Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: craig1981 on August 25, 2009, 08:25
-
ok ive had my hens 8 hens 4 months now and 2 more were added recently but as yet i havnt let them free range the garden . At present they have a 10ft ish by 20ft ish run attached to a 6ft by 4ft shed all fully enclosed with a mesh roof and so on yet im considering letting them free range in the day when im around but im TERRIFIED one will escape or maybe even all of them . Our fences are 6ft tall on 3 sides so i cant see them jumping that . Am i panicking for no reason
-
They can get onto something 6' high if they can land on it, i.e, like the top of a wooden fence. If there were mesh or wire along the top making it an extra foot high they probably wouldn't bother. They are generally more likely to find a way under the fence though, check for any gaps.
Just a word to the wise before letting them out. once they have had the run of the garden, they will want it all the time and will spend their time in the run pacing up and down waiting to be let out again. 10 hens will also poo a lot all over it!
-
Have you clipped there wings? Only clip one wing, the idea is to put them off balance when trying to fly.
-
Also be aware of any "launch pads", anything they can jump onto to help them over the fence!
-
I can definitely back-up SMD66 on his comment about how, once they've got the run of the garden, they'll always want it. My ex-batts free-range the garden all day but, on Sunday, we left them shut in the run all day as we had my daughter's 3rd birthday party and didn't want one of them run over by a rampaging toddler. They made their displeasure known, believe me. They grumbled and tutted all day! Clearly, they spent all day Sunday being extremely p'd off!
-
SMD66 is a lady! :). Stupid user name really, The S stands for Samantha!
-
Apologies Samantha! SMD66 didn't give me much of a clue :D
-
I know, I would change it but I can't now :(
-
im the same, i was worried also about letting them out cause wot they have is more than big enough but i did cause our garden is massive, full of trees and shrubs for them, well i have to let them out now, they wait by the gate its a nitemare Nickyx
-
We've recently moved and as the new garden is very enclosed (the old one just backed onto paddocks) we thought we'd let them out free ranging every day.
One week later, and one trashed garden, we're going to keep them in the run most of the time and just let them out for the occassional supervised garden re-designing session...
We have three, but you'd think we had 50 hens the mess they've made of the borders, lawn etc. They weren't this bad at the old place...
Anyway, the other thing is, having kept them in this weekend at first they paced up and down all day... but, yesterday they resigned themselves to the fact they were staying in, and spent the day scratching around in their run...
I'd say give it a go but they will mess everything up.........
-
mine trashed my wife polyanthus border the other day while i was putting their photos on this site, how ungrateful.
just called at home for a drink on my way to work, opened the back door which they can see, and my oh my, what a noise, they want to come out, but cant.
fence off any borders you want to keep.
mine is a 5' fence, no problems so far
martyn
-
we just put loose chicken wire around anything we don't want them to touch: as it's loose, they take one look and it and go "i'm not chancing jumping on that!" and leave it alone.
-
My girls have been allowed out for weeks now.
I've just spent hours chicken wiring round the loganberries,currants and rhubarb. They've recently taken a liking to rhubarb leaves (thought they were poisonous but they don't seem affected) and I can't manure the fruit bushes because they scratch it up.They also discovered the raspberries and leap up about 3 ft to get them, bringing the cane down as well! >:( My rockery didn't seem to interest them but now that they've exhausted the borders and the wild area down the bottom they've started demolishing it. I've given up there! Maybe get some prickly plants next year! Anyway....don't get upset when your annuals and perennials are trashed. Grow more shrubs! Chuck down bark! Also make sure your pots are raised or wired!
I have 3 hens in a garden 120x40 ft. with 6 ft fences. Make sure there's nothing to hop up on near the fence or within flying distance. Yes! They can fly for more than 10 ft and 4 ft high!!!(wonderful sight!)
I have to poo pick the grass every night and chuck it in the compost because it's really acid. Then I have to sweep and rake back all the earth, stones and leaves they scrape out.(This is NOT done every night!) Chickens are supposed to eat weeds but mine don't! In fact, most of the reasons for letting them out AINT TRUE! I do it because they love it, it keeps them fit and they get a balanced natural diet.
Mine are also now limited to just the afternoon freeranging which means they have to eat their pellets and lay before I let them out.
-
I read somewhere that chickens are unable to fly.
Obviously whoever wrote that had not kept chickens. matilda my feisty bantam used to come out of the henhouse like a missile out of a silo over my shoulder.
I read also that silkies cant fly because of their feathering.
One flew across the small pond yesterday so that aint true either.
They are about as aerodynamic as a brick and flutter a lot.
Watch "Chicken Run" and be afraid.
-
:D :D
Mine got on top of the greenhouses too, and it certainly wasn't by jumping!
(and each has wing clipped)
-
Mine fly, jump and run like b*****y. But wing clipping and a sort of war of attrition last autumn to identify all the gaps in ther perimeter meant they could be out quite a lot over the winter. They stay in their run for the entire growing season in the garden, I love my garden, but up here the only things above ground from November to March are totally bombproof anyway so the hennies get to roam a bit. It's their digging that does the damage not what they eat - although they do eat the Star of Bethlehem right down to the ground it comes back better than ever in spring.
