My hens are here!!!

Eventually they'll get used to the cats, when they recognise them. Our neighbour has two cats and the chickens ignore them, even if they see them running around on top of the shed roof next door. Contrast that to a strange or new cat and they let you know their alarm!

 

Would I need to be concerned about the cats jumping into the pen when they are out? It's about a metre high, safety fencing. We are going to change it to chicken wire.

 

If you can roof the pen over with more chicken wire, then that would be better.

 

Hmm... every week we move the house and run, and then construct the pen from their run door.

I was planning on getting 25 metres of chicken wire and fencing round a chunk of the garden, leaving the veg beds and flower beds clear of the pen.

Putting anything over the top of that will be tricky!

They only come out into the pen when I'm home, but I'm not watching every second. Most people seem to think cats are no problem, our breeder has a cat! But you do hear people saying they will kill chickens. I guess it's a case of carefully waiting to judge the cats round here!

 

Ah right, I see, this is their larger run. To be honest, chickens, especially en masse will see a cat off - they have an unerring instinct to go straight for the tender bits (eyes and nose) with their beaks. And if you've ever seen a broody hen with chicks defending her young, it would be a brave cat that stands in their way.

I notice you haven't mentioned foxes though. They are to be worried about.

 

Indeed - but for some reason I'm not too worr... I'd better not say it!!!! I'll be visited by Mr Fox this very night!!!

I have never seen a fox around here during daylight hours. And as I say I only put them in to their pen when I'm here and checking on them regularly. When they are in their run (attached to the house) I feel they are pretty safe. At night we always shut their door obviously, and they seem to get themselves to bed good and early, before it is really failing light. It's 6:15pm and they've just gone in for a swift sherry and bed. (Murky day admittedly) I just feel that they need more room than they currently have in their run for any length of time. You read these 'ideals' about amount of space per bird and it's pretty hard to achieve!

I guess I'm just more worried about cats as there are so many about, next door have two, across the road have five.. and so on!

It is entirely possible that my ideal of them pottering around a large space in the garden all day is just not practical. I think I'll start doing the lottery so at least there is a possibility that I can live in a detached house, with a private garden and a good few hundred yards away from anyone else. Then I'd have a huge permanent run for them, and just let them out into the garden when I was out with them.

I'd have loads of cockerels! I think they are fabulous. I love the way they show the hen the food and stand back until she's eaten.

What's your set up Aaron? I know you have your Forsham Ark, but what space do your birds have on a daily basis? You seem to know your chickens!! (see what I did there?!) :D

 

Was that a bit of flattery Victoria? Very subtle, I nearly missed it:thumb:

I'm not saying anything about foxes either, for fear of...well you know. We have the Forsham ark and leave the ladder from the sleeping quarters down to the run open at all times. That way, they can get themselves up and there is food and water in that run at all times. They know to wait patiently until a respectable hour (6.30am in summer, getting later each day now) when I let them out into their bigger run. It is also useful when we go away for a weekend - they can go in and sulk there for the two nights.

The Forsham ark is permanent, set on a row of paving slabs meaning nothing can tunnel in underneath (or not too easily anyway). I usually put a load of straw in there for them as it's protected from the rain and they have loads of fun scratching through it. Also good to have somewhere dry for feathery feet, especially in winter.

So, their larger run. This measures about 8 x 12 foot (including the ark run). As it's at the end of the garden, it was easy to fence across and hey presto, chicken run. It's fenced due to the boundary of the garden to a height of 6 foot. The floor is partly paved (handy for winter and walking into it) and the rest usually has a deep layer of wood chips - again useful for winter to prevent mud. Once a year I lock them up for a couple of days and 'lime' the run to sweeten it. I've been putting it off for ages now as we are having some work done at the end of the garden soon so the run will be free for me to renovate while they are confined to barracks (they'll hate me, I know).

How's that?

PS Cocks are fine, although the crowing might annoy you at 3am in summer!

 

Sounds good!!! They certainly have plenty of room. If our garden layout was like that, with nice high fencing it would be much simpler.

I hadn't thought about the idea of putting the run on slabs to make it fox proof. Very cunning! The main problem we have, as I have said before, is that we don't really want to make a large enclosure. I think we could definitely put the chickens onto slabs on the veg bed in winter - that makes sense. But I'd need for them to have access to a bigger pen, because I don't think they have enough room for longer than the odd imprisonment! I know some hens live in little space, but I want ours to be happy.

I think if we could go round the garden with chicken wire, for example along the hedges etc, then it would make the garden more secure for them and we could let them wander around when we are in the garden.

Which made me think of another idea...

You know the hedge which our neighbour keeps cutting back along the top? I have seen six foot high chicken wire - you see where I am going with this? I thought if we put it along the hedge we could cut the hedge as it grew through it - and even grow a few climbers up it to give some extra height? Does that sound feasible? Not sure how securely we'd need to post it - presumably quite strongly as it would be bearing climbers, but not necessarily with the thickness of posts for fence panels.

