Chickens #2

The chickens are normally confined in a 5x5m moveable run.  The frequency of moving it depends on the weather conditions - 7 chickens can turn a 25m2 area into mud VERY quickly in the rain!  On weekends when we're around I sometimes let them properly free range on the 8 acres around the house.  Its amazing how much of their food they pick up 'on the range' like this, and I'm sure if we expand our free range egg enterprise 'pastured poultry' is the way to go.

I'm always a bit nervous when I come to shut them up at dusk, after my experience the second time I let them free range.  I had left it a bit late to shut them up, and as is often the case here it was raining, and all 7 hens had roamed the wrong side of an ordinary 4 foot high stock fence.  They were soaked, huddled up to the fence, about 6 feet away from their run, which they were looking at longingly.  Now, if it puts it's mind to it a chicken can easily jump over a stock fence, but not one out of the 7 had realised that was possible this evening - they were resigned to settling down for the night where they were!  The first thing I tried was to rattle some layer's pellets loudly in a tin in their run, to try to inspire them to jump the fence.  It just made them try to push unsuccessfully through the fence, looking even more miserable and wet, without a hint of a jump or even a hop!  It was really dark by this time, so by the light of my torch, in the now driving rain I trudged around to their side of the stock fence.

I did the usual thing - tried to chase them into a corner - quite time consuming in a field!  I tried to trap them between the fence and my leg, and pinning them there so I could grab them.  In desperation I put a long plank from the ground to the top of the fence to encourage them to walk up and jump over.  I tried to 'net' them with a big feed sack.  None of them worked very well, but after an hour's sweat, swearing and tears (yes, really) I had managed to grab each of the 7 individually and gently drop it onto the 'run' side of the fence.  5 of the hens had then gratefully re-entered their run and gone straight to bed, 2 of them were pitifully walking around and around the run, unable to grasp the concept of the door!  More chasing, cornering, pinning, netting etc. etc. and they were all safely in the house.  Vowing to never let the bl**** chickens out of their bl**** run ever a bl**** gain I trudged slowly and miserably back to the house, dropped my soaked clothes onto the floor and sank exhausted into bed.

Of course on more optimistic, sunny, weekend days this was soon forgotten, and I've let them range lots of times since, and they have slowly learnt how to navigate fences and gates.

The 'impregnable' fence earlier today.  At dusk they had all managed to return safety to their house!

I was given 'Salad Bar Beef' for Christmas http://www.amazon.co.uk/Salad-Bar-Beef-Allan-Nation/dp/096381091X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336773229&sr=8-1 by the brilliant Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm (http://www.polyfacefarms.com/) (he wrote it, rather than giving it to me!).  When he's describing their 'eggmobile' system of pastured poultry he mentions that they do not use hybrid hens as they don't have enough 'brains' to survive on the range, and that they only use pure-breeds.  Its an interesting point, the Tymawr farm hybrids certainly seem to be pretty stupid (even though they are brilliantly productive and look great), so it might be sensible to sacrifice a bit of output for some brains when we step up production to the next level?  Having said that the hybrids have learnt over time, and if they had been totally free ranging from day one I guess they would have been fine after the first few weeks.  The question then would just be whether they would actually survive the first few weeks or not!