to cover your coop at night. This will extra insulate the birds helping to keep them warm.

2. Use extra straw / shredded paper each day to insulate inside the coop.

3. Feed extra - allow your birds to free feed on higher fat foods over the winter - corn, bacon rinds, bird fat balls etc. This gives them some extra fat that will help keep them warm over the colder months

4. Fill their water container every morning with hot water - this will give an extra hour or so of drinking before it freezes over. Change regularly if possible, but don't panic if you can only do it every morning.

5. Bring all the birds together in one shed - not possible for everyone, but putting a small coop in the conservatory or a garden shed will help protect young or less hardy birds over the winter. We currently have a 2 month old silkie cockerel sleeping my husbands bathroom as he's too small to be outside