How To Care For Fowlyard Maintenance In winter

Winter brings unique challenges. They're different for each of us, but the suggestions that have been gathered together here will make poultry care easier and more enjoyable.

Pack Up Pathways

Muddy paths are particularly treacherous when hands are full; one slip and you're in the mud. Spend the egg money on gravel or woodchips or, if your talents extend to concreting, you'll have an all-weather walkway that needs little attention. Pushing the wheelbarrow will never be easier.

Rest The Fowlyard

A fully covered outdoor yard is a wise investment. Uncovered yards look like gold diggings in summer and a war zone in winter. Even covering over half of the yard is worthwhile. It's sensible to rest a muddy yard. A wet area provides ideal conditions for poultry worms to complete their lifecycle, with continual reinfection likely. If space permits, the winter months spent indoors on deep litter will be healthier for the flock.

Sow a crop in the resting fowlyard. Use birdseed or wild bird mix or go a step further and sow cress and mustard. This combination is believed to have a sweetening effect on the soil, degrading any pathogens present. You won't need to harvest it; in spring,the chooks will turn it over for you.

"Winter is the prime time for rodent invasion and they will eat or defecate over feed they can introduce ectoparasites"

Wind Protection In Fowlyard

Numerous manufactured poultry units are designed to have four open netted sides and an elevated house under a roof. A box-like house is too small for hanging out in and the open sides offer no protection from the elements. Traditional skillion shed-type housing may offer little wind protection, either.

Cold Birds become inactive, egg lay drops, susceptibility to disease increases and extra food is eaten to generate body heat. A knee-high length of flat iron, marine plywood or well-attached corflute will redirect wind away from birds. Whatever barrier you attach, it must not cover the entire henhouse front or ventilation will be impaired. A blind attached to the plywood or iron barrier and pulled upwards will allow you to adjust the air and light entering the house. Buy a cheap readymade blind or make your own using heavy clear plastic.

• Check ventilation.
• If there are signs of condensation on the roof, there is insufficient air movement.
• Check air quality too.
• If there's a hint of ammonia increased airflow is required.

Absorbent Litter For Fowlyard

1. The right litter will keep a henhouse warm. absorb moisture and dilute the daily droppings. 
2. With deep litter, the floor material is built up to 8-12cm and maintained over winter at this depth.
3. It has to be light enough for the birds to turn it over, which maintains friability. 
4. Scattered grain encourages scratching which, together with microbial activity, facilitates the breakdown of the material.
5. Not all litters are equal. Straw must be cut short to enable ease of turning over Wet or damp straw is vulnerable to mould development, which is dangerous to poultry. 
6. Sugarcane mulch needs to be watched, too, though it's less susceptible to moulds than straw.
7. Wood shavings from untreated wood are ideal. Their light nature facilitates easy scratching and they are low in dust. 
8. You could use sawdust but it must be coarse and contaminant free. However, it does generate a lot of dust and is inclined to clump together.
9. Rice hulls are popular: they're light and very absorbent but a little dusty first up. 
10. Shredded paper is also light and absorbent, as are autumn leaves, but both are carried on wet shoes and distributed everywhere.
11. You don't clean out weekly with deep litter; it's left so the microbes can assist with breakdown. 
12. Removing unsightly feathers, vegie stalks and the like is fine, though.

RODENT REVELRY

Winter is the prime time for rodent invasion and they will eat or defecate over feed, boosting the feed bill. They can introduce ectoparasites and disease pathogens so must be controlled. Mice are relatively easy to eliminate. They set up home in close proximity to their feed source. A quick dispatch occurs if boiling water is poured into holes and this is preferable to the lingering effects of bait. Alternatively, set up bait stations out of the reach of kids and pets. Consider baits carefully. The single feed group is strong-acting and likely to have a deleterious effect on owls and other prey creatures.

Rats are a challenge. They're likely to move out for the duration of the baiting program then take up residence again. The key is their fear of change: set up bait stations and do not move them. Allow a period for acceptance of bait and then refresh with the same product — no short-term chopping or changing. A single-feed is more suited to rats than multi-feed products because even if rats don't ingest enough bait to kill them they will never touch the particular product again. The right litter will keep a henhouse warm absorb moisture and dilute the daily droppings

A Warm Start

• Many people like to provide a warm mash on winter mornings and this can be as simple as covering some pellets with warm water. Let stand five minutes for water absorption then give to birds.
• Other people make porridge (avoid instant oats) and mix in yoghurt, whey or cooled water from cooked vegies. Seeds and even chopped herbs can be added. 
• Do not feed uncooked linseed; it has a cyanoglycoside that can cause poisoning. Heat from cooking destroys this function.
• The best way to warm birds up is to get them moving. Site the henhouse so they get the early-morning sun and toss mixed grain, diced vegie peelings or even cut grass onto the litter and the forensic search for treasure will warm the girls up.

And don't forget the greens. They are a source of vitamin A, which protects mucous membranes and so helps ward off winter colds. Leaves with a zing such as rocket and mustard could be offered along with silverbeet and brassicas.