Poor miserable hens

[Margaid]

My poor hens are moulting so I'm now averaging half an egg a day. They look so miserable because we have cold north winds and lots of showers or drizzly rain. They are spending most of their time perched on the deep plastic crate I put in their shelter as a dust bath - it keeps them out of the rain and away from the 6" gap around the bottom of the shelter where the wind is whipping through.

My main concern is that they don't seem to be eating very much and they're not scratching about much either in this horrible weather. Will they be eating enough to get them through the moult - does their consumption drop off if they're not laying?

 

[Marigold]

Have you tried them with a nice warm damp mash? They seem to go for this before roosting time even though it's just the normal stuff moistened.

 

[chrismahon]

Yes Margaid. For some daft reason ours stop eating when they are moulting and that's when they need the protein. Important they keep eating so try as Marigold suggests. Getting them out of the wind will help as chickens hate wind.

 

[foxy]

I find the same thing, feed consumption seems to go down when hens are in moult, and they are a bit more fussy. If they are on free range I wouldn't worry too much. Most of my hens are incredibly grumpy at the moment, and eggs...hmmm..what are they?

 

[BabyBantam]

I soak mealworms in hot water till soft, then drain and cover in layers mash. My lot practically fight over these as a bedtime treat. Not sure if the mash is enough to count, but helps with the protein intake

 

[Margaid]

They usually have sunflower hearts and mealworms as a treat about 4.30. The mealworm farm has got out of synch or else I haven't given them enough attention and had to resort to dried worms for a while. In January and February this year they had a warm mash in the morning to get them going so I'll try that again. I may have to think about getting some fish meal to increase the protein - they don't seem quite so fond of the peas this year.

One very real problem is that aren't wandering about the enclosure much because of the wind and rain. The position isn't ideal as it's quite exposed but it's difficult to move the enclosure at the moment. They have 800 sq m between 4 hens and a cock. When I next have some muscle power available I'll take the sin house off it's board. That will give them a nice grass free, bug laden patch to scratch in.