Chicken Health in Winter

At this time of year older chickens are starting to moult and it's a good time to give them some extra nutrition to maintain their condition and appetite. I use a liquid feed supplement which contains iron and phosphorous in a syrup base which is diluted with water. I prefer to use a small drinker and refill it each day - I think this one was sold for use with a parrot cage! They really do love it and I have a job to get into the enclosure without getting mobbed. You can also use liquid feeds in the chickens' main water source but as my girls have an open trough it can be wasteful when it comes to refilling because of soiling. Younger birds in their first year tend not to moult until Spring and will likely carry on laying through the winter months. On the HenSafe smallholding we have a mix of older and younger chickens so we are looking forward to scrambled eggs for breakfast on Christmas Day! #enjoyyourchickens

Chickens enjoying their winter tonic drink