Hens and Hygiene


If there’s one thing that Joe Public claims to know about chickens, it’s that they’re unhygienic. In fact, such a claim is a sure sign that someone knows nothing about chickens and has certainly not spent any significant amount of time observing them. One need only watch a free ranging hen for a few minutes to witness a range of cleaning behaviours, including preening and dust bathing – to reduce the occurrence of mites. Indeed, there’s no such thing as an unhygienic chicken but there are, unfortunately, unhygienic owners.

Like any animal, chickens will begin to smell if their litter is allowed to accumulate over a small area for a prolonged period. The solution? Muck out your chickens regularly – how regularly will depend on how many chickens you keep, over how big an area, in how big a coop. In most situations a complete bedding change once a month should be considered a minimum requirement (remember the soiled bedding can be composted).

Hens haves something of a reputation for attracting vermin. It’s true that sometimes chickens and rodents do go hand in hand. However, again, this has nothing to do with hens but rather the owners. Rats are attracted to anywhere with an abundance of waste food. So, to keep your garden vermin-free but chicken friendly, be sure to feed your chickens in the morning and remove any excess food before the hens head to bed for the night. Also, be sure to keep your feed store away from your chicken coop and keep corn in a dustbin with a relatively heavy lid.

The final, and most serious worry people have regarding chickens is to do with avian influenza, or bird ‘flu as it is better known. The first thing to make clear is that wild birds, rather than domestic hens, are carriers of the H5N1 virus. You are approximately as likely to catch the virus off your friends as you are off a pet chicken – and the probability in both cases is currently miniscule.

If you do decide hens are for you, Caring Creatures is here to help. Browse our selection of chicken articles. Plus, join our extremely friendly community of caring creatures to meet and chat to other chicken lovers.

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