[Caro10]

Morning all,
I'd appreciate your thoughts here.
Our 4 girls (STILL not laying, by the way!), have a lovely setting, a nice secure house and a run which is about 3m long and 1m wide and they are in a lovely woody glade in our garden.  We let them out to free range when we clean them out and move them to fresh ground - which is every weekend.  However, our neighbour (knows nothing about chcikens) says our run is too small and we are being cruel.  I would dearly love for them to be running around in our wood and garden, however the foxy neighbour has already invited himself round for dinner, but unfortunatley for him we'd already stopped serving!  He has appeared about 7.30pm in the evening a couple of times, but last weekend turned up at 2pm!  I'm happy he can't get into the run & coop.
Our garden has a very large perimeter and I'm not sure electric netting is going to be cost effective for us.  I guess a larger run would be nicer to the girls, bu tneeds ot be something we can regualry and easily move.  Anyway, guess I've answered my own question, but would appreiciate your thoughts.
Oh, and a stupid quesiton here probably...  are there times when the foxy is less likely to come, like when it's raining, or really hot?  He/she is clearly not bothered by daylight.  It was hunting night on Sunday here, birds were getting it, rabbits were screaming.  I can only assume it was fox & owl en masse!!! (Or maybe the wild beast of Mistley Estuary!!)

[Casey76]

Hi

DEFRA states that each chicken needs 1m² as minimum  At the moment your four girls have about 3m² between them (and by the time you add feeders, drinkers and other enrichments they will have even less space).

As your hens are in their run practically all the time, they should really have 2 or 3m² each.

Being overstocked, it makes the ground sick very quickly from fouling (even if you poo pick every day).  As well as increased problems such as feather pecking (from boredom/not enough space to retreat into), you could be subject to more diseases such as myco (which can flare when birds are stressed)

You need not electrify your entire boundry, but if you have a 25m electric net, you could just make a square or oblong around your existing run.  This would give the girls plenty of room, and they could then be out all day too.

[joyfull]

The defra recommended minimum size of run required per bird is 1 square meter, plus extra for feed and water containers, so you run is barely big enough for 3 not 4 (your neighbour is quite correct), ideally if they are to spend most of their time in the run which it sounds that they do then you should allow at least 2 square meters per chicken.
Foxes will appear at any time and urban foxes are not at all scared off by humans. Rural foxes are more wary, but any if they are feeding young will try and get food at any time.

[Caro10]

Great thanks.  Will sort something bigger for them.
Would you recommend it needs a wire top to it too?, or just 6ft wire fence all around?

[joyfull]

wire on top just to be safe, foxes are good climbers 

[Jeanette]

I would put a wire top on as well.