Never Ending Rain and Wet Chickens

The weather has just got worse and worse these last two months. Pretty constant high winds and rain mean everyone is pretty miserable – especially the chickens.

Due to very little break in the rain we have been deep littering them quite often as it has been so heavy a proper clean out just results in the inside of the house getting very wet. I’m not a huge fan of deep littering, but sometimes it makes things a lot easier – especially when you have a sickly toddler wanting to “help” in the cold and wet!

Deep Littering

When deep littering the coop I use Stalosan F over the old litter, then aubiouse or similar, then a lot of straw into the nest boxes. I also make sure that every other week is a proper clean out. With the ducks I did in Winter used to deep litter for up to a month, but the chickens complain more than the ducks did!

Wet Garden

The garden has been getting very wet and although the coop is dry, even the lawn has been soaking as so much rain coming down and flowing from the fields above. We’ve even had the area by the back door a good couple of inches high due to volume of water flowing off the field behind the house. This has meant very unhappy pussy cats too as they had to wade through it to come in the catflap.

Poor Star with her lovely white feathering is now more of a mucky brown as she still keeps trying to dust bathe, despite the fact the dust is mud and I then feel the need to help dry her off.

Wit it being so wet and cold we have been making them a warming layers pellet mash as well as getting them some corn for the evenings. It isn’t actually all that cold here, in fact it is unseasonably warm, but the wet can give a chill; plus they love their mash and corn treats.

Little Red & Spring Chicks

When our neighbour’s hen appeared in the Summer with us not knowing where she was from, Gabe named her Little Red and now keeps asking about her. So much so we have promised him in the spring that we will go and get him a Little Red of his own. I was tempted to get a couple or rescue hens, but fear that Bolshy is rather aggressive and we don’t have space for two coops. So the plan is now to pop along to the Spring Poultry Auction or to a local breeder and pick up two POL warrens. Although looking back at pictures of our last chicks in the brooder it is making me rather broody myself and wanting to show Gabe from egg to hen – decisions, decisions.

Hopefully no matter what we decide we will then have a happy toddler plus more yummy eggs since he now loves his dippy eggs and would have them daily for breakfast!