Happy Garden Hens

17/04/2024

Hi Happy Hen Keepers! Quick Question, what do you do when you go on holiday? Put your hens in hennels or ask a nice neighbour to look after them?

20/10/2023

Truly incredible and important news regarding broiler welfare! The Ixworth study, at the University of Bonn in Germany, has released the first of many scientific reports about the Ixworth. (France and Germany banned the culling of day old male chicks, thankfully, and the Ixworth was considered alongside many others for the future of poultry farming. The Ixworth was found to be the best option.) Huge steps towards more ethical poultry farming are being made. I'm so very proud to have played a small part in this and can't wait to see how broiler welfare will improve!

If you'd like to read this study, see this link...

Killing male one-day-old chicks, especially from layer lines, is banned in some European countries. Therefore, dual-purpose chickens, where each s*x is used for meat and egg production, respectivel...

16/07/2022

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! The last time it was nearly this hot, I got lots of messages about hens who had died in the heat. So, start preparing today and tomorrow for next week's warning!
1. Move your chickens into the shade and cover part/all of their run if you don't have any shade in your garden.
2. Get your chickens some tasty watermelon and put it out for them to eat (they'll be less likely to drink water in this heat and the watermelon will help to keep them hydrated).
3. Put a shallow tray of water out for your chickens to paddle in and keep cool (keep replacing this water if it gets warm). 4. WARNING SIGNS! Chickens will try to cool themselves by holding their wings out and away from their bodies. If they do this and breathe heavily through an open beak, they're really getting too hot. So, worse case scenario. Put each chicken into their own separate dog cage (with feed and water) and pop them all into a nice cool garage. (I know this last one is a faff, but it could save their lives.)

09/03/2022

Have any of you gone on to breed your own chickens? (They are addictive and many keepers will hatch some, even if it's only once.)

29/01/2022

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! How are you all finding life under the AIPZ measures? Any problems?

07/12/2021

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! Ixworth Lovers, check this out!!!

https://ixworthregistrar.msumner.co.uk/wp/?fbclid=IwAR2L19RnfWhvk_c2x8X01J-7N2uCEJ50fPO6PL5A-onFAyUtDXZiWdXovpE

Origins The Ixworth large fowl was developed by Reginald Appleyard, creator of the famous Silver Appleyard duck, at his farm in Ixworth Suffolk. Development started in 1931 and the new breed was accepted into the Poultry Club Standards in 1939. Back in the 1930’s, modern broiler chickens did not e...

18/04/2021

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! So, you've probably noticed that I've been unusually quiet lately and that I didn't run our annual chicken photography competition. I'd been very busy hatching a little project of my own... Meet Peter born 08-02-21 weighing less than 5lb 9oz after 9 whole hellish months of Hyperemesis Gravidarum and a CAT-1 emergency c-section.

06/12/2020

New Legislation about Poultry Housing to come into force for all chicken keepers on 14th December 2020. Check out what you need to do on the .GOV website and look for DEFRA Approved Disinfectants (and concentrations needed to kill Avian Influenza) here http://disinfectants.defra.gov.uk/DisinfectantsExternal/Default.aspx?Module=ApprovalsList_SI

30/11/2020

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! With Avian Influenza storming it's way across the country, check the Government legislation to protect both your flock and the National Flock. (It's a particularly nasty one this time, so it might be worth signing up for the APHA texts)... another consequence or 'intensive' poultry farming practices :(

22/06/2020

Hello Hen Keepers! Does anybody know any good chicken jokes? I love a chicken pun, but I don't know any jokes.

14/06/2020

Hello (hopefully ok and happy) Hen Keepers! I'm part of a team who are developing the ultimate online Poultry Breeder Directory, and we're looking for a small number of breeders to test and use this system. (They'll be given some free advertising later!)

Through this system, the British public will be able to search for all colours, breeds and species of Poultry more easily than ever before. (They'll also be able to save their favourite breeders!)

