4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[clucky chicken]

Hi everyone - just wanted some advice about what to do with the chickens when the evenings draw in? We got our chickens in the summer, so a relatively newbie at this and it will be our first winter with them, so have a few questions....

 

We work all day, going out of the house around 7.45am and don't return until 4.00pm in the afternoon. Can't let the girls free range until we get home, but by then it will be dark, which means they will have to stay in their run all day, and they don't particularly like being confined - what can I do to let them stretch their legs?

 

Besides this, it's going to be pretty wet and muddy in the winter, - what can I do about their dustbaths? If I put some sand in a tray - they only poop in it....

 

Also, will they stop laying in the winter, or can we prolong that by putting some sort of light in the run?

 

What do others do in winter? It's going to be a very long one for those girls!!!!

 

Do hens go into winter mode or somesuch??

 

Sorry if this is a bit long, but thanks for the advice!!

[C&T]

Hello,

 

Ours will also not have any free ranging time in the evenings soon... And will only really get out at the weekend. (One of the reasons why we only have 2 chooks in the eglu and standard run.) I'll supplement their diet by extra greens - some cabbage or whatever reduced in the supermarket!

 

Whether you will get eggs through winter, I believe depends on your type of hens and their age. We have 2 omlet chooks, and they laid all last year. No extra lights required - personally think that is wrong...

 

Dustbaths... Our run is covered, so it is all dry in there, and they "bathe" in the soil/hemcore in the run.

 

Hope helps!

[chickencam]

We have corrugated plastic sheets on the runs to keep them dry, but they do lose out on dust bathing in the winter.

 

This is the third winter that we have had chooks and I do feel sorry for them, but they actually seem to cope with the cold better than the heat. We only close the Eglu door if the forecast is for temperatures below freezing. We have a north facing back garden and the girls get no sun at all in the winter but they still laid for their first winter, even the pure breed Light Sussex.

 

Last year they stopped laying in mid November and started again in mid February.

 

If you can't let them free range give them hanging peckablocks and greens to give them somthing to do and to keep some fresh stuff in their dirt.

 

You will need to check their water before you go out in a morning because it can freeze pretty solid. When it was really cold last winter I took the water out of the run in the evening and put warm water back in in the morning.

[clucky chicken]

Thank you lovely people - nice to know I'm not alone in this - will need to lay some more slabs round the run though - it's already pretty mucky - and I will go and get a pecking block and give them lots of treats of cabbage and sprouts - and bread dipped in warm water - that should keep their tummies warm!!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Pellet porridge made with pellets, warm water & some corn, sultanas, mealworms all mixed in given before they go to bed is a good way to get their tummies warm for the night...porridge oats are also good heat producers.

 

My gang get pellet porridge for breakfast too, though not with the extras.

 

Good luck with your first winter, as long as they have shelter, food & fresh water, they are pretty resilient little things....well my first 3 plus the Orpies, then the batties were I hope all the babies will be this year too

 

Sha x

[CluckyBucks]

Hello there clucky chicken

 

It can be a little daunting, the thought of winter. But most of us just put the winter shade on the eglus and close the door so they have a nice warm sleep.

 

The only things im doing this year are:

Winter shade (already on)

Close the door (as i do every night)

And some warm porridge for them at night

 

Hope this kinda helps you

 

xx xx

[Vix_Chicks]

Sorry to butt in on this thread, but I just wondered, is it literally just porridge oats mixed with some luke warm water?

I'm sure my girls would love something to warm their tummies before bed

[chelsea]

Last Autumn/winter we invested in a heat lamp.

 

 

The girls loved it and dustbathed under it every evening, it gave them that extra bit of warmth on very cold days and gave them a bit of "sunshine"

 

Warning - we used it slightly more than intended and it didn't half show on the leccy bill come March!

 

Spoilt chickens

[Plum]

Bad as my OH he puts the underfloor heating on for the cats in winter

[C&T]

Sorry to butt in on this thread, but I just wondered, is it literally just porridge oats mixed with some luke warm water?

I'm sure my girls would love something to warm their tummies before bed

 

 

Just use their normal pellets or mash, and mix with boiling water. Mix to a porridge like consistancy. We then also add in various things, depending on the mood and whats lying about the kitchen! Things like:

 

Garlic powder

bokashi

chicken spice

Pea

Sweatcorn

chopped up cabbage or other greens

raisins

broccolli

last bit of the branflakes or weetabix box

porridge oats

mealworms (dried ones)

corn

marmite

 

Our girls love it, and make lots of noise by the back door in the evening till they get it!!

[Vix_Chicks]

Thank you C&T Will try it this evening

[clucky chicken]

Hi again - have had great fun with some of these recipes, thank you - but am rather confused - you said Marmite was something to add, but I thought I read somewhere that they shouldn't have salt - I have lots of Marmite at home - so if I put some in the porridge, how much should I use?

[C&T]

I put quarter of a teaspoon maybe? And only once or twice a month or so.

 

Marmite is supposed to be full of vitamins for them. Recomended on the Omlet site to give them when they first arrive.

 

I also sometimes give them a (very small) bit of toast with marmite on both sides, which they love. (Have to put it on both sides, as if the toast turns over they aren't clever enough to realise the marmite is on the other side... )

[whoopsie]

This is a great thread. Thankyou!

 

Has anyone made their own winter shade? It doesn't look all that difficult

 

*update - just looked at the wanted section and someone suggests using a shower curtain and bungee clips. Class!

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

This is a great thread. Thankyou!

 

Has anyone made their own winter shade? It doesn't look all that difficult

 

We bought a number of tarpaulins from:

 

 

http://www.tarpaflex.co.uk/acatalog/economy-tarpaulin.html

 

Last year. One went on the eglu & when we got the cube one went over the top. The old one we cut to make a protective panel that goes all round under the cube itself to give a bit of wind protection, while the remainder went back on the eglu without the converter for the newbies we got last week.

 

So, in short, we have a combination of tarps & corrugated plastic as covers.

 

Today we put the winter shade allong the back of the cube run as more weather protection. The chooks have still got plenty of light.

 

In terms of flooring, we put our eglu on slabs with aubiose last winter and have now used the area for the cube. The eglu is only a back-up now for intros etc. We decided to keep the set-up over the summer as it cut down moving around and believe it or not the hens actually prefer the aubiose when the weather is wet! They were NOT impressed with going onto grass for a short spell! Spoilt girls