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Keeping chickens is a lot of fun but as winter approaches, it's important for poultry keepers to think ahead a little. Whilst it seems a long way off yet, winter can be a very difficult time for us. With the cold, dark mornings and dark evenings, many of us may be opening the chicken house before work in the dark and closing it when we get home in the dark. There is no better time than now to start thinking about carrying out any repairs to your hen house and run for winter.
Check your Chicken House and Run
 The chicken run should be checked for wear and tear, it is important to check for gaps that a fox could squeeze through. Most fox damage I have seen to runs has been where wire is joined or runs are joined to houses. Any small hole or loose section of wire can be torn back easily by a fox. If you use an electric fence, make sure there are no short circuits to ground (branches, grass or anything else touching) because during the winter, you are more likely to have hungry foxes about that may be more willing to attempt to get into your chicken run.
When inspecting the chicken house, check for signs of water leaking into the house. Birds cannot stand draghts or being wet. Inspect the roof to make sure that it is waterproof. Avoid using felt on the roof as this provides the ideal environment for red mite multiply and it is almost impossible to get rid of mites once they are under the roof felt. Onduline roofing material is ideal as a replacement and is available in most DIY stores. It is light weight and easy to use. If you are planning on treating or painting your chicken house then do check that the product you are using is safe for birds and under no circumstances allow birds back into the house until it is completely dry.
If you are working like me and unlikely to be around when it gets dark in the winter, an automatic chicken pop hole opener (follow the link to see our review and some pictures) is well worth the investment. This will open and close the pop hole when it gets light / dark and you won't have the worry of Mr Fox beating you home for dinner time!
Grazing Rotation and Worming
If your chickens are kept on the same patch of ground, once the grass stops growing in October (well once the temperature is below 7 degrees C) you will find it will soon turn to mud. It is worth rotating their grazing ground if you can. Some runs and houses can be moved but if you have a fixed run in a corner of the garden, you might consider dividing it to allow one half to recover before the grass stops growing. I keep my chickens on a strip of land and I have crudely divided this into several sections. As one area gets worn, I move their house along or open up a picket gate to allow them onto fresh ground. I mix some of my smaller flocks after the breeding season - so as many runs get a rest and get to recover before the grass stops growing. Rotating your poultry's grazing will also avoid a build up of endo-parasites (worms) on the ground (and therefore a build up in your birds).
It is important to worm your birds regularly and if you have chosen a chemical wormer (like Flubenvet) most poultry keepers will worm their birds every 6 months - once in March and once in September as most birds are coming into and out of lay. If you have chosen to go down the natural route with a product like Verm-X then worming is more regular than this.
Feeders and Water Containers
 Feeders and water containers should of course be cleaned regularly but now is a good time to ensure they are in good working order and order a spare to keep indoors. Why keep a spare indoors? Well when you go out one morning in a hurry to find there's been a hard frost and your birds are looking for water, you will think 'thank you poultrykeeper - I will get out my spare container whilst the other one defrosts!'
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Further Reading
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Keeping Chickens