chicken q's

[2steps]

My lot just go into their coop themselves when it gets twilight or slightly before. Only once in all the time I've had them have they not done this, and this was last week. Two of the new girls couldn't work out how to get back to the gate, so instead of flying over the top they huddled down by the fence together, very frightened.

The only time I have to chase mine is if I want to give them some medicine or check their health during the day.

yep mine always went home at night but I didn't like leaving them loose in the garden if I was going to be out for a long time. only time they didn't go to bed was when the cop door shut, they were all sat on top instead

[den_the_cat]

we've been offered some free chickens and we'd love to say yes but are a bit worried about the landladys garden and chicken security through the hedges

Can a few chickens be happy kept in a run or will then get upset if we never let them have free range of the garden? If we keep them in a largish run how much will they muck up the lawn? We can move the run around every few days but we don't have acres and realistically would have to rotate around about five positions and start again.

If we let them out, even chicken wiring the gates, they have a large dog one side, a scruffy hedge with holes the other, a wall with cows or a wall with cars. All of those options sound likely to attract escapologist chickens and end up with dead ones to me

Please tell me there's a way we can do this and still have happy chooks?!

[Martin]

your best bet would be a moveable "sussex ark" - ideally move it every couple of days - the run is attached, so if you keep moving it around, the ground shouldn't get "fowl sick" - your lawn won't look too bad, and your flower borders will remain intact!

[2steps]

I orginally had my chickens in a fixed run down one side of the garden. It was about 5ft x 15ft It took 4 hens only a matter of weeks to completly destroy the grass and we used to put hay down to stop it getting too muddy.
For a while I started letting the free range over the rest of the garden and they didn't seem any more or less happy really, unless there was a big new bunch of nettles or dandelion growing they escaped once and we searched all over for them, couldn't figure out how they'd gotten out either but as it was getting dark they all came strolling home like nothing had happened. My old neighbour used to call them over the fence and feed them scraps.
When it came time to plant up the veg patch this year they gave me so much trouble, breaking in and eating the seeds and baby plants that I decided they had to be contained in some way. Was easier to build them some kind of run than cover the veg patch. Now they live at the end of the garden in and area about 15ft x 10ft. We put some 6ft fence posts into teh ground around the edge and then attatched wire mesh to those so making a mesh fence. Then bought some pond netting to make a roof and tied it across (don't believe anyone who says chickens can't fly! I watched mine clear that 6ft fence many times!!)

[ofGaia]

If you don't want your chooks flying out of their enclosure you need to clip one wing (and only one). I clip the right hand wing of each of my girls so that I don't have to check each side when it's time to re-do them (about every 6 months). You know when it's time 'cause they start getting out again.
To clip: out-stretch the wing (with sharp secetuers in hand) and find the end of the wing bone. Trim all the feathers to within about an inch of the bone. They squirm a bit, but it doesn't hurt them unless you get too close to the bone. You'll know if you've got too close cause the quill will bleed a little, just as a fingernail will.
Use the cut feathers in your compost heap. They are high in nutrients.

[Martin]

the problem with that being that it can make them far more vulnerable to fox attack! In a small garden, I'd go for the ark, and "rotate" the land it's on!

[den_the_cat]

I don't think clipping would work here anyway as the wall at the back is low enough for a determined chicken to hop onto and in three months the postman hasn't once managed to shut the gate properly. Besides which a happy chicken is one in a tree :)

Having only ever been around free range chooks I'm just a bit worried about keeping them in a run, although I guess if we move it a lot and get a decent sized one they should be content enough - are there specific breeds you think we should avoid Martin? the ones on offer are pretty mixed and I was going to try and get two or three small ones, but I know some can be a bit bullying....

[2steps]

I didn't want to clip my birds wings as I know we have a fox that comes here and it may lessen their chance of escape. I lost several to the fox as it is. But yes the feathers are high in nitrogen

[Martin]

honestly, the common or garden "flock" birds as used in most poultry farms are probably the most even-tempered, easiest to look after poultry you can find - they've been bred for the purpose for ages. In my experience, the older breeds can look lovely, but are often "flighty", and don't give you as many eggs!
If you fancy producing a good "dual purpose" breed, you could start off with a "breeding trio" a couple of White Sussex hens, and a Rhode Island red cockerel - you should get a halfway decent egg-laying bird in the hens, and the cockerels eat well!
I once had some of the most beautiful cuckoo marans - ate about three times as much as "normal" hens, and gave the most wonderfully brown eggs, but economically, just not viable!

[den_the_cat]

well if the landlady says its ok then these will be egg producers only - I don't mind cooking chicken but there's not much need to in our house, and I know I can't pluck the things anyway, so they can live in peace (or at least so long as they lay the odd egg)

Claims that Arks are foxproof are presumably based on the coop itself and not on the run? A fox would dig under the netting in a night if it wanted to I'm assuming?

[Martin]

about the only way to make fairly sure a fox can't get into the run is to bury the wire netting about a foot into the ground (not such a good idea with a moveable ark), so you have to rely on the fact that most fox strikes are at night when they're in their ark! - if there's a dog wandering about during the day, it's good added protection!
Don't underestimate the devastation they can cause - they'll often leave you with a run full of dying birds, it's heartbreaking! I lost ALL of my marans one dark night - the fox got underneath the ark, and pulled their legs down throught the slats, and ate them - I was confronted with the task of "finishing them off"