Poultry breeders will be able to showcase their stock on the most accessible and user-friendly website out there. They will also have total control over their advert, being able to update their information and stock lists instantly.

Any takers or thoughts?

12/06/2020

On Wednesday, one of my hens (Henrietta) couldn't walk. She was hobbled. My First Aid Coop and Run was already in use. (Grumpy hens on a time-out!) So, I put her into an enormous dog cage with fresh, comfortable bedding and everything she would need. Then, I rushed to call the Poultry Vet for help and, luckily, I got their next appointment.

When I met the vet, I explained that I thought she may have injured herself but, upon examination, he informed me that she was egg bound! I've never seen an egg bound hen present in this way. (Normally they walk like a penguin.) The egg was high up, but Dottie was very healthy and the vet thought that he would be able to manipulate it as long as she could push it a little further down. He prescribed calcium and a warm and humid environment. (We would take it day at a time for the next 48 hours before taking her back for a follow-up.)

Well, Henrietta moved straight into the conservatory (which is light and temperature regulated) and we set up all manner of humidifiers around her.

I monitored her every hour for the next 48 hours. (Yes, i'm now very tired!) But, I'm very pleased to say that Henrietta passed the blocked egg all by herself and within 48 hours!

She's now recovering in her own pen, enjoying all the attention and luxuries.

26/05/2020

It was a very difficult decision, made harder because we all like different options. So, in the end, we've decided on a bit of a mash up and we've chosen the names Speck and Speckle! (Speckle's behind Speck!) Thanks everyone for your ideas and thanks especially to Eunice Moore (Speck says thanks too!) x

23/05/2020

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! I need some help naming two of my chickens. (I'm not the most creative or original thinker, and they've been nick named 'Lady Leghorns' for far too long!) Go ahead and enter your suggestions and the winners will be the names I pick!

14/05/2020

Hello Happy Hen Keepers? I'm beginning to learn about Vlogs, and I'm planning on making lots of interesting videos about keeping chickens. In the meantime, would anybody be interested in a Webinar? If there's interest, then I'll definitely run one. It'll be a good opportunity to ask all manner of chicken keeping questions and I'll do my best to answer them for you. Any takers???

03/05/2020

The Coronavirus Chicken

Anybody who sells chickens will tell you that there has been a huge, and perhaps even unprecedented, spike in demand for garden chickens. Coronavirus has led to a shortage of eggs on supermarket shelves and a massive demand for things to do whilst we’re all cooped up. For many, keeping a small flock of garden (laying hens) seems to have been the solution.

But is this really wise? Read on and learn more...

https://www.happygardenhens.co.uk/2020/05/03/the-coronavirus-chicken/

01/05/2020

Hello Happy Hen Keepers! What do you know about happy, healthy hen behaviour? We're looking at feather condition this week and, in particular, the important of dust bathing and preening.

Dustbathing – Why Chickens Do It and Why it’s Important

If you’ve ever had chickens before, you’ll know that they like to dig lots of hen sized craters in the garden. (Bye-bye lawn!)

They do this to expose and loosen the lovely soil beneath. This makes for an excellent dust bath. Chickens need to be able to take a dustbathe every day because this helps them to maintain good feathers. It also helps them to get rid of external parasites.

Preening – Why Chickens Do It and Why It’s Important

Have you ever seen your chickens run their feathers through their beaks? This is called preening and it is a very common, and important, behaviour for birds.

Feather maintenance is a two part process. As well as taking a nice, long dust bath, your chickens will also preen their feathers every day. This involves conditioning and waterproofing the feathers, with oil from the preen gland, as well as dealing with any external parasites.

Got any good pictures of your chicken preening? Show them in the comments and we'll use some on our How to Keep Chickens Online Guide!

29/04/2020

When you just need one good picture of a hen bathing and you get this... 100 times! (Apparently Mrs Bouffant really wants to be in the shot!) (Oh and Pearl is just sitting with her brussel sprout...)