Chickens

[docsquid]

I just wondered if anybody keeps chickens at their wood? Our wood has been extensively used for grazing in the past, and there is an area adjacent to our new storage shed which was evidently a garden when our derelict building was a dwelling - it has domestic roses growing wild there. We have a few raised beds there to grow vegetables, have planted a small apple and plum orchard (heritage species), and have planning permission for a greenhouse to raise our own saplings (plus the odd tomato plant). It doesn't have good soil (underneath is an old gravel track), so using it as a "garden" again is probably improving the flora and fauna, rather than detracting from it. The chickens would have a large run, and we would let them out whenever we are there.

It would seem like a good place to put an Eglu or simlar to raise a few chickens. Does anybody else keep chickens in their wood? If so, are you able to leave them a few days between feeds? How do you fox-proof the runs? What do you do when you are on holiday? How do you stop vandals getting in and letting them out or just stealing them?

[Darren]

I would say you need to check on the birds everyday.

[wood troll]

Hi docsquid,

By default our chickens wander to the edge of our wooded areas. They love being under bushes and trees where they can rootle around in leaf mould etc.

I agree with Darren that they should be looked at every day, mainly for fresh water, but also for feed. We do not leave the chucks alone without a neighbor at least checking them and feeding them once a day if we are away (the helpful neighbor gets to keep any eggs laid on those days).

I think one of your biggest problems would be that of predators. Not only the usual suspect the fox, but we have lost chickens to both weasels and dogs. Probably even worse though are the two legged pests who could steal or torment penned birds. I do not think you can make a chicken pen vandal proof!

wood troll

[Exeldama]

Chickens are cool... i grew up with a load of free range ones and me and my kids have one each now called Blackie, snowy and buff chicken.. (its an ex fighting bird).

The issue of attending to them is straight forward in that if you dont you are leaving yourself open to trouble. Firstly in regards to Animal welfare legislation which places a duty of care upon you and the bench mark is common practice and the actions of a reasonably competent person... ie attend everyday. Secondly if things go wrong you can step in promptly.

Pens can be made pest proof. Though i hate that term, its like calling a flower a weed as soon as we have no further use for it. Depending on where you are.. Mink can be a serious problem, foxes of course, stoats too (weasel normally ok). Badgers will also take chickens given the chance.

Remember once your number gets relativley high you should be imforming your local vet and DEFRA (bird flu precautions) I would have to check the number, its changed several times.

The best defence for chickens is to pick a breed that naturally roost off the ground. Some of the Bantams are limited. Given the chance feral chickens can often be found 15-20 feet up a tree at night... thus if you can keep a good tree in the compound great.

Space is really important.... firstly because they can poison the soil quite quickly with their faeces which burn the ground and shouldnt be used for fertiliser til they have broken down a bit and mixed ( a garderner will tell you more). Secondly as someone who has seen chickens having a great time foraging instead of having Ready meals provided, i think its a shame to do anything else. They will hammer the invertebrates they get access to. Their roots are in the jungles of Asia so its quite fitting in some respects to see them in woods.

[docsquid]

Thank you so much for the advice. Attending every day with a very occasional stretch to two days won't be a problem, and when we are on holiday they will come back home to the garden so the person feeding our cats can feed and water the chickens (and get the eggs).

We have ordered an Eglu cube (the larger one) with an extended run and three chickens, so they will have plenty of room when they have to stay in the run, and of course when we are at the wood (which is most days) they can roam free.

We have decided to put a padlock on the door to the run so that casual visits by kids will not result in them simply opening the door for a bit of fun. The run will be pegged down, and moved every couple of days (we have 11 acres to move them around in). Also it won't be put in a place that is obvious from the road, or to people trying to steal stuff from our storage building - we have several clearings that would serve well.

We realise predation is a risk, but hope that the very plentiful supply of wild rabbits and pheasants will at least provide an alternative food supply such that the chickens aren't the only thing they are interested in.

If there are any problems we haven't ordered so many chickens that we can't transfer them home and look after them in the garden instead.

