[nuttycube]

hi

me and my husband are thinking of getting some hens (hopefully next year ) this may have already been asked so apologuies if i am going over old ground . We both work full time   , i would like to leave them out of coop for the morning or afternoon but we wouldn't be there.  Is it ok to leave them out on their own? if not any thoughts, i am also concerned about the winter, do they still need to be let out? or would they rather keep warm??

also sorry we have dogs next door very contained by a strong fence but they bark alot would this concern the girls???

Thank you for your help and advice   i am also a newby to forums

[ManicMum]

Welcome to the Forum - everyone is always willing to help and share ideas so you can put together a chicken-friendly plan that works for you as we all have different suggestions.

Firstly, chickens need to be out every day, rain or shine, hot or cold. The coop is just for sleeping in.  You need to expect to shut them in each night and let them out every morning

Outside the coop, you can have a small, totally enclosed run (often sold as coop-and-run in one unit). These nearly always have insufficient run space for the number of chickens quoted on the sales blurb - you need to allow 2 -3 square metres of run space per bird, plus the space their feeders and drinkers use.

Instead or as well, you can have an area in which they can wander. It's up to you how you define this area - our girls have a generous chunk of the garden anclosed by electric fence as this protects them from our dogs, foxes, visiting dogs etc - whereas for some it's the whole garden, or the whole unfenced garden and the fields around.

As far as dogs are concerned, barking won't worry them.  They will also do their best to defend themselves and each other from a dog. My friend's puppy put her nose through the (unconnected) electric fence for a sniff & the girls puffed themselves up and came for the dog like velociraptors.  One peck on the nose & the pup ran in - I don't think she'll tangle with chickens again!

[nuttycube]

  Thank you for your reply, has helped mounds.  I have read a few books on the subject to try and be informed but they don't answer those odd queries.

[hardygeranium]

Hubby and I work full time and we back on to a country park so there was no question of the girls being out unsupervised.  We opted in the beginning to let the girls out in the garden when we got home and eventually built them a purpose built very big run. 

Our local pet shop has their hens in the same house as we had (the sort with a built in run and four windows on the bedding bit) but they had attached a rabbit run to the door of the hen house and blocked off the top of the main door, thereby trebling the run space. 

Best advice is to get the biggest and best hen house/run you can afford because you may start off with 3 birds but you will probably end up wanting more!  (We now have 19!!!!)