Autumn and Chickens

It’s autumn, one of the most cherished times of the year, aside from spring, and summer and winter. I love the seasons all year round, but there is something about the warmth, colour, contrast and change that fall brings. So far our fall here in southern Ontario has been very sunny, warm, and relatively dry. I’ve harvested most of the vegetables in the garden and laid new bulbs to rest, until they awaken in the new light of spring. 

Fall is the perfect time to finish what you started in the spring and summer. For me that means getting up even earlier to saw wood and paint my coop and run extension. Its perfect weather for this, its still warm enough to work outside without dying of heat exhaustion or freezing your fingers off. For chicken keepers, fall is when you make some choices before winter sets in. If you have a large number of birds (like me), its time to decide who gets sold or well... processed.

Beautiful light, and lazy afternoon sunflower treats, what a great idea!

Depending on the size of your coop, you need to think about warmth. Chickens will roost together and stay relatively warm at night, but as temperatures plummet at night, its important to think about adding additional heat, insulation and fatty foods that will help elevate body temperature. 

If you like to rake your leaves, I recommend dumping them in the chicken run! The chickens will love to scratch around, picking out the bugs, once the leaves break down you’ll have a new layer of compost between your girls and the years chicken waste. You can also remove this chicken-leaf mix and mulch it onto your gardens.

So much colour and contrast this time of year!

Planting bulbs is a big fall activity and don’t forget to plant daffodils around your run and coop! Daffodils naturally deter digging pests, such as skunks, possums, rats, squirrels and mice. You can buy bulk bushels online and plant them up until the first heavy frost. Its a beautiful solution from digging pests if you ask me. 

Keep and eye out for fall molting cycles and make sure your hens have all the nutrition they need to keep them happy and strong during these periods. Hens usually molt once a year in the fall and will stop laying during this time. Molting cockerels can be a sign of infertility or and stress induced molting can lead to infertility. After the molt, your birds will be twice as perky and beautiful as they were before.

Don't forget the pumpkin as a treat! Your chickens will love them!