On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 18:20:37 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from martin contains these words:


If he only has two chickens, I think 4 acres would be o.k. without the
runs. Another problem would be to find their eggs.

Not at all. Mine laid almost all their eggs in the nest boxes in the
shed where they slept at night; either early in the morning before they
were let out, or returning later to do so.(Happy free range hens also
return to roost in the shed at dusk, entirely of their own accord).

I have memories of finding chicken eggs in odd places on the farm,
where I played, when I was a small kid. I am sure the hens were
happy. Perhaps they were badly educated or not brought up properly:-)


A hen can obviously feel an egg coming down and will start to make the
"egg coming" noise and look for a suitable spot (dim, safe, dry). Well
brought up free range hens will normally return up to a hundred yards
from ranging to the shed,

A hundred yards would put parts of a 4 acre site out of range?
--
Martin