-
I know, I would change it but I can't now :(
Just pm Aunt Sally and she will change it to whatever you would prefer. :)
-
Thanks, will do. :)
-
Just a short reminder. I used to let my girls out in the garden for a run around the garden and i have got 6 ft fencing all around. One day i was in the kitchen and the girls were out I had only turned my back for 10 minutes and a fox had all 6 of them :( it is devasting to loose them this way we thought they were safe we live on a estate and to be quite honest we had never thought about a fox being around in the middle of the day and people close by. Now I have a very large walk in avery and they are very safe. I dont want anyone else to go through the heartache of anything happening to their girls :(
-
I have 6 girls and their wings are clipped so no flying. However, they have found an escape route through a 7 foot wide hedge with chicken wire going through it, into the acres and acres of fields at the bottom of the garden!!!! They limbo under the chicken wire! Little madams. Had a lovely time in the farmers fields though, but scary as they could've gone for miles. Agree too, that once they've been let out, they will expect to come out all the time, but soon get into a routine of when they do and don't. They love it though so worth doing.
-
I know, I would change it but I can't now :(
Just pm Aunt Sally and she will change it to whatever you would prefer. :)
I have added a 'signature' to clarify things so will keep my user name. Thanks ICE
-
Some chooks never offer to escape and others do whether their wings arre clipped or not. Some breeds are better fliers than others but there always exceptions. I have a Cotswold Legbar that flies onto my head and walks round with me. I am 5ft 8ins so I tend to think that 6ft would not be a problem for her. It is probably better to clip wings before you have a problem as they do like to go awandering and do get a taste for it.
-
[/quote]
I have added a 'signature' to clarify things so will keep my user name. Thanks ICE
[/quote]
I mentally pegged your name as "Samantha of Mass Destruction". :D Please don't change it and spoil that image.
-
We had 3 Hen's - unfortunately I was allergic so they had to go in the end, however, we let them only free range in the evening when we were in, and as an earlier post said, once they get a taste for it, they just walked up and down the pen all day until you let them out.
We let them out and there was poo everywhere, and I mean everywhere! Ha ha! Pulled up all the plant's too....
I wouldn't do it again unless there was sufficient space for them to go... :)
-
hi, i have 6 girls, they have a very large run,but we just leave the run door open all day so they free range in the garden. i do worry about them escaping, but someone is going to show me how to clip the wings. if we go out i put them back in the run.they do expect to come out tho and will pace up and down by the door!
yes they do poo everywhere, but to be honest it only take 15mins at the end of the night to clean up. i was picking it up, now i water some of it in to the grass and put the rest into the compost bin. they do dig in my veg patch, and have taken a liking to the pumpkins...so next year i will fence the beds off that i dont want them in. however i do get a lot of pleasure knowing they are wandering around scratting, having dust baths, layin in the sun, and enjoying being chickens....im sure i can taste the difference in thier eggs...happy chucks must make for happy eggs! :D
-
Hi,
we got our ex bats 4 weeks ago and 2 weeks ago we decided to let them roam the garden when we were around. We have hedges,and fences some in better repair than others. To start with I was terrified they'd get out and followed the 4 of them (easier if you have a small number of hens like us) obesssively. After a couple of days I relaxed and sat in the garden with them but they were put back in their run when we went inside. Now I feel confident enough to let them roam as long as Im in the house or garden and I check on them fairly frequently. I have to say they are very good apart from the odd plant that's been scratched up. No one has tried to escape yet - but I'm sure that day will come!! I do encourage them to stay close to the house and pop out with treats which I feed them near the house or their run so they associate me with nice things and come running when I need them,. We work during the day, so we let them out each evening until dusk and then they go back in fairly readily for food/drink and ready for bed.
-
Trouble is, if they associate you with food, they'll mob you every time you go out the door!!
-
I have a trick for mine who mob me for food every time I go into the field, which I do several times a day. To avoid giving too many treats and to keep them from under my feet, (17 of them) I throw layers pellets on the grass. They think it's a treat, peck it all up and leave me alone! Everyone's a winner ;)
-
he he he , i do that with the ex-bats food cos im trying to get them on to the pellets...it seems to be working :)
-
I'm starting to worry about the amount a hen can eat in terms of insects, worms etc. and whether they'll strip the garden of all these soon and want to see what's over the fence!!! :blink:They do a sort of organised circuit of the garden, leaving areas for a few days to recover the creepy- crawly population (and we thought they had no brains....) but eventually there won't be many left, especially come winter! ::)
Do you think this is what makes them want to escape? Mine are very happy scratching about at the moment.
Anyone spare a sack of wrigglies? :D
-
My girls have the run of the garden (which is big) but spend most of their time sat by the back door, waiting for me. When I got home yesterday, I put a dog guard up to stop them coming in, two of them just "fluffed up and sat down" by the back door. I always give them pasta at lunch time. Now they just demand it - and watch out if I am late.
Not bad for hens that knew nothing other than the inside battery cage for the past 18 months...........dont you just love them. Apart from the chicken poo that is ::)
-
when we got home from the supermarket yesterday we had the dog AND the chickens running to greet us ...it was ace :D i love that they come when the are shouted and i dont think i will ever tire of seeing them come running up the garden....much better than being in thoes bloomin horrid cages
-
It took me ages to let my last hens (which were my first) into the garden, and I was sorry I left it so long. If they have a good sized run, I'm sure they don't mind being shut in when you're not home. Mine didn't try to escape, they just wanted to come into the house so we had to rig up defences. And my cat is terrified of hens! They do make a mess though.
-
i leave the door to the run open most of the day when i am home, but generally, only give them treats in the run, i figured that by doing it that way, when i wanted to get them in, they would follow me in and i could shut the door easily, rather than chasing them round the garden.
seems to work ok, dont always use treats, i use the layers pellets trick as well.....sneaky i know, but they still think of it as a treat, watch them follow a raw corn cob.......
martytn