I'm really excited about the prospect of organic free range eggs!

[greyman]

Hello Docsquid,

We had our 'girls' for a long time in a large garden setting. We had visits from Mr Raynard and even Mr & Mrs Brock having a look see by climbing on the top of the 'Ark'. The only thing I can avise at the moment is that you may be a bit disapointed if you are expecting lots of eggs from 3 chicks at this time of year. Depending on the type your getting (ours were hybrid Maran and Speckled) you may find that they have already stopped laying and might not start again until just after Christmas. I'm not an expert but even our hybrid girls didn't lay 365 days a year. As the years went by we got less and less too. Of course the amount of light they get will make a difference too - if they are in a clearing that is overshadowed by trees the light levels may extend the barren months a bit. How will they be locked in and let out? What time do you think this will happen? Unless you get an auto opening and shutting door for the ark they really should be checked both ends of the day if you want to make sure they are safe. You might want to think about how warm they will be on thier perch if the weather get cold too.

We thought about chicks in our wood but even though I'm not known for my animal lib views I wouldn't keep any up there - we are only 10 minutes away too. You might also want to consider what effect they will have on the ground - chicks love to dig holes to bath in and if you've ever seen a chicken scratching you'll appreciate that they can make a good go of eating most things. As has been said thier croppings can be an issue with the ground as is the problems with any food they don't eat - if there is any chance there are rats you may find they'll make runs around the fence and even make tunnels underneath. Still good practic for the air rifle!

Sounds like I'm trying to put you off but I'm not really - have chicks they're interesting - but they do actually need a bit of TLC to thrive and I think in a field that you visit each end of the day is bestest!

Greyman

[docsquid]

Hi Greyman - we were advised by the Eglu people that the ark doesn't need locking provided you keep the run itself locked. It would not be practical for us to visit twice a day to let them out and back in again, but we were told they'll just find their own way in to perch for the night. We were also advised that provided they aren't ex battery hens and therefore have thin feathers we don't need to worry about them being too cold - they have feathers and will keep warm enough in their roost together.

We plan to move the ark every time we are at the woods, so more or less every day. This should mean the sappers won't have much chance to get a real tunnel system going. In the garden that would be harder to do this as it isn't very big. We were advised to give them a tray of mud to have a dirt bath in if this isn't available where the ark is sited.

We aren't expecting many eggs in the winter - that is one reason we decided to start now, so we'll be used to having a few eggs before they start laying a lot!

[davetb]

Hi,

We had an eglu ( with 3 bantams ) and recently upgraded to an eglu cube and got an additional 3 ex-battery chickens, in our garden - not wood. If you look at the omlet forum ( people who make the eglu ) you'll find that lots of people don't open and shut the eglu. We have always left the door open so the chickens can go in at night and come out in the morning when they want. We leave them for several days with no problems - need to ensure there's enough feed and water. We did have a problem with rats burrowing into the run but they ate the food and didn't bother the chickens. If you want to let the chickens out, when you are there, they are easy to get back into the run with 'mixed corn' feed. It's used sparingly as a treat. Our ex-battery hens have been laying an egg each most days. I think an eglu cube in the woods would work well, the new ones are easy to move on their wheels.

Good luck, Dave

[tracy]

Can anyone comment on the blog on chickens?

http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/woodland-activities/can-i-keep-chickens-in-woodland/

Any thoughts? Please post on the woodlands blogs that might help

T

[docsquid]

Out of interest, we have seen too much in the way of fox activity at the woods to let the chickens leave our garden and go there. So we have three chickens in our garden, free range when we are at home, which is a lot of the time. They started to lay in November and we have had an egg a day from two of them since then, and about 6 eggs a week from the third. We hope to add a couple more in the Spring. The cube is now on a permanent base with horse bedding (Hemcore) on the base, and this is easier to manage than poo on the lawn.

Chickens at the wood would have to be a bigger venture, with electric fencing, to make it possible to keep them safe, and a greater investment in time than we have available.