Chickens killing my garden
 

Just coming to the end of my first 6 months with a bunch (that is
now a total of 5!) of chickens pecking and scratching at everything
in the garden.

Now my garden has never been the neatest of places - it's productive
and good for the kids to play with (or was until it was coated in
chicken poo!), but it's always been relatively nice to look at, in
a slightly haphazard way. Now it's kind of ... a few straggley plants
looking sadly out of the ground where the chickens have scratched up
the soil and pecked at all the new green shoots.

Other than "cook the chickens" or "keep them in their run", does
anyone have any advice along the lines of plants the chickens won't
like so will keep away from?

Chickens killing my garden
 

wrote in message
...
Just coming to the end of my first 6 months with a bunch (that is
now a total of 5!) of chickens pecking and scratching at everything
in the garden.

Now my garden has never been the neatest of places - it's productive
and good for the kids to play with (or was until it was coated in
chicken poo!), but it's always been relatively nice to look at, in
a slightly haphazard way. Now it's kind of ... a few straggley plants
looking sadly out of the ground where the chickens have scratched up
the soil and pecked at all the new green shoots.

Other than "cook the chickens" or "keep them in their run", does
anyone have any advice along the lines of plants the chickens won't
like so will keep away from?


Having kept chickens, I found the only thing they wouldn't touch was nettles
and a rosemary bush.

mark

Chickens killing my garden
 

mark wrote:
Having kept chickens, I found the only thing they wouldn't touch was nettles
and a rosemary bush.

Just caught them munching the fennel that they've previously ignored.
*sigh*
Rosemary is a possibility. If I took cuttings from my current one and
planted them along the edge of the fence with next door, that may
disuade them from visiting the neighbours so much.

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:52:07 +0000, vicky wrote:

Just coming to the end of my first 6 months with a bunch (that is now a
total of 5!) of chickens pecking and scratching at everything in the
garden.


Electric fence to keep them in: worked for me. Keeps foxes out, too. Mind
you, it didn't stop a badger getting in and killing half of them!
Replacing with ducks works for others.

Chickens killing my garden
 

Anne Welsh Jackson wrote:
Rosemary is a possibility. If I took cuttings from my current one and
planted them along the edge of the fence with next door, that may
disuade them from visiting the neighbours so much.
I don't think it would stop them "visiting" - they just wouldn't stop
for a snack on the way out, or again, on the way back in...

But if I used it to block the gap they (well, only one of them,
actually) seem to be getting through, they won't nibble their
way through!

Oh yes, I got dragged into the garden today to look at the
thing Nick had found in the garden ... he discovered the big
chicken hiding between the run and the hedge whilst he was
trimming the hedge, shooed her out of the way and discovered
a stash of 12 eggs! (5 from her, 7 from Little Chicken)
So I guess the 10 day spell when they weren't laying may now
be explained.

The scary thing was, when he shooed her off (I think he picked
her up and plonked her down) on the lawn and ... out popped
another egg!

Chickens killing my garden
 

wrote in message
...
mark wrote:
Having kept chickens, I found the only thing they wouldn't touch was
nettles
and a rosemary bush.

Just caught them munching the fennel that they've previously ignored.
*sigh*
Rosemary is a possibility. If I took cuttings from my current one and
planted them along the edge of the fence with next door, that may
disuade them from visiting the neighbours so much.


You'd probably get away with just a 1m high chicken wire fence. Although
chickens can jump a lot higher than this, they always jump up on to
something rigid first then jump down. So a 1m chicken wire fence would be
better than a 6 foot panel fence for keeping them in. Also the bigger the
bird the less likely they are to attempt anything athletic!

mark

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 17, 2:52*pm, wrote:
Just coming to the end of my first 6 months with a bunch (that is
now a total of 5!) of chickens pecking and scratching at everything
in the garden.

Now my garden has never been the neatest of places - it's productive
and good for the kids to play with (or was until it was coated in
chicken poo!), but it's always been relatively nice to look at, in
a slightly haphazard way. *Now it's kind of ... a few straggley plants
looking sadly out of the ground where the chickens have scratched up
the soil and pecked at all the new green shoots.

Other than "cook the chickens" or "keep them in their run", does
anyone have any advice along the lines of plants the chickens won't
like so will keep away from?

OK, this might seem a bit, err, out there, ( and TBH, I'm not really
being serious) but I was thinking along the lines of how farmers use
electric fences to control cattle grazing and came up with the idea of
two large plastic sheets.
You lay them out, so that they can't blow away (but one still
relatively folded up) and each day fold back, say, a metre or two of
the spread out sheet, whilst unfolding the other to close off the
space from the previous day.

This way, every morning, as you fold back one sheet all the critters
that that being hiding on the surface, just under the plastic, would
be come fast-food, sort to speak.

