Preparing Your Poultry Pen for Winter

On Monday it rained. It rained for somewhere close to six hours continuously and by the time it finished our Brahma cockerel (who had refused to go undercover the entire time) looked bedraggled, soggy and unhappy.

After a surprisingly dry September and October, it looks like a Autumn might be finally rearing its sleepy head. The clocks are changing next weekend, the days are a little colder and the clouds look like rain. The perfect time of year to get ahead of the weather and make sure your poultry run is ship shape and ready for anything November can throw at it.

Hardwood Woodchip for Poultry Runs

Hardwood Woodchip

The best surface for any chicken run, Flyte so Fancy Hardwood Woodchip, is a sustainable, eco-friendly covering for the floor to your chicken run, to prevent your hens squelching through mud. Containing only hardwoods (no softwoods or bark used as they will quickly mulch), the woodchip sits on top of the mud, creating a sanitary and hygienic run.

Washed clean with the rain (or the garden hose) the hardwood woodchip in your run, with the correct care, should only need changing once a year. See our previous blog on How to get the most out of your Hardwood Woodchip for more detail on the best surface for your poultry run. . 

RainShades for Poultry Runs

Perfect for keeping the rain off your chickens backs, these large removable PVC rainshades for poultry runs, simply clip on to wire of your run. The rainshade will provide a dry area within the run, shedding the water to either side. Or if the sun is shining (unlikely as that may be) will provide a shaded and cool spot for your hens.

Measuring approximately 3ft by 6ft, these easy to use and movable rainshades makes keeping your hens dry during wet weather incredibly easy to do. Dry hens are happy hens.

Hen House Deep Clean

Shorter days and longer nights, mean your hens are going to be spending more time inside their hen house, so before true winter descends, now is the ideal time to give the inside of your hen house a thorough deep clean. Virocur Disinfectant cleans and disinfects in one application. UK DEFRA approved against all notable poultry diseases, it is highly effective against hundreds of strains of bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Perfect for a pre-winter deep clean in your hen house, Virocur Disinfectant, is safe for man and animals alike, keeping your hen house hygienic and healthy for your hens through the long winter months.

Rainshades for Poultry Runs

If you have any questions regarding preparing for winter with your chickens, or your own top tip, leave a comment below, or call us on 01300 345229 to talk to a member of the Flyte so Fancy team.


Thanks for Reading
James

Wheely Good Hen Houses - Mobile Chicken Coops for the Garden

My hens live in their Annie's Coop in the corner of my garden. A garden of which they have full reign and regularly abuse my flower beds, which have never been the same. However there are plenty of chicken owners with plenty of space to keep their hens and who are looking for a mobile chicken coop that they can move around the garden.

Flyte so Fancy have three hen houses on wheels, each uniquely designed to provide movable hen houses for large gardens, orchards and paddocks. 

Dorset Stroller

Not just the nickname of our ambling local gardener, but also the first of our mobile chicken coops, the Dorset Stroller. Designed with its wheels at one end and built in handles at the other, when you are ready to move it to fresh ground, it lifts like a wheelbarrow. Easily moved by just one person, the Dorset Stroller is designed to house 8 birds comfortably and has an external nestbox too.

Dorset Stroller Hen House

As well as its removable dirt tray and perches, a sliding lift out roof panel gives complete top down access into the coop, making cleaning this hen house quick and simple. With its easy ability to be moved by one person, this hen house is ideally sized for those keeping a flock of hens in a larger garden.  

Dorset Ranger

A highly mobile coop with a difference, the Dorset Ranger comes with an in-built run, to provide both a movable coop with the safety from predators of a fixed run. With its wheels fixed at the back of the house, a clever counter-balance system allows for the hen house to be lifted from the opposite end the run and be wheeled to pastures new. 

Dorset Ranger 10 Hen House

An external nestbox provides plenty of room in the coop and the Dorset Ranger comes in two sizes for flocks of either 6 or 10. The clever sliding roof allows complete access into the coop, making cleaning incredibly simple. The integral run is made from inch by half inch galvanised weldmesh stapled onto thick timber framing. The Dorset Ranger is ideal for people looking to move a flock of hens to fresh grass around their garden, while keeping them enclosed and not necessary giving them full reign of the flower beds. 

Handy 15

For those with a large flock of hens looking for a mobile hen house, the Handy 15 Hen House is just what they need. With wheels located at one end and in built handles at the other, it is a case of lifting the hen house and wheeling it to a fresh patch of grass for your hens. 

With an external nestbox and a removable ply resin roof, access into this spacious coop is easy, and the large front door makes cleaning a cinch. This is a large coop and can be moved by one person, meaning you move the hen house around your garden or paddock with relative ease. 

Handy 15 Hen House

These hen houses on wheels are ideal for people looking for mobile hen houses for gardens, paddocks and orchards. Allowing for hens to be moved to to fresh grassy ground keeps your hens happy and healthy. If you have any questions about our hen houses with wheels, leave a comment below or call us on 01300 345229 to speak to a member of the FSF Team. 

Thanks for Reading

James