With Guy Fawkes only a couple of days away there’s a huge amount of celebration to be had. Whilst we’re trying to avoid baked hedgehogs and roasted frogs legs, it’s important to spare a thought for your happy hoard of hens. As the dogs whimpers under a rug and the cat has shat itself and is cowering under the bed, your poor hens are being deafened in their coop. It has to be said that my ladies are fairly used to rockets and bangs and pops throughout the year due to Eid and Diwali in addition to Bonfire Night, but I still don’t want frightened girls as dusk descends and fireworks fill the air.

Ensure your happy hens are protected from a fright night

Whilst lifting bins of ready-to-burn logs off the floor is a good way to stop amphibians and hedgehogs looking for a home from wandering in, shutting your girls into their coop should be a must. If you have a stationary run and coop like my system, lock the girls up tight into their inside quarters so that deafening roars are muffled a little. If you have a smaller system such as a coop and run complex, use some old carpet or sacking to help protect avian ears from the pops, sizzles and booms.

This years chicks have already heard their fair share of firework festivals, but Bonfire Night can be one of the loudest and most frightening of the year for many creatures. Birds of a lesser known constitution have been known to have the fright of their life, literally, and you don’t want to see the sad sight of a pile of cold feathers in the morning. So, whether you’re huddled on the couch with a trembling dog on your lap, or enjoying the bright lights outside as they fill the sky, make sure that your little ladies are having a night of terror.