[Jilt]

Hi, I am new to this forum and am in a bit of a dilemma at the moment so thought I would ask for some advice from more experienced hen keepers. As a bit of history we acquired 4 hens in October, all hybrids, 2 white and 2 brown. We understood the whites to be light sussex and the browns possiby warrens.  The browns started to lay first, eventually joined by the whites or at least one of them. We bought a hen house with a small attached covered run, and then made an outer run with posts and 5 foot high chicken wire.

In mid January we noticed that one of the browns had feathers missing and was obviously being pecked at. We bought some spray which did help as long as we sprayed her every few days. Before long the second brown hen was being pecked also. They began to look like ex battery hens and we were getting very concerned. We thought it was both the whites as they were quite a big bigger than the browns. Last Sunday however we saw one of the whites pecking at the other white as well as the browns so decided she must be perpetrator.

Sadly a fox managed to get in the outer run and killed 3 of them early yesterday morning. We were absolutely mortified particulary because we had left the house door half open and the door to the attached run. This was because someone had advised us to as he never shut his in at night and never had any problems with pecking etc or foxes (and he lives in the countryside) As it was sometimes as late as 8.30am before I let them out of the house at the weekend I thought that if they could get out into the run the they would not be in a confined space and the feather pecking would cease. By the 5th night of doing this the fox got in, killed them, and left them. We think it was disturbed as the 4th hen was okay, maybe one of our cats had heard something and gone outside and triggered the light. On examining the run's perimiter we thin the fox had got in through the hedge between us and our neighbour. Stupidly we hadn't put any chicken wire up against it. We cannot believe how stupid we have been and feel really iresponsible. We thought long and hard for several months before getting the hens, we felt it was a big responsibilty and I in particular was afraid of being negligent in looking after them and them becoming ill or worse. How could we have been so stupid and caused the death of those innocent chickens. We really thought that the run was secure.

Our dilemma now is what to do. We would like to have hens again but I'm not sure we should. We said we would wait a while to see how we felt. A friend has suggested we go and get some more or less straight away, her logic being that its a bit like falling of a horse! Also there's the remaining hen to think about and I know your should not keep a solitary hen for too long. Ironically it is the one who did all the pecking who is left. We're also not sure of she is laying. Most days we would get 3 eggs a day, 2 brown ones with slight speckles and a larger paler brown one. We had witnessed that the other white did lay, so maybe they took it in turns laying every other day.

We have lots of questions and a forum was the only place I could think of to get some advice.How long is it fair to keep a hen on her own? If we were to get new hens would she just peck at them and start the cycle all over again? If we could find her a new home would she then become the one being picked on, in fact we wonder if anyone would be prepared to take her on. We are going the the edible garden show at stoneleigh park on Friday but I feel too embarassed to ask the chick expert there face to face. If anyone has any advice I would be very grateful. Apologies for the very long post.

[trinamc]

Hi

Sorry for the sad news about your hens, don't be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes when we start and we learn by the. Fence the part of the run that the fox got in with weld mesh that would be the first thing to do.

Then pack a picnic and go and look at the hens that are avaiable in your area, the hen that you have will be less likely to peck at the other hens if you put three others in the pen with her at the same time as she will be outnumbered.

When you have your new hens open a bottle of wine sit back and enjoy.

[ANHBUC]

Hi Jilt and welcome to the site.  Sorry you have lost some of your hens to a fox.  We all hope our setup is foxproof but they are so determined so don't blame yourself.  Learn from the experience and as trinamc says use weldmesh as a fox can chew through chicken wire.  I would make it as fox proof as possible before getting any more hens.  In the mean time a small mirror hung up in the run will help your remaining hen.  Spend time with her and throw a small handful of feed on the floor for her.  This will keep her more occupied while she is pecking around. 

[helens-hens]

I agree with trinamc - don't be so hard on yourself! What happened was very sad but you'll learn from this. You mention about using chicken wire but this isn't fox proof - best to use a thick gauge weldmesh.

Also I wouldn't say it is safe not to shut them in at night. If they are roosting in the hen house and the door is open & the fox gets in they won't be able to escape as they are in a confined space. Its not clear if you were leaving the run door open or not but even if that is shut I would still shut them in at night, particularly in colder weather, to avoid drafts. If you have a vertical pop hole door, you should be able to fit an automatic door opener with a timer so that the pop hole opens at a suitable time each morning.

I would get some more hens. If you add new hens to your flock they will establish the pecking order between them. If your remaing hen is very dominant perhaps be careful about the type of hens you choose e.g. Orpingtons though very large are known to have docile temperaments and can get bullied. Take a bit of time to research what is available and what would be suitable for you.

Hope this helps and that you decide to get more!

[Thrift]

Hi Jilt. As the others say don't be too hard on yourself; most of us have lost hens to the fox at sometime.

You do learn by your mistakes and foxes are wily creatures. The weld mesh is great so make the run as secure as possible, put this nasty experience behind you and plan for some new hens.  

[Jilt]

Thank you all for your replies, I am very grateful for them.

The inner run is weld mesh and up until last Thursday we always bolted it's door closed and closed the house door which closes horizontally so can't get an automatic opener for the light mornings.  I'll just get up, pop on the dressing gown and wellies, open the door and if I think it's too early I'll go back to bed for an hour. If necessary I'll set an alarm

Obviously last night we closed both doors and will continue to do so just as before. We usually hung up some cabbage for them (they'd only eat spring greens for some reason) and always gave them a handful of corn sprinkled on the ground to try to keep them occupied and send them to bed with a full crop.

At weekends, and other times if we were at home, we let them free range around the garden so they did have plenty to occupy them, suppose it was just one those things that one was pecking at the others. She is a very inquisitive bird, always trying to jump into the house when I'm trying to clean it out. She used to escape form the run a lot as well so we had to put loads of chicken wire on the run and house roofs to stop her, it resembles. colditz! She's also very confident and will chase magpies and squirrels in the garden.

I will research the different types of hens again. We eat a lot of eggs so good layers were our first requirement but as one post said we don't want any that are too placid or our remaining hen may well bully them. Does anyone have any suggestions? After looking on the internet I am now thinking our girl is a sussex star, is that the same as a light sussex? When I asked the breeder that we bought them from what type they were he just said they were hybrids, and I didn't push it cos I didn't want to sound as though  I didn't know what I was talking about.

Thanks again, we will get some more. We will fortify our run and go get some new girls, and will always always lock them in at night.

[Thrift]

If you want eggs and not pretty colours the ordinary brown hybrids are brilliant layers and very cheap to buy.

Be careful about free ranging in the garden unless it's totally secure because foxes will raid even in urban areas in broad daylight.

[Geo]

Hi Jilt  The sussex star is a hybrid of the sussex. I have a solway star which will be the same as your hen.