The Hens | Hens in the Garden | Wendy Rainthorpe

Home sweet home

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:28:48 +0100

Choosing a hen house was the most bewildering part of becoming a chicken owner. There are hundreds to choose from. The only thing I knew was that I didn’t want an ark; these may be fine for very small breeds and the true bantams such as Sebrights which get no bigger than a blackbird, but for large fowl and many bantams they just don’t offer enough headroom, leading to damaged combs and miserable hens.

I picked a house called The Butler, by Fisher woodcraft as it seemed sensibly sized, had a large door so that I could get right inside to clean it, and was of good solid construction. These things aren’t cheap, but you only do it once, and with care and a spot of a hen-friendly wood-preserver should last for many years.

The house is raised up on sleepers (untreated) and these in turn sit on a platform of concrete slabs. I dug a trench around the slabs and covered the sides and base with small gauge chicken wire, then re-filled the trench; the excess chicken wire was then folded over the slabs and held in place with another layer of slabs.

Birdy num-nums

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:27:36 +0100

I feed my hens on a layers pellet; there are many available from different suppliers, but I chose Country Smallholders, as they have the Vegetarian Society seal of approval (i.e. there’s no dead chicken in the feed) and don’t use hexane-extracted soya. I can’t remember why hexane extracted soya is a bad thing, just that it is.

Anyway, the girls seem to love it, but then they love picking flies off their own poo so perhaps I’m worrying too much.

They get the pellets ad lib during the day, and supplement their diet by free ranging in my orchard; beetles, flies, butterflies and frogs (yes, frogs. Don’t watch. You’ll be sick.)

This works fine until a rat or squirrel decides to join in the fun by helping itself to the pellets - getting a cat is a good option here if you can’t be bothered faffing around with traps.

Vermin should not be a problem if you manage your birds well and don’t leave food out at night - I take in the pellets in the evening and give the hens a small handful of mixed corn each for supper which they get disproportionately exited about. Don’t give them more than they can clear away in about fifteen minutes, however much they sulk and shout. It really is just a treat and a ‘slow-burning’ food to keep their crops from rumbling at night.

Pixie and Dixie

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:25:56 +0100

Name: Pixie and Dixie

Birthday: July 2008

White Sussex, brought as friends for Solo, along with Minnie the Light Sussex. I can only tell them apart close up by comparing combs.

Pixie has a strange habit of high-kicking her right leg out behind her when walking in long grass.

Dixie will only lay on the floor of the house.

Both seem a bit dim and regularly collide with my legs while running too close behind me.

EGGS Pixie Dixie

2009 : 124 107

Solo

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:25:04 +0100

Name: Solo

Birthday: July 2008

Barnevelder, very tame and chatty, quite independent; best friends with Minnie

Hatched by Gladys the obsessive broody.....

EGGS

2009 : 190

Babbs

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:24:26 +0100

Name: Babbadoo (Babbs)

Birthday: June 15th 2007

Mum was a dark Dorking, Dad a Buff/Black Orpington cross.

Hatched by Gladys.

Tame, glamorous, feisty. Has a tiny extra toe branching from one of her ‘back’ toes - all her Dorking genes could manage!

EGGS

2008 : 106

2009 : 63

The Duck

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:23:43 +0100

Name: The Duck

Birthday: spring 2006

Buff laced Wyandotte, top chicken, dodgy layer, chases cats and squirrels.

Quacks.

EGGS

2007 : 132

2008 : 116

2009 : 80

The Speckle Sisters

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:23:10 +0100

Names: Bibby and Dora

Birthday: May/June 2007

Speckled Sussex, like two copies of Beaker from ‘The Muppets’.

Inseparable, flighty, constantly tooting to each other.

EGGS

Bibby Dora

2008 : 123 122

2009 : 93 85

Big Girl

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:21:10 +0100

Name: Big Girl

Birthday: spring 2005

Blue laced Wyandotte, sounds like a bassoon, dallied with serious symptomless illness in the autumn of 2007.

Very good at being given medicine.

EGGS

2007 : 133

2008 : 124

2009 : 102

2010 : 89

Good Buff

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:20:24 +0100

Name: Good Buff
Birthday: spring 2006

Buff Sussex, fantastic layer, runs at unbelievable speed for treats.
A bit asthmatic these days.

EGGS

2007 : 215
2008 : 111
2009 : 64

Gladys

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:19:03 +0100

Name: Gladys
Birthday: spring 2006

Light Sussex, not held back by deformed feet, loves to go broody.
Hatched a foster egg in June 2007.
Quite cross most of the time, likes to shout

‘HOOO DOOT DOOT DOOT!’

especially first thing in the morning.

EGGS

2007 : 133
2008 : 93
2009 : 132