Keeping Chickens Month by Month: September

As we say goodbye to August, we're also saying goodbye to the British summer. Some of you might well be thinking: what summer?! But here in the midlands it very much made itself known. The last few months have been hot and extremely dry. The chickens have loved this, of course, as the entire flower border has become one giant dust bath. As I've watched various plants lean at alarming angles before finally giving up trying to withstand a bathing chicken, I can't say I'm particularly pleased about it.

But things are on the turn. Today, as I type this at the tail end of August, the heavens have opened. The ground is sucking up the rain eagerly, and the hens are grumpily glaring at me from their covered run. I understand that other breeds of chicken will go out in the rain, but my feather footed Pekins are not keen. They very much dislike getting their feet wet. For that reason, having a covered run seems like a very good idea. Even if your hens don't mind getting an impromptu shower, it's still well worth making sure that they have somewhere dry to potter about during the winter months. If you don't have a covered run, you'll soon find that your chickens will be knee deep in a muddy bog. You can cover your run relatively cheaply with a sheet of corrugated plastic, and this might be the month to think about it. It's certainly preferable to spend a few minutes now adding a roof rather than clearing a snow filled run in your wellies and dressing gown in November..

If you hatched chicks this year and are planning on keeping them, I'd seriously consider integrating them in with your main flock this month if you haven't done so already. Of course, really young birds shouldn't be mixed, but if they're now old enough to hold their own when the older flock members give chase, I'd certainly be making it a priority. There is nothing worse in the depths of winter than having to trudge around multiple housing sites making sure everyone is ok. Much easier if they've got used to each other and can use each other for heat. Even the tetchiest of hens will snuggle up to their flock mates during very cold weather. You'll worry less when the temperature plunges, too. Everyone has their own ideas for integration. Some swear by sticking the new birds in to the coop at night, and just leaving them to get on with it. I tend to get them all used to each other free ranging first, and then lock them in to the run for increasing lengths of time. When I can be sure nothing will be murdered, I take the plunge and stick them all in together full time. It usually goes quite smoothly. Still, it's best to be prepared for any serious bullying. You can buy anti-peck sprays which make the victim taste vile to the bully, and it should encourage them to eat the pellets rather than any newbies. If a bullying problem persists, it can be helpful to isolate the bully for a few days. When reintroduced, it seems to shake up the pecking order a bit and put everyone on a more even playing field.
You will probably start to notice more stray feathers this month. Most hens will have a full moult once a year, and for reasons that are totally lost on me they seem to choose autumn as the best time to go bald. Some hens do this sensibly, losing patches of feathers and regrowing them before losing more. But some hens just sort of explode and scuttle about the garden in a vaguely embarrassed manner looking oven ready. Either way, they tend to feel a bit poorly. Supplements can be helpful at this time and try to keep handling to a minimum. You can also kiss goodbye to any eggs. A hen growing feathers has no energy left for making breakfast treats. Chickens don't appreciate drafty coops at the best of times, but during a moult it's even more important that they have a comfortable, draft free coop to retire to at the end of the day. I spoil my girls a bit when they're in moult, and don't hold any pecking against them.

Winter is around the corner, but no one has told the parasites that. It still pays to be vigilant, and keep sprinkling that red mite powder. Don't rely on the cold to kill off an infestation. As has been discussed in articles on this very website, red mite can lay dormant for a very long time. If you have an infestation, they need removing with extreme prejudice. Check the red mite pages for more details on how to decimate the nasty critters. I also like to worm my birds again in September. I tend to go by the 'better safe than sorry' philosophy when it comes to my garden vandals.