When managing a mobile poultry house, several key elements must be taken into account to ensure both the welfare of the hens and optimal production. One of the most important aspects is the appropriate adaptation of the hens to the new conditions. New hens should have the opportunity to acclimatise to the new environment in a calm atmosphere. Regular observation of their behaviour, health and egg production will allow you to react quickly if problems arise.

To properly introduce hens to a mobile hen house, it is worth following a few specific steps:

1. Preparation of the living space

Before you put the chickens in the coop, you should make sure that the coop is fully prepared. Check that perches, nests, drinkers and feeders are clean and easily accessible. The mobile hen house should have adequate ventilation as well as fresh and dry litter so that the animals can move around freely.

It is also a good idea to secure the area around the poultry house, especially if it is in an open area where predators may be present. Fences or other security measures can protect the chickens from danger. This is why we always emphasise that the net over the run and the electric fence we offer are an absolute must for mobile chicken coops.

2. Familiarisation with the hen house

Hens, especially young ones, can initially be stressed by their new environment. To help them settle in, you should introduce them to the hen house in a calm atmosphere. It is important to give them a few days to familiarise themselves with their surroundings before they are allowed outside. The first few days can be crucial in building up a sense of security in the new place, which will help them to adapt more quickly.

It is therefore advisable not to let the hens outside at first, but to leave them in the coop so that they feel confident that this is their new, safe place – their HOME. This will help them to get used to returning to the coop after a day on the pasture. The hens need to learn that this is their main retreat, which is especially important with mobile hen houses that change location.

3. Gradual release outdoors

After the first few days, when the hens have become accustomed to the coop, they can gradually be released outside to explore their new environment. It is important to control this process at the beginning and observe how they react to the open space and whether they return to the coop at night without any problems. It is important that no predator can get to the chickens that are resting at night. This can be supported by an automatic system for opening and closing the exit flaps at times pre-programmed by the farmer, which is built into KROPPER’s mobile poultry houses, among others.

4. Observing the behaviour

After placing the chickens in the mobile chicken coop, regularly observe their behaviour. Check that all animals are eating, drinking and behaving naturally. Look out for symptoms of stress such as reduced feed intake, apathy, restlessness, pecking at each other’s feathers or climbing and stacking on top of each other. By observing the chickens’ health and behaviour in the first few days, you can identify problems such as illness or unmet needs and quickly eliminate them.

Remember that stress in chickens can lead to a drop in egg production or delay the start of laying altogether, so it is important to provide them with as calm and comfortable an environment as possible.

5. Facilitating access to feed and water

During acclimatisation, it is extremely important that the chickens have constant access to food and water. The feed should be placed in an easily accessible place and the water should always be clean and fresh. Adequate nutrition in the initial phase of the hens’ stay in the new environment reduces their stress and promotes the adaptation process. Poultry houses with automatic feeding systems and those equipped with a mobile app that allows constant monitoring of water and feed levels, such as the Auto-Feeder 225 model we offer, can be of great help in this regard.

6. Light to support adaptation

Adequate lighting in the henhouse is very important, especially in winter when the days are short. With sufficient lighting, the hens can maintain a regular daily rhythm, which has an impact on their health and egg production. Natural light helps the hens to orientate themselves in their new location and adequate lighting in the chicken coop can encourage the hens to spend more time there.

The poultry houses manufactured by KROPPER utilise LED lamp technology that can be automatically controlled by setting the on and off times. In addition, the lighting can be controlled independently on two levels so that the hens can be directed to their location even more effectively.

7. Changing the location of the poultry house

One of the most important aspects of mobile poultry houses is that they can be moved regularly. The hens need fresh pasture so that they have access to natural food sources such as grass and worms. However, in the first few weeks after the hens are housed, major changes should be avoided, such as moving the coop to another location or housing new hens. The stability of the environment helps the hens to acclimatise to the new location and reduces stress levels.

The adaptation of hens to a new mobile henhouse is a very complex but above all crucial process that requires patience and careful observation. It is important to provide the hens with rest, constant access to fresh feed and water and safe conditions to reduce stress and speed up the adaptation process. Automated systems, such as automatic feeders, lighting and exit flaps, can make poultry house management much easier. Regular monitoring and careful adjustments are key to hen health and optimal production.

Chickens are warm-blooded animals that have a relatively constant body temperature regardless of their environment. They have the ability to thermoregulate, which enables them to be active under different thermal conditions. Thermoregulation mechanisms include the ability to obtain energy from food, the contraction and dilation of blood vessels and the presence of feathers and fatty tissue. These characteristics make it easier for hens to survive low temperatures. Nevertheless, the farmer should adapt the hens’ care to winter conditions by taking the following aspects into account.

