Livestock and Association policy

1. Any livestock kept on Elm Road Alloments must have the written permission of the Association before it is brought on to the site
2. Stock must be healthy and properly innoculated as animal welfare is top priority
3. Stock must be properly contained and protected from predators by electric anti-predator fencing regularly maintained and switched on 24 hours a day
4. Housing must be dry, spacious and properly designed.
5. Animals must have access to fresh water at all times and correct feed supplemented with the ability to forage for their naturally occuring diet such as for example insects, seeds and greenery.
6. Sufficient outdoor space to move around for example at least 10 sq metres per hen with enough areas of loose earth for them to bath and scratch and shade on hot sunny days.
7. Daily visits must be made to check on animal welfare, security and produce such as eggs.

Practical notes on hens

The hens arrived at Elm Road at the beginning of July 2008 and enjoyed a summer period with long days allowing them to enjoy the outdoors and spend a relatively short time indoors. The winter period was very different with short days and inclement weather making the ground very muddy and even occasionally sending the hens into the hen house to shelter during the day, although this is very rare because they can stand all kinds of bad weather. Hens are not too keen on snow.

Containment, Security and anti-Predator Protection

While hens themselves can be quite easily contained by wire fencing, the keeping of free ranging hens on an open allotment site where foxes live is only possible with the use of electric fencing because of the continual threat of fox attack. The fox is a supreme woodland predator and hens are their natural woodland prey so the fox will go to any lengths to catch and eat them, being an excellent climber, digger and able by brute strength to forcibly get past wooden and wire constructions by ripping and tearing. However the fox is terrified of electric fencing and keeps a respectful distance away from it, enabling the birds to live a stress-free life without the fox getting too close and continually attempting various forms of entry. The basic cost of electric fencing is a minimum of £250 depending on the type of system used.

Electric fencing is claimed to be 98% effective in protecting poultry and also creates an area free from other vermin such as rats. While a low power fence of around 4,000 volts will deter a fox, higher power such as 10,000 volts is recommended. Power is provided by a 12 volt car-type battery which needs re-charging every few weeks, but solar options are available at considerable cost. Electric fences have to be checked every day as fast-growing weeds touching the lower wires will draw the current and have to be cut back.

Accommodation

There are many types of hen house on the market which all share the essential features i.e: dry and not draughty but with sufficient ventilation, large enough for the number of birds living there, somewhere off the ground for them to roost at night and somewhere dark for them to lay their eggs. The HK house is not the cheapest but it is has proved very suitable.

Location

The pasture for the 6 hens since the beginning of July has been changed several times for trial purposes.

1. A turf enclosure surrounded by a 25 metre electric net
2. A turf and sunflowers enclosure surrounded by a 50 metre electric net
3. A turf and vegetables enclosure surrounded by a 50 metre electric net
4. Previously unworked allotments surrounded by a 50 metre electric net
5. Grazing rye patch on a worked allotment

Note: a 50m electric netting fence will enclose an area almost the size of a 10 rod plot, for example a rectangle 15m by 10m (150 sq m) whereas a 25m electric fence will only do a small area such as 8m by 4.5m (36 sq m).

Pros and Cons

Mown turf with 25m fence - Hens don't mind walking about on turf but there is not much enjoyment or benefit for them apart from pecking and eating a bit of grass. Because they too keep away from the electric fence a 25 metre length of electric netting doesn't really give them enough room to run or flap about. So this is only suitable for a small flock or a temporary arrangement. However on the plus side it does not take up much space and is easy to maintain.

Specially grown feed crop such as sunflowers - Hens love sunflower seeds and they need shade in sunny weather. However while the seeds are good for the growing birds, a rich oily diet is not so good for their egg laying as they need the balanced "layers pellets" which contain the calcium for the shells. So concentrated feedstuff like fresh sunflower seeds, maize, wheat etc should be given only sparingly. It is also said to make them go broody.

Hens in your veg - A couple of weeks experience of letting the hens freely onto the veg plot shows hens will eat: gherkin-type cucumbers, florence fennel leaves, any brassicas such as cabbage, swede, broccoli etc and young leeks. In addition they love scratching about in newly-dug earth and dig up whole tomato plants and potatoes in their search for juicy insects. However the hens have a limited impact on beans, parsnips, marrow and courgette (except that they scratch the skins of the fruit). Their constant scratching around and dust bathing reduces weeds but the best way to describe their effect on vegetables is organised chaos and this is not recommended!

Spare ground - Unworked allotments are perfect pasture for hens because they are able to get high quality nutrition such as worms while at the same time reducing annual weeds, weed seeds and insects. Hens won't touch nettles, brambles, thistles and horsetail so these still need to be controlled but they will eat the leaves of the red-stemmed perennial bistort or (Polygonum spp) that we have so much of at Elm Road. In addition to the beneficial physical effect they have on the soil the birds are speading manure over the land as they go.

Type (Breed) of hen

For eggs the hens should be bred for laying rather than for the pot. However there are of course many different breeds and as many opinions about the pros and cons of each. Hens can be prone to many diseases and disorders so the young pullets are innoculated before they arrive. The brown hens are Lohman which is a commercial laying breed and were rescued from a commercial laying flock past its commercially useful life (13 months old)

Feeding

Hens must have access to fresh water at all times.

They are fed a formula Organic layers pellet which contains all the nutrition they need which they can access on demand through a feeder. On average each bird eats around 100 grams a day (4ounces) but it does depend what else they are eating: ......... Organic pellets are 40% more expensive than non-organic feeds which often also contain GM products.

The hens will eat a wide range of other food for example they love the leaves of all greens such as swede tops, cabbage (exactly the same things as pigeons) and they love comfrey leaves and frequently peck at long grass and grazing rye. They like all kinds of insects, snails and shellfish. The Elm Road hens go mad for sunflower seeds and fresh maize if they can get it. Their favourite food is earthworms.

They have not been known to eat; lettuce, stinging nettles, horseradish leaves, potatoes.

Suppliers

Hens, non-organic feed and accessories are from Martinswood Chickens of Ripe, East Sussex. The hen house is an HK unit made in the UK www.martinswoodchickens.co.uk . Basic breeds are, SUSSEX, A white with a black cape, tail and wing tips. BOVANS NERA, black and gold with a variation of markings. MARAN. grey and black speckled.

Electric Fencing is a Hotline product from KWG in Handcross, West Sussex www.k-w-g.co.uk . Also from KWG is the Organic Layers Pellet.

Vermin-proof security shed is from Asgard www.asgardsss.co.uk

Page Updated by JP 24th March 2009

All photos taken at Elm Road Allotments and copyright John Palmer

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