Keeping hens and ducks chat.

crv1963

Hi my first post on this thread as I've just discovered it.


We've kept hens in the garden for around 5 years now. Our first 3 were kept in an area fenced off. After 2 years during some absolutely freezing weather Mr Fox despatched them, taking one for supper and killing the other two.


Our next attempt was 6 hens, moved into a much more secure fenced area- not covered and they managed well, the biggest problem was pigeons also treating it as caf! central! A couple died, and then another, and another- no symptoms just dead. Then we were down to two, Snow White and Tufty. They had a great time, jumped and climbed out of the pen every day and free ranged all over the garden, returning at night to their house. Sadly after being chased by visiting dogs (they chased our dogs and the Labrador is scared of them) Snow White died. Tufty being all alone was upset and started pulling her feathers out.


Fast forward 2 days later, despatch Tufty? Re-home Tufty our most timid hen to date? Buy her some friends? Well guess what we couldn't kill her, didn't want her picked on so she has four new friends!


Pigeons were blamed for the earlier demise of the majority of the second batch, so now we've bought them a covered run with the Hen House placed inside. 6x3 metres, with 2 metres having a tarpaulin over it- the keep the worst of the weather off the Hen House and keep an area dry, they have a large Lilac bush inside the run that holds them all when they want to be on it, a low wall for hopping and climbing and several branches they perch on. This weekend I have to make a swing for them.


The new ones have started laying, so we're getting 4 eggs a day at the moment, tufty always laid 6 eggs a week, and has started re-laying hers are much bigger green eggs, so she must be happy and is now boss hen because she is older and they came into her patch!


I'm going to follow this thread with interest and try to read through it all over the coming weeks.


Thank you.

dizzybee

thank you, for the advice, well she has cooled down a lot, the other two attacked her so bad they drew blood, so bathed her wounds and purple sprayed her, but they are still attacking her, they where fine in the coop at night but early this morning the noise was so bad, went to check her and there was blood so brought her into the house bathed her then but her to rest in the cat basket, she is currenty enjoying been in the garden in the rain the other two are back in the run but can see her, i keep trying to but them all together but its hell on earth she gets so stressed,
am supposing be rehoming five more in Aug but with all this going on i'm not sure.

edwink

jac99 wrote: »

I am hoping that having two sides of the coop against a fence may provide safety on those sides from digging underneath. But I guess it may provide its own difficulties from an aerial attack. I have also put fence spikes on top of the fence.

I have this afternoon discovered an old fashioned style animal store rather than a modern pet shop. Had a cup of tea and a chat with someone there for half an hour and they were really helpful and reassured me that my understanding and planning isn't too far off track.

Are there any plants/shrubs which deter either foxes or rodents?

Two sides against a fence could mean that you are not aware if a fox tries to dig underneath from the other side. Is this where you are thinking of digging the wire in to?

It is always a worry with foxes possibly trying to climb over. How high are your boundary fences? The fence spikes are an excellent idea to keep your hens safe. On the tops of our high gates we have gripper rod, these are the rods that carpet fitters use to hold carpets down and they are really pointed and sharp. Another idea as we have done is to fix black netting above the fences. We did this by extending the height of the fence posts with strong wood screwed to the posts then fixed black netting securely and tightly from those extended posts. Our fences are 6ft high and with the additional black netting they are 8ft-9ft. We used black netting as it is not as visible as green is so doesn't look unsightly.

Sounds like you enjoyed your cuppa and chat. I agree with them that your understanding and planning isn't too far off track. Sounds as though you are going to be one of those caring and sensible hen keepers which is lovely.

Sadly I am not aware of any plants that foxes and rodents don't like.

Edwink

edwink

crv1963 wrote: »

Hi my first post on this thread as I've just discovered it.

We've kept hens in the garden for around 5 years now. Our first 3 were kept in an area fenced off. After 2 years during some absolutely freezing weather Mr Fox despatched them, taking one for supper and killing the other two.

Our next attempt was 6 hens, moved into a much more secure fenced area- not covered and they managed well, the biggest problem was pigeons also treating it as caf! central! A couple died, and then another, and another- no symptoms just dead. Then we were down to two, Snow White and Tufty. They had a great time, jumped and climbed out of the pen every day and free ranged all over the garden, returning at night to their house. Sadly after being chased by visiting dogs (they chased our dogs and the Labrador is scared of them) Snow White died. Tufty being all alone was upset and started pulling her feathers out.

Fast forward 2 days later, despatch Tufty? Re-home Tufty our most timid hen to date? Buy her some friends? Well guess what we couldn't kill her, didn't want her picked on so she has four new friends!

Pigeons were blamed for the earlier demise of the majority of the second batch, so now we've bought them a covered run with the Hen House placed inside. 6x3 metres, with 2 metres having a tarpaulin over it- the keep the worst of the weather off the Hen House and keep an area dry, they have a large Lilac bush inside the run that holds them all when they want to be on it, a low wall for hopping and climbing and several branches they perch on. This weekend I have to make a swing for them.

The new ones have started laying, so we're getting 4 eggs a day at the moment, tufty always laid 6 eggs a week, and has started re-laying hers are much bigger green eggs, so she must be happy and is now boss hen because she is older and they came into her patch!

I'm going to follow this thread with interest and try to read through it all over the coming weeks. Thank you.

Hi welcome to our hen friendly thread.

Aww I am so pleased that Tufty is now ok and has new friends to keep her company.

Sadly commercial caged hens more often than not pull their feathers out. You only have to rescue some to see the poor condition some of them are in. It's so sad when they do that.

