Are you lucky enough to be able to keep hens at home? It’s a great eco-friendly practice, as these animals eat fruit and vegetable peels, pastas, salads, cheese, herbs and veg garden waste, as well as providing fresh eggs all year round. What’s more is that children love them. However, it can happen that the hens start to lay eggs less frequently, which is a cause for concern. There is an easy way to stimulate the laying of eggs, and have your hens laying just as much as before.
What you need:
- Fresh nettles
What to do:
1) Go in search of some nettles and pick a few.
2) Crush them well, for example using a pestle and mortar.
3) Mix the crushed nettles with the food you generally give to your hens. You should see a quick increase in the number of eggs being layed!
Granny’s bonus tips for those who keep hens or who are thinking about it:
- Two hens are enough for a family of four people. On the other hand don’t leave a chicken on their own, as they will get bored. But taking too many chickens could ruin your garden (which can also happen if the hens don’t have enough space).
- Hens lay less or not at all during winter, but the best types of hens for laying during this period are Alsacienne or French Hens, modern hybrids and Plymouth Rocks.
- Set fixed times for feeding them and returning them to the chicken coop. Hens love routine!
- To have happy hens, in good health and who lay well, take good care of the chicken coop: wash the trough every day, sweep the chicken coop and wash it with soapy water every week, disinfect it and check regularly that there are no parasites. Change the location of the hen house regularly, if possible.
- After about three years, a chicken will produce far fewer eggs. After 8 years, they stop producing eggs completely. You can keep them, give them away or eat them, but if you want eggs you will definitely have to get new hens after three years.
- Think about protecting your plants from the hens, by removing them from the area or placing them in an enclosure.
Sources : BioAddict ; Plantes-et-jardins
- Main image: poules-club.com