Chickens killing my garden
 

mark wrote:
You'd probably get away with just a 1m high chicken wire fence. Although
chickens can jump a lot higher than this, they always jump up on to
something rigid first then jump down. So a 1m chicken wire fence would be
better than a 6 foot panel fence for keeping them in. Also the bigger the
bird the less likely they are to attempt anything athletic!

Damned thing got into next door /again/ yesterday, and made a right mess
of her garden. :- She's going to have to stay locked in (Chickeny,
not the neighbour!) until we can figure out what to do

I have fenced off a little area (approx 15820ft) for my 3 chicks. It is mainly stone chips with some mucky patches. I gave up on letting them into the garden.

The fence I have used is only 600mm x 2 inch mesh and they haven't jumped out as yet!

One of them actually roosts in the doorway overnight rather than on the perch inside the coop!

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:21:36 +0000, vicky wrote:

mark wrote:
You'd probably get away with just a 1m high chicken wire fence.
Although chickens can jump a lot higher than this, they always jump up
on to something rigid first then jump down. So a 1m chicken wire fence
would be better than a 6 foot panel fence for keeping them in. Also the
bigger the bird the less likely they are to attempt anything athletic!

Damned thing got into next door /again/ yesterday, and made a right mess
of her garden. :- She's going to have to stay locked in (Chickeny, not
the neighbour!) until we can figure out what to do

Where is this? If it's a semi in a suburban location somewhere in the UK I
thought that it was verboten to keep chickens - the council doesn't allow
it here sadly.

Chickens killing my garden
 

David wrote:
Where is this? If it's a semi in a suburban location somewhere in the UK I
thought that it was verboten to keep chickens - the council doesn't allow
it here sadly.

It's actually a terrace in a suburban-ish location. Never even
considered if the council would complain, tbh. But we're not the
only people around the area with chickens, so either they're happy
to turn a blind eye (unless our neighbours decide to complain,
perhaps - but they're more likely to complain direct to us than to
make it official) or it doesn't apply here.

They have just given permission to allow chickens + rabbits on
allotments in the area, too, after a bit of hassle. Afaik, no-one
is doing that yet.

Hmm. I may have to go browse our council website and see if I can
find out.

Chickens killing my garden
 

Janet Baraclough wrote:
Now we're heading into winter, when plant growth stops but chicken
scratching and pecking
intensifies (because they need more calories in cold weather). So by
spring, your garden is likely to
be a mudbath, with no plant growth within chicken reach. In a small
area, chicken poo gradually acidifies the soil to
a level which along with the scratching, reduces the population of worms
and other soil-living creatures.

Hmm. Hadn't thought of the poo being a problem. We've always looked at
it as a natural fertiliser. Actually, a lot of it gets thrown onto the
compost.

You will then find, that the lack of green material and live food in
their diet, changes the colour of the egg yolks and reduces the
free-range taste quality you enjoyed this past summer.

I have to be perfectly honest, eggs just taste like eggs to me, I'm very
unappreciative of this "ooh, it was lovely and fresh" attitude everyone
else seems to have. (As I think I said, they're my partner's chickens
not mine, although I'm kind of getting fond of them in a 'pet' kind of
way)

will peck each other until they are bald and bleeding). and fresh plant
material to maintain egg quality (try a grocer, for their veg waste) in
addition to chicken feed and grain.

Yeah, I was doing that for a while, but our local grocer's closed after
a 6 month or so trial opening. Although when I come back from work I
do pass a few "any bowl for a pound" market stalls which have quite bad
fruit that I may start buying for them.

Finally, I would say that "chicken damage" and egg production are
both closely related to the breed, size and number of hens kept. 2 or
3 birds of a commercial laying hybrid,
will vastly out-lay a dozen little bantams, or, 6 heavy traditional
meat breeds. So you may be able to redress the problem to some extent by
choice of breed and flock size.

I don't know what we currently have, other than there are 5 of them, and
2 are bantams and 2 are still 'babies', with 1 bantam and 1 big one both
laying slightly less than 1 a day each atm. The big one is brown and
looks quite 'standard chicken', and the bantams are small and white with
black markings. The other two are much prettier, but again i can't
recall what they are.

In terms of feeding, my 3 get kitchen scraps. They love raw spinach, pomegranate and carrot gratings. They will eat apple if it's finely chopped. They do turn their noses up at quite a lot though!

Their pen area is unroofed and mainly stone chippings with some mud and grass. There is a large space under their coop where they settle if it's raining. And damned if I can't get them to lay their eggs in the egg box! They are always inside the coop in a really hard spot to reach., Must get a fake egg or three and start to teach them where to put them!

They were starting to slow down their egg-laying up until 2 weeks ago when I installed a timed light in their coop. I was getting 2 eggs a day from the 3, now I seem to be getting 3 eggs 6 days a week and two one day a week. They are great wee layers and don't demand much once you have the basics sorted.

