Summertime and the Living Is Easy

Gardens and chickens are thirsty this time of year so keep checking that they have enough water. Let your chickens roam in the garden and they will pick off pests like slugs and flies. You may want to protect young shoots though as chickens can be quite partial to tender young plants.

Stephanie Croft's chickens enjoy their Eglu Cube and Run in the summer garden

Chickens Need Shade

Provide your chickens with some shade. They might find some shade under a bush or an overhanging tree, but if they are in the run they will need something more. The Omlet Shade allows you to cover part of your run so that they can shelter from the heat. Alternatively, the Eglu Go Up provides shelter underneath the coop.

An Eglu Classic and run with a shade cover to protect the chickens from the sun

Chickens Love A Dust Bath

Chickens love to dust bathe in the warm weather, but you might not want them scraping around in your flower beds. The best thing to do is to build another flower bed (but not for your flowers) and fill it with some sand, soil and some louse powder, but make sure that you cover it up when your chickens aren’t using it otherwise the rain might turn it into a mud bath.

Get Your Picnic Table Out

Summer is the perfect time to hang out with your chickens. On a warm day call up your friends to join you in the garden with your hens. Make a day of it and bring out the tea whilst watching your chickens forage for bugs in the grass.

Broody Hens

Your chickens may go broody around now; to prevent this make sure you collect the eggs regularly. A daily collection will do it, but if you leave them for any longer your hens may be inclined to start sitting on them.