Looks like yours have plenty to keep them amused which is great. Marvellous idea to give them some shelter within the coop somewhere so at least that will keep them dry when it rains which is a bonus for them.

Do you have names for the 4 new hens yet? Do you know which breed they are?.

Glad you are going to continue reading on here as there are a lot of useful hints and tips within the posts.

Edwink

edwink

dizzybee wrote: »

thank you, for the advice, well she has cooled down a lot, the other two attacked her so bad they drew blood, so bathed her wounds and purple sprayed her, but they are still attacking her, they where fine in the coop at night but early this morning the noise was so bad, went to check her and there was blood so brought her into the house bathed her then but her to rest in the cat basket, she is currenty enjoying been in the garden in the rain the other two are back in the run but can see her, i keep trying to but them all together but its hell on earth she gets so stressed,
am supposing be rehoming five more in Aug but with all this going on i'm not sure.

Glad she has now cooled down bless her heart. It is so difficult when hens don't accept each other. It's a bit of a catch 22 situation really because if you leave her in with them they are bulling her and badly at that. But, when you remove her then put her back they start attacking her again so you can't win. Is there anyway you could wire off a section next to their coop where she could stay during the day?. Then you could put her back in at night/bed time with the other two. That way she will be close to them during the day and they will not be able to attack her and might in time learn to tolerate her. Then eventually she might be able to go back in with them. You could try that and see how it goes.

With regards to getting some more hens this could actually help her whereby the 2 hens will be busy trying to sort out who is top dog with the new ones coming in to the flock. They may well forget about her totally whilst trying to find out what the new hens are about and sorting out squabbles with them. She may even tag long with the new hens for support so the 5 become 6 and then the other 2 will be totally outnumbered which could sort the issue out once and for all.

Hope that helps

Edwink

crv1963

Hi Edwink


We have an Amber (ironically she's all white with white legs) called Walter, a Copper Black called Jacko (she's a beautiful copper black colour and shimmers in the sunlight, she seems to moon walk!), a Speckledy called Harriet, a Columbine (our most nervous/ shy one so far but they're still settling in) called Tuftytwo and then there is our original Columbine called Tufty, who has gone from most nervous and bossed about to Boss Hen and bossiest hen as she's older and bigger than the others.


We are thinking about getting a Cockrel as there is no-one other than us to disturb, as although we live in the middle of town, we are on our own hill and nearest neighbour is about 150yds away from us. What are your thoughts? We go to Durham Hens www.durhamhens.co.uk for hens and they had some smaller cockrels not sure of breed but they looked like little fluffy monkeys!


After our losses to Mr Fox, I was advised to urinate around the pen, and also let our dogs run free near the pen.

jac99

Thanks very much for your thoughts.

I have sunk the wire into the ground and filled a trough around the base area with rubble to try and create an underground barrier!

I have had a rethink about the coop/run after a few wet days in Norfolk and sitting looking out of the window considering how difficult it might be to clean out a combined low level coop/run in the rain and mud.

So I have now found a walk in run that will give the chickens a little more space but also I think will make my life a bit easier. This also means that I can have a little more space around the fence to be able to look for any burrows or signs of digging.

I have read that mint plants may be a deterrent for rats so think I will plant some around the outside of the run just in case.

I have also been reading about the use of herbs and spices to promote the health and wellbeing of hens, through providing foliage to eat or putting particular leaves in nesting boxes and dirt baths. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience of this?

Thanks again for all your ideas.

dizzybee

well today has been really calm,a bit of falling out but not has bad has its been, so hopefully things are turning am just catching up on all your lovely tales of hen keeping, i find it very relaxing and just want to be in the garden, with them.The next re home is the 20th Sept so if things are better may get some more,

edwink

crv1963 wrote: »

Hi Edwink
We have an Amber (ironically she's all white with white legs) called Walter.

We are thinking about getting a Cockrel as there is no-one other than us to disturb, as although we live in the middle of town, we are on our own hill and nearest neighbour is about 150yds away from us. What are your thoughts? We go to Durham Hens www.durhamhens.co.uk for hens and they had some smaller cockrels not sure of breed but they looked like little fluffy monkeys!

After our losses to Mr Fox, I was advised to urinate around the pen, and also let our dogs run free near the pen.

I love Amber Star hens because they are so easy to tame. We had one here some years ago and she was the most lovely natured hen and would readily come and sit on my lap or my shoulder. I really loved that little hen.

Why not get a Cockerel I say. Our poor little boy was going to be put down at a few months old if a home was not found for him so we took him in. The poor thing was introduced to 15 hens at the time and they chased him everywhere. But, I warned the hens that when he found his feet and his voice he will get his own back. Once we heard the C*ck-A-Doodle-Doo that was it he had the upper hand and became their boss and the table was turned on them. He had them running everywhere so I said don't come crying to me little hens you deserve all he gives back now:rotfl: I have to say it was so comical watching him chasing them as he was about the same size as them and was trying to work out how he was meant to jump on their backs. In the end he started by doing this little shuffle with his feet and even now he is 4 years old he still does that little shuffle. It's a bit like ready, steady, leap.

Good idea about letting your dogs run free near your hens coop. Anything like that will help protect them.

Edwink

Pyxis

If foxes become a real problem, I wonder if lion dung might help?

You can get it as a cat-repellant, and because it is a big predator thing, it might work with foxes.

It's quite hygienic.....comes in dried pellets, and only has a faint scent to humans.

Downside is it can work out expensive, as you have to replenish it after heavy rain, but might be useful in an 'emergency' or if all else fails.