1. Protection from extreme temperatures

In winter, it is crucial for the health of the birds to maintain an optimum temperature in the poultry house. Mobile poultry houses are more susceptible to heat loss due to their construction, which is why it is worth paying attention to what they are made of when choosing a poultry house.

For example, the walls and roof of our mobile poultry house are made of 40 mm thick PIR insulation panels.

However, just like in our houses, additional heat sources should also be available in the poultry house in very cold weather. It is therefore possible to use fans, heaters or heat lamps to create optimal conditions in the poultry house.
It is also important to monitor the temperature regularly with thermometers and automatic temperature control systems so that conditions can be controlled at all times.

2. Provide adequate light

Short winter days can have a negative impact on egg production and the general well-being of the hens, which is why it is important to choose suitable artificial lighting. It is recommended to use LED lamps that emit a light spectrum similar to natural sunlight, which is comfortable for the hens and energy efficient.
Adequate lighting supports the animals’ natural biological rhythm, which in turn has a positive effect on their health and egg production. In addition, the use of a twilight sensor, as we use in our poultry houses, makes it easier to maintain constant lighting in a mobile poultry house.

3. Humidity in the poultry house

Effective humidity management in the poultry house is the key to avoiding potential health problems among the hens. The use of ventilation systems helps to maintain fresh air while reducing excessive moisture build-up. In addition, it is worth investing in moisture meters for poultry houses to regularly monitor moisture levels.
In two-storey poultry houses, it is important to check the condition of the litter regularly and replace it frequently with dry litter – this will maintain the correct moisture level.

If humidity levels are kept stable, the risk of respiratory diseases and skin problems among hens can be minimised.

4. Protection against predators

In winter, both birds and predatory animals become even more determined in their search for food, which poses additional challenges for poultry farmers when it comes to protecting their laying hens. It is therefore very important to ensure that adequate safety measures are in place.
A solid fence around the poultry house is the first line of defence against predators, so during the winter season it should be inspected frequently and repaired if necessary – especially after heavy snowfall, which makes the fence more vulnerable to damage. In addition, the use of monitoring systems allows you to keep an eye on the area and detect possible threats early on.

5. Regular Health Checks

During the winter season, birds are more susceptible to infections. Therefore, regular health checks are crucial. The vet should carry out screening, particularly looking out for signs of respiratory disease. Regular vaccinations are also important to maintain flock health and reduce the risk of epidemics.

6. Feeding in the winter season

In winter, when hens spend less time outdoors and access to natural food sources is limited, it becomes even more important to provide healthy feed. Particular attention should be paid to nutrients such as vitamin D3 or minerals that may not be available during this period when feeding hens in winter (it is worth remembering that a lack of vitamin D can lead to the production of eggs with weak shells). When feeding hens in winter, it is therefore necessary to constantly supplement the feed and work with the veterinarian to adapt the diet to the needs of the animals in winter.

7. Changing the location of the poultry house

In extreme weather conditions such as heavy snowfall or severe frost, moving the coop to a more sheltered location can be of great benefit to the chickens. By flexibly adjusting the location of your coop, you can minimise the impact of harsh winter conditions on your chickens and provide them with better conditions. When moving a poultry house, you should make sure that the process goes smoothly to avoid stress for the chickens.

In summary, proper care of laying hens in winter is a key element in maintaining their health and welfare. Chicken farmers should consider the aspects of heat, lighting and humidity and ensure the safety of the birds from predators. Proper health care and flexibility in adapting to changing weather conditions are critical to the success of poultry farming during the winter season.

Did you know that… Crude fibre is an important component of plant-based feeds that influences feed value, production and animal health?

The most important sources of crude fibre are cereal grains. Maize has the lowest crude fibre content, barley and oats the highest. The minimum fibre content in poultry feed should be at least 2%.

Either the dietary fibres dissolve in the body and have a positive effect on digestion, or there is too much crude fibre in the body, which reduces the feed intake of the birds and impairs digestion. We have therefore listed the positive and negative properties of crude fibre.

EN: How does the crude fibre help our hens?

• binds water in the stomach and has a satiating effect, which means that feed intake is not so high and the birds do not eat too much (chickens that get too much feed, for example, have a lower laying performance)
• makes the feed move more slowly through the digestive tract, which increases the amount of digestive enzymes released, which has a positive effect on the digestive process
• has a so-called “gut brushing” effect, which collects feed residues and excess micro-organisms
• has a prebiotic effect – some of the ingredients of the fibre are absorbed by the intestinal microbiome and used, among other things, to form chain fatty acids.

Why and when can crude fibres be harmful?