Chickens killing my garden
 

glasgowdan wrote:
In terms of feeding, my 3 get kitchen scraps. They love raw spinach,
pomegranate and carrot gratings. They will eat apple if it's finely
chopped. They do turn their noses up at quite a lot though!

Ours love cold rice, particularly partial to vegetarian risotto.

Chickens killing my garden
 

"glasgowdan" wrote in message
...

In terms of feeding, my 3 get kitchen scraps. They love raw spinach,
pomegranate and carrot gratings. They will eat apple if it's finely
chopped. They do turn their noses up at quite a lot though!

I hope this is addition to their correct diet of layers pellets and not
instead of!

Their pen area is unroofed and mainly stone chippings with some mud and
grass.

Mud is not good.


There is a large space under their coop where they settle if it's
raining. And damned if I can't get them to lay their eggs in the egg
box! They are always inside the coop in a really hard spot to reach.,
Must get a fake egg or three and start to teach them where to put
them!

They were starting to slow down their egg-laying up until 2 weeks ago
when I installed a timed light in their coop. I was getting 2 eggs a
day from the 3, now I seem to be getting 3 eggs 6 days a week and two
one day a week. They are great wee layers and don't demand much once
you have the basics sorted.

You don't sound like you have the basics sorted to me, tbh. If I understand
you right, you feed them on kitchen scraps, let them out on mud and they do
not like their nest box. Must try harder.

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 23, 5:39*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"glasgowdan" wrote in message

...



In terms of feeding, my 3 get kitchen scraps. They love raw spinach,
pomegranate and carrot gratings. They will eat apple if it's finely
chopped. They do turn their noses up at quite a lot though!

I hope this is addition to their correct diet of layers pellets and not
instead of!



Their pen area is unroofed and mainly stone chippings with some mud and
grass.

Mud is not good.

*There is a large space under their coop where they settle if it's

raining. And damned if I can't get them to lay their eggs in the egg
box! They are always inside the coop in a really hard spot to reach.,
Must get a fake egg or three and start to teach them where to put
them!

They were starting to slow down their egg-laying up until 2 weeks ago
when I installed a timed light in their coop. I was getting 2 eggs a
day from the 3, now I seem to be getting 3 eggs 6 days a week and two
one day a week. They are great wee layers and don't demand much once
you have the basics sorted.

You don't sound like you have the basics sorted to me, tbh. *If I understand
you right, you feed them on kitchen scraps, let them out on mud and they do
not like their nest box. *Must try harder.

I am relieved that mine came home today Tina after staying out all
night, bad girls!!! I moved their Egu (Yes, I heard you cuss and the
quick intake of breath:-)), just a few feet away, the silly things
didn't like the move. I called them this p.m. and they scuttled
across the field to me like little old ladies, running, they got
double helpings of food tonight.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

"Judith in France" wrote in message
...

and they scuttled
across the field to me like little old ladies,

.................................................. ...............

At what age do Ladies become 'Little Old Ladies'?


--
Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rneba.org.uk
Luxury Self Catering on the Isle of Wight?
www.shanklinmanormews.co.uk

Chickens killing my garden
 

"Judith in France" wrote in message
...
On Oct 23, 5:39 pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"glasgowdan" wrote in message

...



In terms of feeding, my 3 get kitchen scraps. They love raw spinach,
pomegranate and carrot gratings. They will eat apple if it's finely
chopped. They do turn their noses up at quite a lot though!

I hope this is addition to their correct diet of layers pellets and not
instead of!



Their pen area is unroofed and mainly stone chippings with some mud and
grass.

Mud is not good.

There is a large space under their coop where they settle if it's

raining. And damned if I can't get them to lay their eggs in the egg
box! They are always inside the coop in a really hard spot to reach.,
Must get a fake egg or three and start to teach them where to put
them!

They were starting to slow down their egg-laying up until 2 weeks ago
when I installed a timed light in their coop. I was getting 2 eggs a
day from the 3, now I seem to be getting 3 eggs 6 days a week and two
one day a week. They are great wee layers and don't demand much once
you have the basics sorted.

You don't sound like you have the basics sorted to me, tbh. If I
understand
you right, you feed them on kitchen scraps, let them out on mud and they
do
not like their nest box. Must try harder.

I am relieved that mine came home today Tina after staying out all
night, bad girls!!! I moved their Egu (Yes, I heard you cuss and the
quick intake of breath:-)), just a few feet away, the silly things
didn't like the move. I called them this p.m. and they scuttled
across the field to me like little old ladies, running, they got
double helpings of food tonight.

---------

You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. I don't know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they didn't
seem to be in Germany.

