Compulsory housing for chickens – the best tips for healthy hens

If you keep chickens, you've certainly experienced it in recent years: the mandatory confinement of chickens during the avian flu pandemic. This requires every owner to keep poultry exclusively indoors.

Especially in summer, confinement to a coop is a bitter pill to swallow, because your chickens love nothing more than running through the grass, pecking at the soil, and searching for worms, insects, and the like. This not only keeps them occupied and follows their instincts, but also provides them with important nutrients. Furthermore, daylight promotes egg production.

To ensure that neither the egg production nor boredom and the health of your chickens suffer, you will find valuable tips here on how to keep them happy and healthy during confinement.

Chicken farming – what does compulsory housing mean?

When cases of avian influenza or poultry disease occur, the Ministry of Agriculture has been mandating for several years that chickens and other poultry be kept indoors. This is intended to prevent the spread of avian influenza. Indoor confinement means that the birds are not allowed to roam freely in outdoor enclosures. Even fencing in an aviary is not sufficient!

It's important to avoid contact with wild birds at all costs. Especially if migratory birds are traveling through your region, there's an increased risk of avian influenza. Check regularly with your state or local government for the latest information.

Chicken coop: Happy chickens despite compulsory housing

Chickens get bored just as quickly during confinement periods as we humans do when we're not allowed to leave our apartments or houses. While you should let your chickens out into the run from sunrise to sunset, especially during the warmer months, confinement quickly puts a damper on your plans.

Boredom can affect your chickens' mood and lead to stressed and possibly aggressive behavior in the hens. It's important to keep this stress and a decrease in egg production to a minimum.

With a few of our tips, you can still keep your chickens entertained during their confinement period – quickly and easily. And if your schedule and, above all, space allow, you can provide your birds with even more comfort with a little effort.

Tip 1: Enlarge the chicken coop for more space

Do you have a lot of space around the chicken coop? Then it might be worth adding an extension to the coop. This doesn't have to be a major construction project. You can use large tents or pavilions as an extension. Or is there a shed or garage nearby that can be converted into a protected run with a tarp and fence?

If your chickens don't have access to a dust bath, it's essential that you continue to give them the opportunity to brood. It's not just a natural behavior for poultry—it's also about the health of your chickens. If a tub of Cumbasil Mite as a sand bath, this is one of the most effective methods for cleaning the feathers and preventing mites.

However, the dust bath should be in the annex and not in the stable itself, so that too much dust is not stirred up!

Hiding places also contribute to the well-being of the birds. Your hens can hide in a lying bucket or ceramic pot to relax for a while.

But even a few additional perches in the coop will provide more space and less crowding. If you have an aviary, you can cover it with some tarps to create more open space.

Tip 2: Hygiene as protection against bird flu

During the avian influenza outbreak, the primary goal is to prevent your chickens from having contact with wild birds. But you yourself must also adhere to hygiene rules to avoid introducing viruses.

Wear clean clothes and shoes that you only wear in the coop. And avoid other people and pets coming into contact with the chickens to prevent possible transmission.

Tip 3: Mite-free chicken coop for healthy chickens

If your chickens stay in the coop around the clock, regular cleaning is of utmost importance. You should keep the areas where they spend most of their time especially clean and disinfected. Daily cleaning is recommended around nesting boxes, perches, and water and feed bowls.

To protect your chickens' health and well-being, you should prevent the red mite and other pests from spreading. With our tips for preventing mites in the chicken coop, you can You ensure early on that the mite pressure does not become too high.

Tip 4: Light in the chicken coop

Chickens need light, not only for their health but also for egg production. In summer, the birds are accustomed to seeing daylight from early morning until late evening. A lot of light suggests to the chicken that there is plenty of food. This makes them feel safe and lay more eggs. Chickens receive up to 16 hours of light in summer.

In autumn and winter, but also during periods when they are kept indoors, it is essential that your chickens receive sufficient artificial light from lamps so they continue to feel safe. This prevents premature molting and a lack of egg laying.

Tip 5: Feed as a chicken activity

Chickens love to peck for their food. This isn't possible in confined spaces, so other options are needed. A small pile of bark mulch, straw, hay, or, depending on the season, leaves in the coop can provide the chickens with a lot of enjoyment. If you then mix a few mealworms from the pet store into the pile, they'll have plenty to keep them occupied.

Feeding toys are also a great way to provide your chickens with a healthy diet and keep them occupied during their coop days. Having them struggle to get their food is a great way to prevent stress and boredom.

Hang fruit or vegetables from the wall in the coop with string or rope, or skewer apples, etc., on wooden poles or tree branches! This will provide the chickens with vitamins and nutrients. Feed can also be hung in baskets or nets.

Important: The food should never have come into contact with wild birds. The same applies to drinking water! Therefore, only give them clean water, not rainwater or similar.

Tip 6: Playfully banish boredom in the chicken coop

It's not just food that's a breeze to keep your chickens busy. With a little creativity, you can build a kind of obstacle course out of wood, pipes, and slats. The birds can run through it or pass the time on round perches.

Maybe not every chicken – or every breed of chicken – will accept this offer, but you can easily awaken the playful instinct in more lively and curious animals.

If you have an external extension to your coop, a greenhouse tunnel made of plastic is also a good idea. This can also serve as a connection between the coop and the extension. Your chickens will feel comfortable in it and can safely explore their new surroundings.