Why Wet Weather Wears Hens Down

A hen's idea of a good day involves scratching, dust bathing and pottering about in the open air. Prolonged rain takes all three away, and it does more than leave the flock looking sorry for themselves. Muddy ground becomes a slurry that clings to feathers and feet, damp bedding chills birds overnight, and wet litter encourages the organisms behind respiratory trouble and coccidiosis. Hens also dislike wet feet intensely — they will hunch on a perch for hours rather than paddle through a puddle, which brings boredom, feather pecking and a drop in laying.

The reassuring news is that a handful of practical adjustments to housing, ground and routine will carry your birds through the wettest weeks in good health.

Deep Bedding That Genuinely Stays Dry

The single most effective change is to run a proper deep litter system in the hen house. Aim for 15–20 cm of loose, dry bedding, built up in layers rather than dumped in all at once. Good choices include:

• Wood shavings — absorbent, cheap and easy to buy by the bale.
• Hemp bedding — the most absorbent of the lot, and it composts beautifully.
• Chopped straw or rape straw pellets — fine in small quantities, but whole straw is best avoided, as it mats down and moulds.

Each morning, scatter a fresh handful over the top and fork the litter through. This keeps it aerobic, helps it compost gently and generates a whisper of warmth under the birds. Test it with your hand: if a squeezed handful drips, the whole lot needs replacing rather than topping up. Pay attention to corners, the space beneath the drinker and the floor under the perches, where damp gathers first. A light dusting of diatomaceous earth as you go will help keep mites and lice in check.

Roof the Run Before the Rain Arrives

At least half of the run should be under a solid roof, ideally the half nearest the pop hole. Clear corrugated PVC sheets fixed to a simple timber frame are ideal: they shed water, let daylight through and last for years. A heavy-duty clear tarpaulin stretched over weldmesh panels works almost as well, provided you pitch it so rain runs off rather than pooling in the middle.

Leave one long side open. Hens need moving air far more than they need warmth, and a stuffy, sealed run is a recipe for respiratory problems. On the windward side, fix a hurdle, a pallet or windbreak netting rather than solid boarding, so draughts are broken without stopping ventilation. Check the run is not sitting in a hollow; if it is, dig a shallow channel along the uphill edge and lead the water away.

Set Up a Covered Dust Bath

Dust bathing is how hens condition their feathers and smother external parasites, and it is the first thing they lose when the ground turns wet. Keep one going under the run roof or in a large shallow tray inside the hen house.

• Mix roughly equal parts dry sand and dry soil.
• Add a couple of handfuls of wood ash if you have a stove, plus a sprinkle of diatomaceous earth.
• Use a tray or trug about 10–15 cm deep and wide enough for a bird to lie down and roll in.

Cover it with a board overnight, or move it indoors, and stir it up whenever it starts to cake. A dry dust bath is worth its weight in gold during a wet spell.

Beating the Mud Outside

If the run is already poached, lay a 10 cm layer of woodchip over the worst of it and top it up as needed. Move feeders and drinkers onto paving slabs or timber pallets, or hang them at shoulder height, so birds are not standing in slop to eat. A couple of slabs forming a path to the pop hole keeps feet cleaner and reduces mud tracked indoors.

On the very wettest days, it is kinder to keep hens in a larger covered run than to let them churn up the garden. Give them something to do: a log pile to explore, a hanging cabbage, a pecking block or a dust bath in a trug. Bored hens in a wet run will peck each other long before they will peck a cabbage.

Small Daily Checks That Pay Off

Five minutes a day is enough to catch most wet-weather trouble early. Look closely at each bird and check for mud balls between the toes and any swelling on the sole that might signal bumblefoot, which is far more common in damp conditions and among feather-footed breeds. Part the feathers around the vent and under the wings for lice and mite eggs. Make sure drinkers are clean; muddy water spreads disease quickly through a flock, even when the birds themselves are dry.

Keep feeders topped up and check the feed for mould in damp weather, as it spoils faster than you would expect. Grit should always be available. Finally, a warm mash — layers' pellets mixed with warm water — is a lovely morale booster on a grim morning and a good way to get reluctant birds eating. Keep treats as treats, though, and let the pellets do the heavy lifting.