It's impossible for me to free range mine now as foxes come in the daytime
too. Once it was perfectly safe as long as I made certain I shut the huts
up at dusk. Now it isn't.
I'm reduced to keeping my poultry in huts with runs attached made of
weldmesh with concrete slab floors and a roof on.
It worked for ages with no roofs on, 6 feet high, but then one fox managed
to climb in and kill one of my favourite hens along with her 6 14 week old
pullet chicks.
Yes, all pullets! Wasn't I lucky? Until that moment.

None of them had been taken for food, they were all left in the run with
their heads off. 7 bodies and 7 separate heads. I wept when I cleared them
up.

Tina

Chickens killing my garden
 

In article ,
Christina Websell wrote:

I am relieved that mine came home today Tina after staying out all
night, bad girls!!! ...

You had better hope that they weren't misbehaving themselves with
the local adders, or you really WILL be in trouble!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Chickens killing my garden
 

Christina Websell wrote:

You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. I don't know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they didn't
seem to be in Germany.


I plan to keep some chickens here in Normandy sooner or later, but my
French neighbour thinks I will lose them. Seems he kept some at one time
but foxes broke into his barn and killed the lot. I get the impression
they were very clever and determined to get to them in what he thought
was a secure place. We are surrounded by miles and miles of open
countryside and forests here, so lots of wildlife.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 24, 9:06*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in ...
On Oct 23, 5:39 pm, "Christina Websell"



wrote:
"glasgowdan" wrote in message

...

In terms of feeding, my 3 get kitchen scraps. They love raw spinach,
pomegranate and carrot gratings. They will eat apple if it's finely
chopped. They do turn their noses up at quite a lot though!

I hope this is addition to their correct diet of layers pellets and not
instead of!

Their pen area is unroofed and mainly stone chippings with some mud and
grass.

Mud is not good.

There is a large space under their coop where they settle if it's

raining. And damned if I can't get them to lay their eggs in the egg
box! They are always inside the coop in a really hard spot to reach.,
Must get a fake egg or three and start to teach them where to put
them!

They were starting to slow down their egg-laying up until 2 weeks ago
when I installed a timed light in their coop. I was getting 2 eggs a
day from the 3, now I seem to be getting 3 eggs 6 days a week and two
one day a week. They are great wee layers and don't demand much once
you have the basics sorted.

You don't sound like you have the basics sorted to me, tbh. If I
understand
you right, you feed them on kitchen scraps, let them out on mud and they
do
not like their nest box. Must try harder.

I am relieved that mine came home today Tina after staying out all
night, bad girls!!! *I moved their Egu (Yes, I heard you cuss and the
quick intake of breath:-)), just a few feet away, the silly things
didn't like the move. *I called them this p.m. and they scuttled
across the field to me like little old ladies, running, they got
double helpings of food tonight.

---------

You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. *I don't know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they didn't
seem to be in Germany.

It's impossible for me to free range mine now as foxes come in the daytime
too. *Once it was perfectly safe as long as I made certain I shut the huts
up at dusk. *Now it isn't.
I'm reduced to keeping my poultry in huts with runs attached made of
weldmesh with concrete slab floors and a roof on.
It worked for ages with no roofs on, 6 feet high, but then one fox managed
to climb in and kill one of my favourite hens along with her 6 14 week old
pullet chicks.
Yes, all pullets! *Wasn't I lucky? *Until that moment.

None of them had been taken for food, they were all left in the run with
their heads off. *7 bodies and 7 separate heads. *I wept when I cleared them
up.

Tina

Oh dear, Tina, I'm sorry, how awful!!!!! I lock the Eglu at night but
they are totally free range during the day, I have been out walking
and often walk into them coming back to the village. I am down to 1
egg a day now, the weather has really picked up and was so warm today
that I was in tee shirt and leggings. Will they continue to lay do
you think whilst the weather is warm.

My neighbour has a lot of hens, last year the fox got into the hen
house one night, he killed all the chickens, about 20 or more, and
left them as you describe, bodies and heads. Why do foxes behave that
way, killing one and taking it away to eat, I understand but not
wanton slaughter.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 25, 12:11*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:
You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. *I don't know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they didn't
seem to be in Germany.

I plan to keep some chickens here in Normandy sooner or later, but my
French neighbour thinks I will lose them. Seems he kept some at one time
but foxes broke into his barn and killed the lot. I get the impression
they were very clever and determined to get to them in what he thought
was a secure place. We are surrounded by miles and miles of open
countryside and forests here, so lots of wildlife.

--
David in Normandy. *
* *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
* *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
* *by a filter and not reach my inbox.

I too am surrounded by open countryside, we live in the Foret National
Livrados. I'm sure Tina will have a small fit but I would buy an Eglu
if I were you David, they are guaranteed fox proof. Mine only sleep
in it, during the day there are totally free. You can get a long run
with them if you don't want them roaming the countryside. It's Eglu
by Omelet, they have a website.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

On 2009-10-25 17:25:50 +0000, Judith in France
said:

On Oct 25, 12:11*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:
You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnigh
t
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. *I don't
know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they di
dn't
seem to be in Germany.