The most important factors for the nutritionally harmful effects of crude fibres are non-starch polysaccharides, and through their action the following can occur:

• poorer absorption of nutrients
• the occurrence of calcium and sodium deficiencies
• excessive viscosity of the digestive contents, which can lead to intestinal inflammation
• the formation of viscous faeces, which increases the moisture in the litter and creates ideal conditions for the growth of undesirable micro-organisms

What can we do to prevent the negative effects of crude fibre on the chicken’s organism?

Feed manufacturers try to counteract the negative effects of crude fibre on the hens’ digestive process with various feed additives. One well-known measure is strict adherence to nutritional standards in terms of the percentage of each type of grain in the feed mix. The most common cereals in poultry diets are maize, wheat and barley. Complete feed mixtures with a higher proportion of wheat (over 45 %) and barley (over 30 %) require the addition of feed enzymes in the form of finished preparations that break down crude fibre fractions. In addition to the use of enzyme supplements, cellulose-lignin supplements (structural carbohydrates – insoluble crude fibre fractions, the proportion of which in the feed should not exceed 5 %) are also used.

Although crude fibre is still underestimated in poultry nutrition, we hope we have been able to give you an overview of how it can affect chickens and whether its presence in the grain is more likely to help or harm us. 

As you can see, it has many positive properties, but it can also have negative effects on chickens. However, the most important thing is to keep the balance and pay attention to the fibre content of the feed ration. In this way we can achieve a high standard of feeding and ensure that the laying performance of the hens is at a satisfactory level.

Easter is coming, and with it the time for colourful Easter eggs! Many people dye their eggs with food dyes, but there is also a natural method that creates beautiful pastel colours without chemical dyes.

Natural egg dyeing is a simple and ecological method that uses natural ingredients – mainly vegetables and spices. The choice is really wide and all you need are eggs, dyeing ingredients and a little patience.

You can dye raw eggs as well as already cooked eggs. The strength of the colour usually depends on how long you dip the egg in the dye and what colour the shell is – the lighter it is, the faster and more beautiful the colour will be. Here is our quick guide to some tried and tested methods for natural dyeing.

1. Dyeing eggs with turmeric
How can you dye eggs yellow? Only with turmeric! Dyeing eggs with turmeric is a quick and easy way to get a beautiful, intense yellow shell colour. How to do it? Prepare the mixture: put water in a pot, add 4-5 tablespoons of turmeric, some salt and vinegar, put the eggs in and boil them for 10 minutes. Let it cool down or leave it in the pot for another 2 hours. That’s it!

2.Dyeing eggs in the onion
Dyeing eggs in onion skins is one of grandma’s most traditional ways of dyeing eggs brown/dark brown. Start collecting the onion skins a few weeks before Easter (it depends on how many onions you use). The more you have, the better! Dry the peels in a bag, don’t let them rot.

Put the onion skins in a pot, put the eggs on top. Then pour cold water over everything, add 2/3 teaspoon vinegar and a little salt, put the rest of the peels on top. Boil everything for 10 minutes. Let the eggs cool in the pot, then they will get a nice dark colour.

Our tip: If you want an ombre effect, take out one egg at a time at certain intervals – the eggs will then have different shades.

3. Dye eggs with spinach

To dye eggshells green, you need fresh spinach. Put the green leaves in the bottom of a pot, pour water into it and bring it to the boil. Add the eggs to the boiling spinach and cook for 15 minutes. Let everything stand overnight!

4.Dye eggs in cabbage

You can dye both blue and purple eggs with red cabbage. How to do it? To get blue Easter eggs, all you need is the red cabbage itself. Place the eggs in a broth of pre-chopped cabbage and a little salt and boil for 10 minutes. Then leave to stand overnight!

If you want purple Easter eggs, don’t pour off the red cabbage broth, but put it in a pot without the leaves, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar and stir thoroughly. In this broth, add the blue eggs that you prepared according to the instructions above. Leave the eggs to soak for another 8 hours.

We must tell you that the effect of dyeing the eggs with cabbage is phenomenal, as each Easter egg has a different colour quality and subtle discolouration. To further enhance the depth of colour, we recommend brushing the eggs with fat at the end, e.g. butter or olive oil.

5. Dyeing eggs in beetroot juice

If they were blue, they must also be … pink! And this unique colour, guaranteed to make your Easter egg stand out, can be achieved with beetroot juice. Simply boil the eggs in beetroot juice with 3 tablespoons of salt and 3 tablespoons of brandy vinegar. The intensity of the colour depends on how long the eggs are in the juice.

The natural colours of the Easter eggs are not enough for you as a decorative element? Then try adding extra decorations to make the egg even more beautiful!

How about a decoration in the form of delicate stripes? Simply place the rubber bands around the eggs according to the desired structure and then prepare them as described above. Here you can choose between rubber bands of different widths, too.

