[Stereo]

Weather is starting to get me seriously down. We are on heavy clay here and usually suffer most in Jan / Feb but some of my flocks are already puddling around in mud after the Nov onslaught. Problem is by Jan it's going to be hopeless. I do have a shed / workshop with a concrete floor and a fairly watertight roof, perhaps the odd drip here and there. Spare space is about 5m x 9m and I have 6 small flocks of breeds hatched this year that I really don't want to loose. Would you consider it cruel to keep flocks of 5-8 birds (LF) in 2x3m indoor pens until March? They would be on deep bedding and I have access to plenty of fresh straw.

I really like the birds to be outside as much as possible but I'm thinking they are not enjoying this and also the pens are going to be trashed for next year and probably won't recover. I do plan to build a large ag barn in the future and also have big polytunnels which may house birds in winter but it's this year I'm worried about right now. The weather shows no signs of improving either.

[lord flynn]

with plenty of perch space and other enrichment I might give it a go. Or could you leave one lot outside to limit date outside and give more space inside? Or stick the hens all in together and the boys/or split boys into smaller groups outside?


mud is miserable, I am glad we have a small window in the weather right now-hopefully the ground will dry out a wee bit.

[Stereo]

Giving it further thought, I'm thinking of making one big pen indoors with deep straw for the hens and the boys can go in a spare big shed up in the field which I can put a net around. They are all young anyway so won't realistically be getting any sellable hatching eggs until early summer so might as well do it this way.