I plan to keep some chickens here in Normandy sooner or later, but my
French neighbour thinks I will lose them. Seems he kept some at one time
but foxes broke into his barn and killed the lot. I get the impression
they were very clever and determined to get to them in what he thought
was a secure place. We are surrounded by miles and miles of open
countryside and forests here, so lots of wildlife.

--
David in Normandy. *
* *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
* *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
* *by a filter and not reach my inbox.

I too am surrounded by open countryside, we live in the Foret National
Livrados. I'm sure Tina will have a small fit but I would buy an Eglu
if I were you David, they are guaranteed fox proof. Mine only sleep
in it, during the day there are totally free. You can get a long run
with them if you don't want them roaming the countryside. It's Eglu
by Omelet, they have a website.

Judith

Or, if you have only a few chickens, you can get a run and coop
combined that's on wheels. I've seen them at our local country store.
You can move the thing around so that one area alone doesn't get turned
to a mud bath in a matter of days. Shutting chickens up only at night
won't do it if there's a fox around - daylight is no worry to them.
--
Sacha

Chickens killing my garden
 

Judith in France wrote:
Oh dear, Tina, I'm sorry, how awful!!!!! I lock the Eglu at night but
they are totally free range during the day, I have been out walking
and often walk into them coming back to the village. I am down to 1


We got a 7am phone call from a neighbour a few weeks back to say ours
had got out and were wandering around the green. That was fun trying to
get them back in. :-/
(did the hansel + gretel style trail of sultanas in the end, with a bit
of herding and arm flapping)

egg a day now, the weather has really picked up and was so warm today
that I was in tee shirt and leggings. Will they continue to lay do
you think whilst the weather is warm.

I think it's all to do with the amount of daylight, isn't it? So I
/think/ (happy to be told I'm wrong by someone with more knowledge!)
that if you are letting them out as soon as it's daylight you will stand
more chance of them laying more during winter than if they aren't seeing
daylight till 9am or so (which, unfortunately, is sometimes the case
with ours!).

Chickens killing my garden
 

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:11:32 +0100, David in Normandy
wrote:

Christina Websell wrote:

You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. I don't
know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they
didn't
seem to be in Germany.

Depends on which part of Germany and where.


In a very rural area called the Wendland.
Where I stayed there were around 20 houses, no shop, pub and one street lamp
that was turned off at 11 pm. I was assured by my chicken-keeping friend
that there were foxes but they were far too nervous to come into the
village, probably because no-one is stupid enough to feed them like they do
here in the UK.
There seems to be more of a threat to free range chickens from goshawks
there, birds of prey were just everywhere.
There is also another chicken predator they sometimes get that my friend
calls an enoch that has apparently spread there from Poland. I have no idea
what it is, her description seems to say its a bit like a cross between a
small wild dog and a raccoon.
Could be anything ;-) Enoch is obviously the German name for it.

The Wendland is an idyllic place, we went out for a walk for 6 hours and saw
just one farmer away in the fields on his tractor. No other humans.
I chickened out (excuse the pun) when we sat at the edge of a pond at dusk
watching the bats feeding and heard wild boar approaching.
I was up and out of there and scampering down that deserted road back to the
house in point 5 seconds. Not that I am a wimp, you understand.
Nüle followed me back more slowly. "You weren't frightened of the wild
pigs, were you?" she enquired. "No, of course not" I said. "I thought it
was getting near bed-time.."
"But it's 7.30!" she said.
It was August. It was getting dark, got to be bedtime with wild boar around
you!!

I was surprised how hot it was in Germany in August. 30C plus every day.
I nearly fried.
Somehow I'd thought the climate was similar to Britain. My suncream was not
sufficient.

Tina

Chickens killing my garden
 

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from David in Normandy contains these
words:

Christina Websell wrote:

You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out
overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. I
don't know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they
didn't
seem to be in Germany.


I plan to keep some chickens here in Normandy sooner or later, but my
French neighbour thinks I will lose them. Seems he kept some at one time
but foxes broke into his barn and killed the lot. I get the impression
they were very clever and determined to get to them in what he thought
was a secure place. We are surrounded by miles and miles of open
countryside and forests here, so lots of wildlife.

We kept freerange unfenced chickens in a wild rural area swarming with
foxes and never lost any to foxes
(neither did my neighbours). Possibly because the foxes there had so
many rabbits frogs and small rodents available;
and because local farmers controlled them by snares and shooting so
they were wary of people.
(Unlike the urban foxes living in a den in the grounds of another
place, who
come to be fed every night, and play with my dog.)
.
We all lost chickens to mink raids though; mink will also kill the
entire flock in a night.
Where we live now, there are no foxes and the chicken killers are
badgers.


