Daydream thread continues.....

lostinrates

I think it depends what the run or enclosure is as to how ethical the change is. We free range but I keep in when the hunt are passing the yard, for worming and on a few other occasions, I miss having a good run for the first and latter.


We just brought it a decent stack of wood for tonight and tomorrow and dh is filling the wood hopper. Ready to set the heating on for a longer period for the next few days if needed. .

And I turned the water off in the yard ....no burst pipes for us tonight please!

ukmaggie45

Rummer wrote: »

Since we are having a holiday at home this year I think I will try growing greenhouse veg. In the past I have started them we have gone away for a week and when I have come home they have been beyond saving. I am thinking toms and cucumbers. Yellow toms are delicious and I would love to grow them.

There are "relatively" cheap irrigation systems that will last for 1-2 weeks, depending on how many pots you have connected to them. There are also self make ones too, eg out of plastic 2 litre lemonade bottles. If things calm down here (MiL back in hospital again and complications to do with them thinking they can just discharge her back to her flat on Tuesday) I'm thinking of looking at the various options with a view to trying to make some cheapo ones to use for the odd weekend.

We bought a cheap (Aldi or Lidl) garden watering system last year, but didn't bother setting it up yet. We even added the timing system to our purchase - I should check didn't leave the batteries in!

And then of course we immediately got gifted a full long length of seeper hose that DD2 and her OH had been using to keep their new hornbeam hedge watered while it got established!

Davesnave

I don't think you have to free range, but it's important not to overcrowd the run and to choose breeds with enclosure in mind.

When we started out, our little run soon became too small, but we thought: "No matter, we have a big stable they can run about in. We can put perches and toys in there, and they'll be fine until we can get the orchard enclosed."

Wrong!:o:o:o

We had Vorwerks and Dorkings, both active, foraging birds, which go out in all weathers. They hated the stable. Even though they had lots of space, they were locked in a power struggle and there was lots of feather pecking going on. It was a nightmare.

As soon as we got them outside in the orchard, all the nonsense stopped.....well, except for one Dorking, which still has a beak ring. We call her 'Punk.'

But as they say, "Your experience may be different."

lostinrates

Davesnave wrote: »

I don't think you have to free range, but it's important not to overcrowd the run and to choose breeds with enclosure in mind.

When we started out, our little run soon became too small, but we thought: "No matter, we have a big stable they can run about in. We can put perches and toys in there, and they'll be fine until we can get the orchard enclosed."

Wrong!:o:o:o

We had Vorwerks and Dorkings, both active, foraging birds, which go out in all weathers. They hated the stable. Even though they had lots of space, they were locked in a power struggle and there was lots of feather pecking going on. It was a nightmare.

As soon as we got them outside in the orchard, all the nonsense stopped.....well, except for one Dorking, which still has a beak ring. We call her 'Punk.'

But as they say, "Your experience may be different."

No, I think tis is valid, as is your ethical point about moving free range to enclosed is a very true one IMO.

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

And I turned the water off in the yard ....no burst pipes for us tonight please!

Ours is still on. Pete came with a load of logs at the crucial time, and as it was bucketing with rain, I wanted to get those under cover fast.

We were still too slow. I have a nasty feeling they'd been in the back of the pick-up all afternoon!

We are only forecast to drop to 1C anyway. It seems hard to think of frost with the river almost at bank height again.

alfie_1

rozeepozee wrote: »

Hmmm, I want to free range them though. Can they not be out and about some of the time? My MIL's hens seem to bob around the allotment quite happily some of the time. This is where my total lack of experience shows. I think I'm probably going to have to find these things out by trial and error, do you think? Everyone seems to say something different/have their own way.

my two penneth worth....:D:rotfl:

ive found that when i get new chooks, i put them in an ark/house with pen. i keep them in for 2-3 weeks. i built a run around the coup. i let them into pen/big run for 2-3 weeks and they can go in thier house within the coup.
i then let them out freerange when im about and they put themselves to bed...i close ark door then the big run door...double secure.
now ,if im out i just leave them in the big run

if you can understand that...youve got yourself a blue peter badge...:rotfl::rotfl:

stitching_witch

alfie_1 wrote: »

if you can understand that...youve got yourself a blue peter badge...:rotfl::rotfl:

Not only did I understand it, that's exactly our setup as well!

rozeepozee

lostinrates wrote: »

No, I think tis is valid, as is your ethical point about moving free range to enclosed is a very true one IMO.

Reading these comments, I'm beginning to think our six plus years of full time human-animal husbandry is a transferable skill! Environment is so important to well being and behaviour. And I need to treat chickens like they're chickens and we'll probably do okay.

Itsme, thanks for the link. I pretty much bought that coop and run, but a much bigger run. The prices are incredibly low at the moment and, while the coop might not last as long as some of the more expensive ones, it'll be a good "starter" house. Once we've had a bit of practice on a small scale, we can get bigger housing and use this as back up. It's a flat pack, so we'll treat it before we put it together to try to extend its life.

What would you treat it with to preserve it? Can you use any preventive treatment against red mite (I've had some experience of those !!!!!!s as I kept pigeons as a teen)

Alfie, what you said was the reason why I decided to buy a house and a run. I think I'll get some electric fencing once they're settled in. I'm thinking get them to know where they live for a fortnight in the run, then out into an electric fence enclosed area with coop/run inside that, then probably free range, or a mix of the same, depending on the level of security required.

It may be that I'm not a total numpty when it comes to keeping animals. It's just years since I've had any, but I've kept (in no particular order) rats, snakes, tarantulas, dogs, cats, birds, a hare and when we lived in Pakistan, surrounded by lots of chickens and goats (hence my love of the Anglo Nubian), terrapins, amphibians and fish!

Davesnave

rozeepozee wrote: »

It's a flat pack, so we'll treat it before we put it together to try to extend its life.

What would you treat it with to preserve it? Can you use any preventive treatment against red mite (I've had some experience of those !!!!!!s as I kept pigeons as a teen)

If you treat it all with a couple of coats of Creocote, that will set you up against mites for some time to come. It will creep into all the joints where they like to hide.

You can put hens into a Creocoted house sooner than one treated with creosote, as the fumes are less intense. A week after treatment will be fine.
I do our small coop with it every year.

Edited to add: If you are going to be putting an electric fenced area around the run, then that's a different thing from just using a small run, like the one in itsme's pictures.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

morning all,

looks a bit crisp out there today...

going to be die-cutting hearts out of wool fabric today, and making a few make-up bags etc ready for next week... dont think we will sell any bags, but its to give the crafters some ideas ... I need to start making them again anyway, for the royal welsh spring show in may.

hopeing the die-cut hearts will sell