[demonfarmer2630]

i have 9 young adult hens all barnevelders and some days i get 7 eggs and some i get 3 i check 2 times a day and today i have had 15 eggs from 9 hens is this normal


and my girls clear there entire run of vegetation i need somthing that grows fast and they can eat  the ground is very fertile and can be boggy after a heavy rain
also im near leven and wanted to know if anyone had any clean garden cuttings hedge trimmings and grass clippings i need to find a way to increase there foraging and climbing
any types of trees i can plant too that like wet ground would also be helpfull please let me know asap thankyou for reading

[Womble]

Try growing some swiss chard (perpetual spinach). The hens love it, and if you pick a few leaves off each plant, it will just keep growing new leaves to replace them: you'd be amazed just how much you get from a small plot, as long as you keep picking the leaves.

We used to hang bunches of leaves just out of reach, so the hens had to jump up to get them. That also gave them something to do, and some additional exercise, which I think is important if they're in a small-ish area.

[demonfarmer2630]

nice will get some in a few days

[lord flynn]

all hens like to roost-anything from old pallets to trees and any I have in a run have plenty of branches etc to jump on and off. A dust bath is very important-if you can't cover one, get one of those very large, shallow trugs and fill with earth, sharp sand and woodash and put out on dry days.


People always seem to react with horror when I tell them the following, but if your hens have access to grit, they should be fine. Buy a bale of seed hay-give them 1 or 2 slices a week. They love scratching through it (especially if you chuck some scratch on it), they eat the seeds and its nicer on their feet than mud although you do need to rake it up. I've been keeping my hens on hay and long grass for years and never had a problem.


as for muddy/boggy runs-comes with the territory. Willow is thirsty but don't plant too near house/drains hanging greens is good-mine love spring greens and heart cabbages, cauliflower leaves, raw and not been near the kitchen, obviously

[demonfarmer2630]

great i  have some willow saplings i need to build cages for them but if it helps i will plant them asap and the hay is a great idea but need to sort drainage out as i can have over 6 inches of mud on the side near the house rest is fine was going to get bark chips and alot of it to cover the run but wasnt sure if it was ok to do i have an old bath i plan to use as a sand bath for them but need to dig it in a bit can cover it just having problems due to back injury hope to increase my rrun asap to the full 20x20m plot in the next year alot of land for a bad back though lol