I'm not able to free-range my chickens now, even though the fields at the
back of my garden are full of rabbits it was so much easier for the foxes to
get a chicken.
I tried (after a mega daylight raid losing 22) to trap them in a catch alive
trap with a rifle shot from my Fox Man (very experienced vermin controller)
Caught 39. Still they come.
So my chickens are now in huts and runs with 2 inch weldmesh runs, concrete
slab floors and roof.
I don't have mink or badgers thank goodness. Foxes are quite enough.

Tina






s

Chickens killing my garden
 

"Judith in France" wrote in message
...
On Oct 25, 12:11 pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:
You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. I don't
know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they
didn't
seem to be in Germany.

I plan to keep some chickens here in Normandy sooner or later, but my
French neighbour thinks I will lose them. Seems he kept some at one time
but foxes broke into his barn and killed the lot. I get the impression
they were very clever and determined to get to them in what he thought
was a secure place. We are surrounded by miles and miles of open
countryside and forests here, so lots of wildlife.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

I too am surrounded by open countryside, we live in the Foret National
Livrados. I'm sure Tina will have a small fit but I would buy an Eglu
if I were you David, they are guaranteed fox proof. Mine only sleep
in it, during the day there are totally free. You can get a long run
with them if you don't want them roaming the countryside. It's Eglu
by Omelet, they have a website.

----------
No, no, no.
Get a wooden shed and attach a weldmesh run, put paving slabs as a floor if
you want fox-proof.
Eglus are small plastic things that get wet inside from the chickens
breathing in it overnight. They are not at all suitable. Just a
manufacturer jumping on the bandwagon of the new chicken popularity. "Want
to keep chickens, keep them in one of these Eglus"
Except don't.

I cannot say how annoyed I get about it.
Judith, your chickens liked their Eglu so much that they refused to go into
it when you moved it a few feet. I don't blame them.


Tina

Chickens killing my garden
 

"Judith in France" wrote in message
...
On Oct 24, 9:06 pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in
...
On Oct 23, 5:39 pm, "Christina Websell"



I am relieved that mine came home today Tina after staying out all
night, bad girls!!! I moved their Egu (Yes, I heard you cuss and the
quick intake of breath:-)), just a few feet away, the silly things
didn't like the move. I called them this p.m. and they scuttled
across the field to me like little old ladies, running, they got
double helpings of food tonight.

---------
It worked for ages with no roofs on, 6 feet high, but then one fox managed
to climb in and kill one of my favourite hens along with her 6 14 week old
pullet chicks.
Yes, all pullets! Wasn't I lucky? Until that moment.

None of them had been taken for food, they were all left in the run with
their heads off. 7 bodies and 7 separate heads. I wept when I cleared them
up.

Oh dear, Tina, I'm sorry, how awful!!!!! I lock the Eglu at night but
they are totally free range during the day, I have been out walking
and often walk into them coming back to the village. I am down to 1
egg a day now, the weather has really picked up and was so warm today
that I was in tee shirt and leggings. Will they continue to lay do
you think whilst the weather is warm.

---
No, it's more about day length.
-----

My neighbour has a lot of hens, last year the fox got into the hen
house one night, he killed all the chickens, about 20 or more, and
left them as you describe, bodies and heads. Why do foxes behave that
way, killing one and taking it away to eat, I understand but not
wanton slaughter.
----------
If foxes get into your hen house they will always kill them all, even if
there are 50 or more they will kill the lot. Why? I have no idea.
It's why me and Mr Fox do not agree. If he took only one it might be
different, but as he doesn't it occasionally means Mr Fox Man comes to tell
him the error of his ways.

Tina

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 26, 11:09*pm, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Martin" wrote in message

... On Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:11:32 +0100, David in Normandy
wrote:

Christina Websell wrote:

You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. *I don't
know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they
didn't
seem to be in Germany.

Depends on which part of Germany and where.

In a very rural area called the Wendland.
Where I stayed there were around 20 houses, no shop, pub and one street lamp
that was turned off at 11 pm. * I was assured by my chicken-keeping friend
that there were foxes but they were far too nervous to come into the
village, probably because no-one is stupid enough to feed them like they do
here in the UK.
There seems to be more of a threat to free range chickens from goshawks
there, birds of prey were just everywhere.
There is also another chicken predator they sometimes get that *my friend
calls an enoch that has apparently spread there from Poland. *I have no idea
what it is, her description seems to say its a bit like a cross between a
small wild dog and a raccoon.
Could be anything ;-) *Enoch is obviously the German name for it.

