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Winter opening times at Hollywater Hens

With Winter closing in now, Hollywater Hens will be moving to our Winter opening hours after this weekend.
We will remain open at weekends from 10am to 4pm but will be closed on weekdays apart from Friday (by appointment only please)
Monday to Thursday – Closed
Friday – by appointment
Saturday and Sunday – 10am to 4pm
Halloween at Hollywater Hens

Keeping chickens – October tips

A hen keeper for more than 20 years with a 300 strong flock on her Hampshire / Surrey smallholding, chicken expert Suzie Baldwin from Hollywater Hens offers her advice and October tips for keeping chickens:

As the days are becoming shorter, I've cheered my self up by buying a lovely Trio of Brahmas They're beautiful. All my other birds fill the air with raucous clucks and cock-a-doodle-dos as they welcome the new arrivals. The turkey can't quite make them out. Meanwhile, Doris, a lovely speckled hybrid, is in trouble as she has tucked into a packet of custard creams left unattended on my desk in the stable-cum-office. They say chickens are stupid but she knows where the biscuit barrel is. Too much sugar on a regular basis can be harmful for poultry, but as an occasional treat it isn't a problem.

Halloween is on the way and if, like me, you carve a pumpkin for your porch, don't waste the seeds. They have been used for hundreds of years as a natural wormer for animals including chickens, which greatly to enjoy them. I whizz them in a blender and add a small amount of natural yogurt to make a smoothie. You could also feed them as they are, using a scooped-out pumpkin half as a bowl (they love the flesh, too). My children dot glowing lanterns around the
 field to scare foxes. It's worth a try and looks very pretty. At other times, I use natural wormer Verm-X, the fennel, peppermint and cinnamon helps keep chickens’ digestive system healthy.

Click here for details of Suzie Baldwin's hen keeping courses at Hollywater Hens, and have a look at some more of Suzie's tips for keeping chickens