The British Hen Welfare Trust offers tips to minimise stress for our feathered friends throughout firework season…

As the nights draw in, it’s time to turn our attention to winter hen care. The first thing to consider is your set-up. It’s always recommended to keep your hens in a fixed run when you are out of the house to protect them from predators, and this becomes even more important during winter. Ensure your fencing is at least five feet high – foxes can jump – and has an outward-facing apron of fencing at the bottom to stop predators digging underneath. In areas where aerial predators such as buzzards are present, or indeed if Avian Influenza strikes, it will be necessary to also put netting on top of your run. Most of us have work commitments, meaning we aren’t always home to tuck our hens up once night falls, so you may wish to consider investing in an automatic coop door system which can be set to open and close at specific times. Not only are these a great solution during the summer months when our hens are up at the crack of dawn, but they can provide peace of mind during winter when light often fades before we’ve got home from work.

As the light fades it may be necessary to invest in an automatic coop door system

WHAT TO DO ABOUT FIREWORKS
A key event in the calendar is Bonfire Night which we typically love to celebrate with firework displays and, while these are lovely for us humans to enjoy, our hens look less favourably upon them for several reasons. We all know cats and dogs need to be kept in at night around this time of year, but hens are also sensitive creatures who thrive on routine and dislike loud noises or changes to their environment, which fireworks can bring. So, what can you do to support them?

  1. Make sure your coop is totally lightproof if possible; bright lights and flashes will disturb your hens and may cause them to become aggressive to other hens in the hen house.
  2. Extra insulation to deaden noise is also helpful but remember to keep ventilation holes clear.
  3. Place a battery-powered radio in the hen house set on a low volume so the external noise will be masked.

This article extract was taken from the November 2024 edition of The Country Smallholder. To read the article in full, with further advice on how to support your feathered friends through Bonfire Night, you can buy the issue here.

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