The Wendland is an idyllic place, we went out for a walk for 6 hours and saw
just one farmer away in the fields on his tractor. *No other humans.
I chickened out (excuse the pun) when we sat at the edge of a pond at dusk
watching the bats feeding and heard wild boar approaching.
I was up and out of there and scampering down that deserted road back to the
house in point 5 seconds. *Not that I am a wimp, you understand.
Nüle followed me back more slowly. * "You weren't frightened of the wild
pigs, were you?" she enquired. * "No, of course not" I said. *"I thought it
was getting near bed-time.."
"But it's 7.30!" she said.
It was August. *It was getting dark, got to be bedtime with wild boar around
you!!

I was surprised how hot it was in Germany in August. * 30C plus every day.
I nearly fried.
Somehow I'd thought the climate was similar to Britain. *My suncream was not
sufficient.

Tina

You wouldn't like it round here at the moment then Tina, the hunters
are out in force for the sanglier. I often walk in the woods but it
is a bit risky right now, there is no way I could outrun a boar.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 27, 12:00*am, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in ...
On Oct 25, 12:11 pm, David in Normandy
wrote:



Christina Websell wrote:
You were lucky that you got them back, if any of mine were out overnight
that would be the end of them, down the throat of Mr/Ms Fox. I don't
know
if foxes are such a nuisance in France as they are here though, they
didn't
seem to be in Germany.

I plan to keep some chickens here in Normandy sooner or later, but my
French neighbour thinks I will lose them. Seems he kept some at one time
but foxes broke into his barn and killed the lot. I get the impression
they were very clever and determined to get to them in what he thought
was a secure place. We are surrounded by miles and miles of open
countryside and forests here, so lots of wildlife.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

I too am surrounded by open countryside, we live in the Foret National
Livrados. *I'm sure Tina will have a small fit but I would buy an Eglu
if I were you David, they are guaranteed fox proof. *Mine only sleep
in it, during the day there are totally free. *You can get a long run
with them if you don't want them roaming the countryside. *It's Eglu
by Omelet, they have a website.

----------
No, no, no.
Get a wooden shed and attach a weldmesh run, put paving slabs as a floor if
you want fox-proof.
Eglus are small plastic things that get wet inside from the chickens
breathing in it overnight. *They are not at all suitable. *Just a
manufacturer jumping on the bandwagon of the new chicken popularity. *"Want
to keep chickens, keep them in one of these Eglus"
Except don't.

I cannot say how annoyed I get about it.
Judith, your chickens liked their Eglu so much that they refused to go into
it when you moved it a few feet. *I don't blame them.

Tina

LOL Then how do you explain that a wooden one on wheels was moved in
someone's garden and they refused to go into that. I know that you
are I will never agree on the Eglu so we have to agree to disagree.
BTW there are vents in the Eglu so that moisture does not build up.
It seems that yours are not free range and I want free range. Of
course I understand that you can't because of the fox problem but just
as you dislike the idea of an Eglu, I dislike the thought of hens not
being able to roam.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 27, 12:25*am, "Christina Websell"
wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in ...
On Oct 24, 9:06 pm, "Christina Websell"

wrote:
"Judith in France" wrote in
...
On Oct 23, 5:39 pm, "Christina Websell"

I am relieved that mine came home today Tina after staying out all
night, bad girls!!! I moved their Egu (Yes, I heard you cuss and the
quick intake of breath:-)), just a few feet away, the silly things
didn't like the move. I called them this p.m. and they scuttled
across the field to me like little old ladies, running, they got
double helpings of food tonight.

---------
It worked for ages with no roofs on, 6 feet high, but then one fox managed
to climb in and kill one of my favourite hens along with her 6 14 week old
pullet chicks.
Yes, all pullets! Wasn't I lucky? Until that moment.

None of them had been taken for food, they were all left in the run with
their heads off. 7 bodies and 7 separate heads. I wept when I cleared them
up.

Oh dear, Tina, I'm sorry, how awful!!!!! *I lock the Eglu at night but
they are totally free range during the day, I have been out walking
and often walk into them coming back to the village. *I am down to 1
egg a day now, the weather has really picked up and was so warm today
that I was in tee shirt and leggings. *Will they continue to lay do
you think whilst the weather is warm.

---
No, it's more about day length.
-----

My neighbour has a lot of hens, last year the fox got into the hen
house one night, he killed all the chickens, about 20 or more, and
left them as you describe, bodies and heads. *Why do foxes behave that
way, killing one and taking it away to eat, I understand but not
wanton slaughter.
----------
If foxes get into your hen house they will always kill them all, even if
there are 50 or more they will kill the lot. *Why? *I have no idea.
It's why me and Mr Fox do not agree. *If he took only one it might be
different, but as he doesn't it occasionally means Mr Fox Man comes to tell
him the error of his ways.

