[fifisoo]

Hi Everyone,

We are new to TAS and this is my first posting, we are planning to get some hens in March and are deciding what is the best type of fence for keeping them in and foxes out.

Also any advice on the best hen house would be greatly appreciated. We are looking to start with about 6 hens in the beginning and see how it goes.

Thanks

Fiona

[Wellieboots]

'ello & welcome

Chicken wire fencing is the best as it is small enough (hole size) to keep out anything that shouldn't be in there. Bury it as far into the ground as you can (6-8 inches) to limit foxes burrowing under & support it with good fence posts.

As for arcs/hen houses, have a look on the widdlieweb as there are loads of different ones out there. It depends on what you want really as all proprietry ones are much of a muchness in terms of perches, nest boxes etc. I bought mine from Flytesofancy but I know that Other folks have used Forsham. 2 basic types, ones lower to the ground with the run & house at the same level & those that have a run with a ladder access to the perches & nest boxes - these are easier to clean as they are more at waist level so don't need you to crouch down!

Enjoy!!

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome.

There are almost as many types of house as there are hens! Our hens free range but if I couldn't let them do that, then I'd use an ark that could be moved every day or couple of days. We did this to start with and it worked fine. The hens were happy and safe. The Forsham arks are good but there are others similar on the market.

The place to start may be other than the number of hens - you need about 9-12" of perch space per bird but you also need one nest box for every 4-5 hens; ideally you should have enough space to move the ark on a three week cycle - you have to decide what the limiting factor is in terms of accommodation then buy the appropriate number of hens.

Good luck - you won't regret it!

[lordlonk]

hi fiona - to save on cost when we first started we  bought a couple of rabbit runs -These ones had the height and the cost was quite a lot less. Not the conventionalway but it worked - Also the chicken mesh we layed on the ground and then tied with plasticties to the unit so no nasty foxes  could get through that way - we madea box out of plywood for them to nest in at night and it all worked well until we werelucky to get the use of a free band froma retired local farmer. We also bought a large second hand outdoor cat run off ebay and travelled 100 milesto collect. This can house 15 chickens -we put the mesh on the floor underneath again - cost 100 pounds plus van hire and fuel - 150 in total - cost brand new in ship 500 - good luck to you as well - ian