[julieann]

Hi everyone,

I have 4 hybrid hens, 2 since may and the other two from August. They are used to free ranging my small enclosed garden which is approximately 30 square metres. I'm worried about mr fox so have bought a 6 square metre (3x2)  run. They happily spent the last hour before bed in it last night. This morning Maggie (a blue haze) was pretty noisy but settled after a while, and she can be a bit vocal usually anyway. Then Clara (Mrs pepperpot) became really noisy and was strutting back and forth looking for a way out. The other two, Peggy, a light sussex and Gertrude, a bovan goldline, seemed quite happy. I let them out as I felt guilty.

The run is a walk in run which is housing their old house and combined run, which was tiny, sold to me as a newby chiken keeper as suitable for four hens but I soon realised it wasn't fit for purpose. The old house is off the ground so it doesn't reduce the floor area of the new run. Today Ive added a stainless steel parrot mirror, a decent perch about 18 inches off the ground, a log with suet balls inside hanging up for them to peck at. The floor is dirt so ive added some slabs and some gravel so they can scratch around. They are spending time on top of the old run as well as on the floor of the run. I intend to put a small chair in there (for me and the hens!) and some logs for them to climb on.

My question is should I persevere in the hope they will get used to the pen? Has anyone else had to have hens adjust to a run after free ranging. I am going out to work when its dark and returning when its dark so i think they will be safer in a run. Look forward to hearing some advice. Julie

[joyfull]

If they are to be in this run for most of the time then sorry but it really isn't big enough - they should have a minimum of 2 square metres per bird (and ideally 3 or even 4) and this space shouldn't include their coop, remember they also need room for a dust bath area and their feeders and drinkers. Plus going down from 30 square metres (over 7 square metres each) to 1.5 square metres each must seem very small to them.

[Dominic]

I have 4 in 12 sqms.
If theres lots to do, they may get used to it, but its far from ideal.

[joyfull]

Dominic this gives your birds 3 square metres each which as you say is fine if you provide plenty of things for them to do - things like logs, cabbages strung up, different levels and day perches etc 

[tstainesmoore]

Firstly the amount of room you have is perfectly suitable for the amount of birds that have free-range technically is allowing 6 large full sized birds into a space of 1 sq metre so you have plenty of room for them. i know this becuase well some say i am the chicken man lol i have over 300. when either adding new birds or adding aditional runs etc to an existing pen the birds will at first seem frightened and wary of such a new thing. they dont know if its safe or not but after time they will become accostomed to it. dont worry give it a couple of weeks.

[joyfull]

sorry but you are wrong - you may have 300 chickens but to be classed as free range they should have the following:-

the minimum of pasture land per bird to be classed as free range is 6.05 square yards according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association. On their website they state a minimum of 1 acre of pasture land per 800 birds (1 acre = 4840 square yards which divided by 800 = 6.05 square yards per bird minimum).

http://www.theranger.co.uk/ranging.asp

I have 50 birds in half an acre and they are classed as free range.

[Aunt Sally]

Don't worry Joyfull, I'm sure tstainesmoore has miscalculated and doesn't mean 1.8 square feet per bird is correct for freerange birds.  It's hardly more than cage birds have.

[joyfull]

I certainly do hope so as I know my facts are correct and would hate people to think that free rangers only had that little run space 

[tstainesmoore]

2500 birds per hecture is free range EU law maximum

[joyfull]

this is what Defra says is required for a bird to be classed as free range - this is the minimum:-

this defra link says free range should be 2,500 per hectare most of which should be vegetation. 1 hectare = 2.471 acres. So divide 2500 by 2.471 =  1012.14 birds per acre, which then equals 4046 square metres so each bird should have at least 4 square metres each.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1082259313&r.l1=1081597476&r.l2=1082184851&r.l3=1083732033&r.l4=1082248934&r.s=sc&type=RESOURCES

[binghamd]

I think we all symphathise with the fear of Mr Fox.
As well as space limitation they are probably missing getting their own food from your garden. How much nicer is a nice juicy wriggling worm than a dry pellet?
The space quoted above by Joyful is the MINIMUM legal requirements for producers. I'm sure you would want to give your birds a better life than the minimum. Difficult decision though, build a much bigger run or reduce the number of hens. Your 4 hens will be giving you 2 dozen eggs per week for much of the year.

[julieann]

Hi everyone, just an update really. The hens have settled well into their run. I hang greens up for them and have been giving them old pots from the garden to dig in. The floor space is not reduced by their house as it is raised from the ground and attached to their old run which is covered offering them shelter. (The door to the old run is left open so they can go to and from the old one to the new one). They rummage in the pots ive put inside their run (Ive been refilling with soil from the garden)and perch happily on the branches Ive put in to. They are able to dig for worms as the wood chip on the floor covers earth. I have been letting them out into the garden, mostly at weekends and occasionally through week. They do get excited when they see me, as I am usually armed with corn or mealworm, but they honestly seem happy with their surroundings and are laying as regurlary as they were before. I couldnt bear to keep them in an unsuitable environment......
 

[tstainesmoore]

hey ok my bad, but my point was that free range eggs for example in supermarkets are not as good as they could be personally if i could i would give each bird a entire country to free-range in. theres no point arguing about this free-range stuff and lets all just completely ban caged birds. if birds in a cage are classed as being battery then what are they classed at if there is a little more room but not enough to comply with defras regulations?

[joyfull]

you have caged birds, barn kept birds, free range and organic - these are  classifications for businesses.
Then you get the backyard poultry keepers who will have happy garden hens who get love and care but cannot be called free range or organic. A few lucky ones who meet the free range criteria can sell their eggs at their gates as free range but I doubt that any will have organic as their soil etc will need to be tested by the soil association. Mine used to be fed on organic feed and I used to have a sign that said organically fed free range chickens eggs. Now mine are just free range eggs from happy hens