Another method for beautiful, unique Easter eggs is to paint the eggshell with a liquid wax. Once the wax has dried on the egg, carefully place it in a natural colouring solution and let it soak for the desired amount of time. Finally, scrape off the wax and the painted motif remains on the dyed egg.

You can also decorate the Easter eggs with herb leaves, for example parsley or boxwood. To do this, soak the herbs in water and cut an old pair of tights into smaller pieces. Then place a piece of pantyhose on your hand and on top of it an egg and the previously soaked herbs. Then pull the tights tightly over the egg and tie them into a knot. The eggs prepared in this way can be dipped in the natural colours mentioned above.

Simple, isn’t it?

Natural egg dyeing is not only a simple and ecological method, but also great fun for the whole family. The kids will surely be thrilled to see ordinary eggs change into magical, colourful Easter eggs! Let’s not forget that the best and healthiest eggs come from free-range chickens and therefore need to be treated with the best natural dyes you can find…. In your own kitchen.

Temperature and humidity are important microclimatic factors that the farmer should constantly monitor. They are crucial for the health of the animals and thus for the production results.                      

The sources of humidity in poultry houses are… first and foremost the hens themselves, which produce huge amounts of water vapour. Damp feed, steaming faeces, damp floors and air coming in from outside all contribute to the fact that the humidity in a poultry house can be enormous. In addition, the humidity depends on the efficiency of the ventilation systems or the type of bedding.

How can you tell that the ventilation in a poultry house is inadequate and something needs to be changed?

First of all, the first impression when you enter the house is important – if your breath catches when you open the house door in the morning because a bad, unpleasant smell hits you, this is an indication that the ventilation is clearly too poor.

If you also notice that mould or mites, which prefer a warm and humid climate, are developing in the poultry house, this means that there is far too little oxygen in the poultry house. This can lead to rheumatic diseases, rickets, and skin fungus. Another sign that the poultry house is too stuffy are fogged windows. It is also advisable to observe the behavior of the chickens, which are more or less affected depending on the humidity and temperature in the house.

When the temperature is low, but humidity is high, hens’ body heat loss increases. Low temperatures combined with high humidity cause a sharp drop in production. In addition, they lead to dampening of the hen’s feathers and thus reduce heat insulation – the body’s resistance then decreases and the birds become more ill.

There can also be high temperatures and low air humidity, and this is by far the most common situation. Intense evaporation from the surface of the skin and mucous membranes, which occurs in low humidity but high temperatures, causes them to dry out and crack, and this promotes the development of microorganisms. Decreased appetite, increased body temperature, lower feed intake and therefore reduced body weight and an increase in the number of collapses in the hen flock can then also be observed.                                                                                                                                               On the other hand, when the temperature is high and at the same time the humidity is high, the birds have limited opportunities to lose body heat due to impaired evaporation. Under such conditions, hyperthermia can occur, especially during summer periods.

So how can you make sure that you protect your chickens from such situations? What can you do to make the ventilation in the chicken coop as good as possible?

First of all, you should use gravity ventilation, which requires at least two openings, preferably on opposite sides of the coop. One opening serves as an air inlet, the other as an air outlet.

The body heat of the chickens causes the air in the coop to have a higher temperature than the outside air. The warmer air absorbs moisture, rises due to its lower weight and then “escapes” from the poultry house through the air outlet. Due to the resulting suction effect, the colder, “heavier” air moves through the air inlet and falls to the floor, and an air exchange takes place in the poultry house.

Windows with adjustable opening to avoid draughts, removable ventilation flaps or nets in doors can be very helpful here. It is important that when windows, flaps or doors are open, the resulting space is secured with nets to prevent predators from entering.

Is it possible to support gravity ventilation with anything?

Of course, you can! One of the best ways to do this is to use a temperature controller in your mobile poultry house, which helps to keep the temperature in the poultry house stable with the help of a thermal actuator that opens the window and a fan.

The operation of the actuator and the fan is very simple, and very effective.

The two devices start working when the temperature set on the control unit is lower than the temperature in the poultry house. The thermal actuator then opens the window to lower the temperature in the poultry house. However, if this does not help and the set temperature is not reached, the fan will switch on after a few minutes and the temperature should drop quickly.

These two devices work both together and separately, as they each support gravity ventilation in different ways.

Remember – a bad microclimate in the poultry house stresses the animals and makes them sick faster. The flock becomes restless and increased losses, feather pecking and even cannibalism can occur. Good ventilation is therefore particularly important and there should be as few draughts as possible. For this reason, when buying a poultry house from the very beginning, consideration should be given to how to provide the hens with the best possible ventilation.

Perhaps it is worth paying attention to the solutions described above? In our opinion, it is definitely worthwhile, as we use them in our mobile poultry house KROPPER and can recommend them to you with a clear conscience!