Thank you everyone, especially the tips for guarding hens against asassins. This is a very welcoming forum - unlike some others I occasionally look at!
I have only just stumbled upon your website. How could I have missed kindred spirits for so long? Trying to be as detached from the big bad world as possible, at least from the big and bad bits of it! Living and gardening on the Black Isle in Ross-shire in Scotland. The climate conspires against us...