Help provide your hens with a natural balanced diet by feeding them a good quality feed such as layers pellets, meal or crumb.  This has all the vitamins, minerals and supplements they need in order to stay healthy and to lay good strong shelled eggs bursting with goodness.  This can be fed ad-lib in a feeder and should be kept as dry as possible

In addition to the layers pellets you can give them a handful of mixed corn scattered on the ground in the afternoon or early evening, corn and pellets are like chocolate and vegetables to chickens, if they don’t eat the pellets they get no treats.

Green vegetables are good for them too, hang a cauliflower or cabbage on a string and watch them strip it clean, the green leafed vegetables have a natural colorant in it that helps turn their yolks nice and orange.  Cooked rice, pasta and bread are great favourites too but remember – no pellets no pudding!

Chickens are natural scavengers and will scratch around looking for something to eat all day, they do wonders to a vegetable patch in the winter raking through the soil eating all the bugs and slugs.

What you feed your hens ultimately ends up in your eggs, the better quality feed you give them the better it is for you both.

Cotswold Chickens currently stock Allan & Page feed specialists Smallholder Range pellets, meal and super mixed corn.  We also stock The Organic Company’s feed.

It’s most important for them to have a good supply of fresh water, you’ll be surprised how much they drink.  In the summer months be sure they have access to water that hasn’t been in the sun all day, if your water is in a galvanised drinker make sure it’s in the shade – they won’t drink hot water.

The welfare of your hen is top priority so handle them gently but supportively. Hold the hens so that she is balanced by resting her weight on your forearm, her head towards your elbow, her legs dangling between your hand and her tail pointing away from you – the dangerous end!

A balanced, well supported hen should not struggle, this leaves you free to inspect her health and look for any signs of red mite, lice etc.

Wherever you purchase your pullets from make sure that you look for simple signs of health.  A clear bright eye, clean nostril and mouth and (depending on the age of the pullet) a small pale cone, wattles and face.  Their legs should be clean, smooth and free from lifting scales.  Check their vent area for signs of soiled feathers also this area is a favourite for red mite.

This is a harmless procedure which involves trimming the flight feathers on one side to hinder any thoughts she might have of being able to fly.  As keeping hens in the garden is becoming more popular we use this procedure to try and keep the hen from exploring places (like the next door neighbours garden) that she shouldn’t.  However, if you have them free range then this is not usually advisable as she might just need the ability to get up and out the way should you be visited by Mr Fox.

In theory you should only need to do this the once as she kind of forgets she can fly and by the time she’s had her moult and got them back again then it’s home to her, she gets fed and watered and hopefully has a happy life.

The common poultry louse is yellow in colour and flat in shape and lives mostly under the tail. It lays its eggs at the base of the feathers forming a clump of what looks like white sugar. The bird is better off without these, but they are not life threatening.

The de-pluming mite is hard to see as it is very small and is usually found in the head and neck region. Northern fowl mite is a bloodsucker and will eventually kill a bird if left. These mites live on the bird and can be found anywhere, but especially under the tail and in the crest of crested breeds.

The previous three parasites can be controlled by the use of louse powder (or spray). To apply, hold the bird by its legs, turn it on its back and place on the ground or a table, pressing it down gently to hold it still. Sprinkle the powder under the tail, under the wings, along the body, up the neck including the ear canals, and over the back. Rub the powder well in. Once a month should be enough, but all these parasites breed extremely quickly if left unattended. Even if you don't observe a problem, applying the powder periodically as a preventative measure is advisable.

The chickens’ natural defence to mites is to have a dust bath, they dig themselves a pit in some sandy loose soil and kick up dirt with their feet.  They then roll and twist in it and shake themselves making the dust go between their feathers.  This acts in the same way that a facial scrub does – it loosens the dead skin cells and removes all the dirt and bugs.

If you know it’s going to be dry for a few days then shake some red mite or louse  powder into their dust bath and mix it around, then when the hen has her bath she will get the powder into all the right places much more efficiently that you will ever be able to do.

The red mite lives in the housing (particularly under perches and cracks or crevices) and feeds on the blood of the bird at night and is again a potential killer if left unattended. Available from most pet stores is a good spray for the housing as it is persistent, but every nook and cranny must be sprayed, including under any felt on the roof and especially in perch sockets. With a ten day life cycle, vigilance against this mite is time well spent.

Raised and encrusted scales on the legs is an indication of the scaly leg mite. It lives and burrows under the scales and causes intense irritation. Surgical spirit in a wide-mouthed jar is an easy treatment and is not toxic to the birds, unlike other preparations. Dunk legs once a week for three weeks, but it will take a long time, maybe a year, for the legs to look normal as scales grow very slowly but are replaced annually.

There are six different types inhabiting different parts of the hen, most of them in various areas of the intestine. Hens get an immunity to worms eventually but stress (for example, caused by moving to a new environment) can disturb the hen's immune system and the worms then breed wildly and affect the health of the hen.

Wormer should only be purchased from a licensed supplier like your vet, an agricultural merchant or specialist supplier.