When I think of the number of chickens that I see roaming around, and my breeders house, where you pull in on the drive and her own little flock waddle off fussing about, I wonder if perhaps the longer you keep your birds the more confident you become with letting them roam a little in the garden. I know anything could happen at any time with chickens, but I guess it is your own experience and your surroundings that count, and they are all individual. It could go either way - I could be locking them up in a months time, or giving them a bit more freedom!

 

If you are going to let them wander about free ranging in your garden, you need to make sure that every small hole is blocked up. Chickens are masters at escaping and the phrase "the grass is always greener" was thought up just for chickens! And of course you need to make your garden chicken proof or they will destroy it, not so much from eating it, but from scratching it and then trampling over everything. However as Silkies are fairly placid, not flighty and fairly heavy, low fences around the borders and flower beds will contain them. That's if you want to give them the run of the garden.

You idea would work, but you need to protect any climbers you plant or they'll have em! Remember my idea of planting Russian Vine in the chicken run? They ate it - everytime it sent out a new tendril they had it off and eaten. I eventually lifted the stunted remains!

If you go for the permanent run idea, they don't need a huge space, but up against a boundary is ideal and if that boundary is shrubs and bushes for them to lurk under, even better.

Now...I suppose you'll be after a list of shrubs chickens ignore next... Simple - the bigger it is, the less likely they are to damage and destroy. We have a huge (and unidentified) everygreen shrub in the run that they shelter under and seem to ignore, but only because it's so big, the odd leaf being eaten has no effect. Herbaceous perennials on the other hand need LOTS of protection!

 

Oh dear... am I getting a reputation for being high maintenance?!

I can't believe they shredded your Russian vine!!

Oh, I don't know. Maybe I should just keep my mobile pen idea and invest in electric fencing.

 

Wait until Spring. Over winter they won't free range far from the house as daylight hours are much reduced and Silkies don't really do cold, wet weather, preferring the dry (can you blame them).

If you have somewhere close to your back door to site their house and run, do so. Take it from me, wading up a the garden path in your sleeping attire (or whatever!) on a cold winters morning to feed the ungrateful beggars (and then they don't come out anyway because it's snowing!) is no fun. At all.

I would even advise sacrificing a piece of lawn and siting the house and run there over winter, with a layer of wood chips once the grass disappears (in winter, when grass doesn't grow much, in a small space, it will, remarkably quickly). Grass can be regrown in Spring - a small price to pay for your comfort and theirs when it's dark, cold and wet outside.

I've been "gardening with chickens" for years, so I have a list of plants that are resilient to a chicken attack or that they just ignore. Feel free to ask

 

Ok, I would love a list! We are definitely going to make a permanent winter home, especially if our run would suffice most of the time.

It's pretty sad here this morning. We're away this weekend and my mum couldn't house sit, so the chickens went back to the breeder for 'chicken bed and breakfast' last night. Pretty depressing without them!

 

Shout when you want a list.

Hope the chickens survived their mini holiday without pining for you too much

 

:yho:<--- That's me shouting!!!

They are fine, although I noticed on Tuesday that Nessa has a limp! I bought her in, bathed her feet good job it was Nessa to be honest as she is very tame - if it was Betty or Lucy it'd have been a nightmare!!) and treated her for scaly leg - random I know but I didn't really know what to do!! I covered her legs in sudocrem and vaseline, and frankly she looked ridiculous! It is a bit of an odd sensation massaging a chickens foot - they're kinda rubbery and webby in places. :euw: Fingers crossed she seems to be limping a bit less this morning.

I've not been too well this week (caught my husbands man flu - and it turns out he wasn't putting it on, I've felt dreadful!!) so haven't been able to clean them out and move the run yet. The wet weather on Sunday meant I couldn't do it when we got home. So although they are still fine, and I've poo-picked etc, I'm keen to clean it as I wanted to maintain it really well.

Why is it when I do the daily droppings collection, if I turn the bedding over there are patches of damp wood underneath. Is it where they huddle together and make condensation? After all they don't wee do they.

Oh and also - if I get some clear tarpaulin to cover their run in winter will that keep them happy? I'm not sure if my run alone will suffice when the weather gets really cold and wintry? http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/info_HH6R.html

 

I think that run will suffice for winter, providing you let them out for a run about the garden on fine days. Supervised of course, although they can't do that much damage to a dormant garden, providing you fence off anything that might prove too tempting! A plastic tarpaulin is a good idea as well.

Chickens do produce urine, but it's mixed up in their droppings, not seperate like with mammals. The dampness is probably due to what you think it is. Are they perching or sleeping in the bedding, on the floor. I prefer the former - cleaner and more natural for them, but some breeds seem not to know how to perch. Silkies included - although mine always seem to have wanted to.

List of poultry proof plants - I've found the bigger the plant, the more resistant it is and newly emerging perennials need tough fencing! Most shrubs seems to withstand the odd peck - especially Buddleia for some reason.