Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
"doug" writes:
| "jay jay" wrote in
message
| ...
|
| on the subject of chickens, I'm thinking of getting three - can
anyone
| tell me what flowers/vegetables in my garden might be of serious
risk
| or maybe this is a rather naive question?! (I'm at the very
early
| research stage and yet to convince somebody else what a
wonderful idea
| this is) I would like them to be as free as possible, though
obviously
| inside at night.
|
| They must have an area fenced off with wire netting six feet high
to stop
| them flying out on to your cherished flowerbeds. It is cruel to
snip
| their wing flight feathers. Those are the big long feathers on
the
| outer lengths of their wings. Within weeks their compound will be
a
| sea of mud and nary a blade of grass in sight. ...

Unless the compound is VERY small, that won't work - they can fly
above 6', you know. If you are to keep unclipped chickens, the
run must be netted on top as well as all round.
It depends on the chickens. Our Buff Orpingtons never got over a 2'6"
strip of, um, chicken wire. The Rhode Island Reds needed to have their
wings clipped (but not much).
And the reason that your compound is a sea of mud is because it is
very small, which can be cruel.

And exactly why do you think that clipping flight feathers is
cruel? Feathers are dead tissue, just like hair.
Quite.