Keeping Chickens Month by Month: August

Hmmm. Well, since last month's piece we seem to have rather mislayed the summer. Which was ever so careless. If your hens are anything like mine, they have been rather narked at the rain and squishy conditions. As soon as the sun shows its face they leg it to higher ground and flatten themselves in an act of sun worship. I can appreciate their sentiments. Anyway, July was a bit of a soggy mess. But that doesn't mean August will be.

You still need to be vigilant when it comes to mites, lice and all pests during the allegedly warm weather. A weekly health check can stop most problems in their tracks. However, if you have an early moulting hen, try to leave her be unless you have reason to suspect that she might have a problem. Maude, my millefleur pekin, has given up the mini moult pretence and literally exploded all over the garden. She is virtually featherless at this stage, but covered in rows of new quills. A chicken growing new plumage will be feeling a little under the weather and will certainly not be keen on being handled. I tend to avoid unnecessary handling and just observe the bird in question. Maude is grumpy and sore looking, and she certainly wouldn't appreciate being cuddled. The poor thing is more pin cushion than chicken right now.

Now, I know it's early to be thinking about the winter. Like one of those awful newspaper articles that tells you there's only 146 shopping days until Christmas, though, I'm here to remind you that it is drawing closer. August is, in my opinion, the best time to prepare your housing for the coming bad weather. Now is the time to paint or creocote your wooden coop if you haven't done so already. It's also the time to make any repairs that you've been putting off. Believe me, that slightly wobbly roof panel is a doddle to repair on a warm August afternoon. It is an absolute nightmare to try and reattach during gale force winds on a rainy night in November. If anything is loose, tighten it. Make sure that you have no leaks and that all areas of the housing stay dry and are draught free. In my experience, children like to help with this bit. Or perhaps I just have particularly vindictive offspring who like 'accidentally' soaking their mother with the hose.

Now, just a word of warning. I often go away for the weekend, so my birds are left overnight. During the spring and autumn, I make sure that they have enough food, fill the drinker to the top and know that the chickens will be fine. I would strongly advise against this during the summer. It's amazing how quickly the weather can change in the UK. A thirsty, hot hen can drink a lot of water, and the worst case scenario is that your birds end up on an unexpectedly hot afternoon without anything to drink. I always ask someone to pop around to check the water and birds at this time of year, and I'd strongly advise you to do the same. If you absolutely have to go away and can't find anyone to pop in, please make sure that you put an extra drinker in the run. A friendly neighbour can usually be persuaded with the promise of fresh eggs, though, especially if you reassure them that they won't have to actually touch the birds so don't need any specialist knowledge. Or maybe that's just my neighbours.

If you have pure breeds, you might well still be dealing with the broody relay event. I know I am. My broody cage is still pretty much fully occupied. As annoying as it is, try and stay on top of any broodies you don't actually want to sit. As has been covered before, a broody hen is vulnerable to all kinds of nasties, so really it's for her own good. Of course, she won't see it that way. I recommend decent gardening gloves to avoid a narky hen from removing your fingernails as you prize her from the nest. A minimum stay of 48 hours in the slammer seems to cure most of them, but a really determined girl may need longer. Persevere. After all, being beaten by a chicken would be humiliating.

Last but not least this month, try and find some time to just enjoy watching your birds pottering around. No matter how many illnesses, parasites, broodies, garden vandalism incidents, poos on the back door step and the occasional homicidal tendency your birds may thrust upon you, nothing makes it all seem more worthwhile than watching them happily scratching about and generally getting on with chickeny business. So sit out one evening, glass in hand, and rediscover why you do all this hard work.