Wintering Chickens; More To Worry About Than Just Snow…

My chickens are free-range; most of the time. Once the snow piles high there is much less range to be free on. So, we’ve had a hen going broody mid-November. A hen moulting in December (and ‘no’ it wasn’t the same hen. And now I think we might be dealing with worms. What a year!

It’s mid-October, there is snow on the ground and I have a broody hen! Ughh! This girl’s timing is less than optimum. Hatching in 21 days would give me new chicks in November. November where I live can get very cold. I had noticed a hen in the nesting box when I closed the coop up at night, but I thought she was just being anti-social. I know that allowing hens in the nesting box at night is frowned upon; but because she was not leaving any droppings (thus creating a ‘dirty egg’ problem) I decided to leave well enough alone. That is until it became obvious that she was setting up house. This all about hormones. What’s more a broody hen can pull other hens into a brood cycle as well. Wait! What?! No!! Just what I need. A flock of broody hens in October/November.

Now for all my fussing and fretting; I want to just stop right here and say how thrilled I am to have early indications of a broody hen. As they are becoming much more rare. The brooding gene (if you will) is being bred out of most modern-day chickens. When hens go broody they stop laying eggs. Not good if the goal is to make a little coffee money on the backyard flock. Many backyard flock keepers don’t want roosters (too noisy) and opt for day old chicks to be shipped or fertilized eggs and an incubator. But I digress. I think a broody hen is great. Just not in the winter.

Off to google I go. How to discourage a hen from brooding. First you want to block off those nesting boxes after you think everyone has finished laying for the day. I know this can be hard to determine since egg production can and will vary day to day. I settled on late afternoon to close off the boxes not to be opening again until early morning. From there it’s all about cooling the hen. Her body temperature has risen to enable her to incubate the eggs. If it’s in the warmer months you can try a cool bath and outside to air dry. Not an option for me in late October. Best option I came across was a raised pen that allows for good air flow. Worked like a charm. I think I caught her early so she was not firmly in brood mode. The sooner you catch it the easier it is to break.

Some people think it is cruel to break a broody hen. Our winters can be quite harsh. The chicks would have had a tough time surviving. As animal tenders you have to use your common sense. Not much different than making the decision to cull humanely. It is our responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the health and welfare of the animal.

Next we had a hen start to moult. It would logically be the hen that was broody….but ‘no’. Different hen. I’m sure we have all seen those nifty knitted vests made to keep chickens warm. While they are amusing to look at. (I couldn’t resist making one just for the picture) They are not a good idea.

All kidding aside; these knitted items are not a good idea. Who thought of this anyway? I suspect that the idea sprang from the recent rescue movement of battery hens. Chickens kept in industrial high production facilities are often referred to as battery hens. It’s a high stress environment and they will often lose or pluck out their feathers. Recently there has been a movement to ‘rescue’ these chickens when they have outlived their usefulness to the production facility. Usually around 16-18 months. At which time farms will either cull them or the lucky ones fall into the hands of one of the rehoming programs. I think people genuinely thought that these pitiful looking animals needed clothing?? That’s my theory anyway; for what it’s worth. There are several reasons why this is a bad idea. Once in a non-stress environment the hen will naturally start to refeather, starting with the very fine pin feathers. These delicate beginnings can easily be broken through the constant rubbing of the knitted covering. Further, chickens will naturally feather up according to the temperature of their environment. The artificial warmth of the knitted garment will confuse their natural instincts. There are safety concerns about the garment getting caught thereby leaving the chicken hung up or stuck somewhere. I’m sure that there are those who would disagree with me; but I think these knitted garments do more harm than good.

We are having a very heavy snow year this winter. Even though we shovel pathways in the yard, when the temperature is dipping -30/-40, the chickens tend to stay inside the coop for the most part. When they are outside, they have limited outside space that is not covered in snow. What that means is that they are scratching and eating around their droppings, so worms are not a totally unexpected possibility. Here’s a couple of things that I found will help.

Diatomaceous Earth. Let’s start by addressing the misnomer that DE is harmful to animal and human alike. The important thing to keep in mind here is we are using food grade DE. “Diatomaceous earth is a type of powder made from the sediment of fossilized algae found in bodies of water. Because the cells of these algae were high in a compound called silica, the dried sediment produced from these fossils are also very high in silica. These deposits are found all over the world. The ancient Greeks used diatomaceous earth to make building materials, like bricks and blocks. Later on it became popular in Europe for various industrial uses.” (this is a direct quote from WebMD). This is not to be confused with the non food grade that is used in pool filters. Now that we’ve sorted that out…

So back to those chickens confined to small(er) spaces. I buy the 25 lb. bag of DE and use it liberally in their dry food; coop floor and nesting boxes; and in the run. This not only helps to keep intestinal parasites at bay but also keeps mites in check in the coop area. (FYI: this is a very useful product in the garden)

But far and away the most anticipated treat for my chickens is the wormer concoction which has been dubbed ‘pumpkin soup’. Now this recipe is not unique to me and I’m sure there are many ‘recipes’. This is what I put in it. And ‘yes’ it has garlic in it. A lot of garlic. And ‘no’ the eggs do not taste like garlic.

Just one final word on wintering chickens. My chickens free range, when the range isn’t covered in three feet of snow. When they are not used to it, being confined to coop and run can cause chickens a lot of stress which makes them more susceptible to illness and irritability (extra pecking). I bump up their feed to a little higher protein and I put some vitamins in their water. Treats are essential to stave off boredom.