Tina

Presumably now, with your construction, the fox can't get in? We have
a problem here with birds of prey, my neighbour, a old lady who has
kept chickens all her life, said, that during the day, there are at
risk, it is not unusual for the odd hen to be taken in this way. Have
you experienced that?

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

Christina Websell wrote:
If foxes get into your hen house they will always kill them all, even if
there are 50 or more they will kill the lot. Why? I have no idea.

Sickening, isn't it?
Someone explained it to me once, but it didn't make sense. They said it
was to do with if they killed one, the rest would be gone the next day,
but if they killed them all they could come back and they would still be
there later, I think. I presume they would prefer fresh meat, but they
are scavengers, so I guess they are happy to leave the other 20 or so
dead ones in their 'larder' for later. (although I'd expect someone
else to come along and finish them off for them first!)

Chickens killing my garden
 

On 27 Oct, 10:42, wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:
If foxes get into your hen house they will always kill them all, even if
there are 50 or more they will kill the lot. *Why? *I have no idea.

Sickening, isn't it?
Someone explained it to me once, but it didn't make sense. *They said it
was to do with if they killed one, the rest would be gone the next day,
but if they killed them all they could come back and they would still be
there later, I think. *I presume they would prefer fresh meat, but they
are scavengers, so I guess they are happy to leave the other 20 or so
dead ones in their 'larder' for later. *(although I'd expect someone
else to come along and finish them off for them first!)

They often bury corpses. I have found chickens from the breeder half a
mile away buried in our veg patch

Jonathan

Chickens killing my garden
 

Judith in France wrote:

... moving chicken houses

Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 27, 1:18*pm, David in Normandy
wrote:
Judith in France wrote:
... moving chicken houses

Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.

--
David in Normandy. *
* *To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
* *subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
* *by a filter and not reach my inbox.

David I am a mere novice in keeping chickens. Christina is the person
to ask and also I believe Sally keeps hens. I know Mary Fisher used
to have an Eglu and kept chickens but Mary hasn't posted here for a
while. I sent an email to Omelet today, who make the Eglu, as someone
on another group, not Tina, said something about keeping my hens the
way I do that concerned not just me but my husband who is now reading
everything on Omelet's website. I have sent Omelet her post and
asked them to comment. I'm sure Omelet will be concerned about her
comments as it could well affect their reputation and sales. I will
ask for literature to back up any claim they may make, if there is
only a small doubt that the way I keep chickens is damaging, I will
go along the route of a fixed house and ask Tina for advice so that
they have total freedom during the day.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

David in Normandy wrote:
... moving chicken houses
Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.


Ours have been moved around quite regularly, within the garden (most
recently only about 3m and still in the same 'bark chippings' area, but
still the 'house' bit has moved) and they've never had a problem with
it.

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Oct 27, 2:44*pm, wrote:
David in Normandy wrote:

... moving chicken houses
Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.

Ours have been moved around quite regularly, within the garden (most
recently only about 3m and still in the same 'bark chippings' area, but
still the 'house' bit has moved) and they've never had a problem with
it.

What I can't understand is how our chickens, who roam over acres of
land and then find their way back, get confused when the Eglu is moved
a few feet. Fortunately we are nowhere near any main roads, they roam
all over the lane into the village, no main roads as the village is a
dead end, with 6 houses in the Bourg, you come into it and you have to
go back the same way. Also our neighbours' chickens roam all over
their fields, but mine keep to our fields, now that is odd, they do
not mix.

Judith

Chickens killing my garden
 

Chickens killing my garden
 

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:18:44 +0100, David in Normandy wrote
(in article ):

Judith in France wrote:

... moving chicken houses

Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.



David, I have only had hens for about a year and a half so IANAE, but when we
merely turned our hen house round 90 degrees they were very reluctant to go
in that night. If you want to move it, I suggest do it at night while the
hens are inside.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
Posted through uk.rec.gardening

Chickens killing my garden
 

On 2009-10-27 19:02:21 +0000, Sally Thompson said:

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:18:44 +0100, David in Normandy wrote
(in article ):

Judith in France wrote:

... moving chicken houses

Following the thread I gather that chickens don't like their home being
moved. I'm planning on making moveable timber shed big enough for three
or four chickens. On wheels. How far can it be moved without upsetting
the chickens? I thought it would be a good idea to have a mesh floor and
be able to move it a few feet so the droppings fall on fresh ground.
I don't know much about chickens at the moment. I plan to make the
chicken house and get chickens sometime in the Spring of next year.



David, I have only had hens for about a year and a half so IANAE, but when we
merely turned our hen house round 90 degrees they were very reluctant to go
in that night. If you want to move it, I suggest do it at night while the
hens are inside.

Sounds a bit like moving bees - there are specifics for doing so. I
think it's either 3' or 3 yards for them but forget the details now.
It sounds as if both hens and bees take some kind of mental picture of
their homestead and its location to help them get back to it.
--
Sacha