After a false start last weekend due to transportation and location problems, we made much better progress building the new chicken run yesterday. The 12ft x 8ft enclosure was much easier to erect than we had thought, although took the expected time of around 3 hours. There were 6 of us though, as a very keen Chris and Jenny came around from next door, and Andrew and Sheila gave up yet another weekend day to help us out.
There’s no way 2 of us could have done it. It would have taken much longer, we wouldn’t have had enough pairs of hands to steady panels and tighten screws, and we’d have still have been outside cutting the wire for the makeshift fox proof skirt when it got dark. As it was, we just got the boards around the bottom edge to keep the wood and bark chippings in.
‘Cluckingham Palace’ does look fantastic, though, like a proper enclosure at a zoo or an aviary. Which, to all intents and purposes it is. I made an ‘all this for 3 eggs a day’ quip while we were building, but it really was worth the effort. The wood and bark chippings on the floor let the laying ladies scratch and have a bit more stimulation, while the raised Omlet Cube on large paving slabs lets us put the food out in the new metal and plastic containers somewhere where they should stay dry.
It was an enjoyable day with everyone working together, just like neighbours and communities did years ago, and, after a day of game playing and catching up with mum and Bart, Ean, Sandie, Doug, Kevin, and Janice in Lowestoft on Saturday, rounded off the weekend nicely – even if the last two days have left us tired and more than a little exhausted and unprepared for the week ahead.
So, does a new bigger space make for happy (or happier) hens? We think so. Clucking around the enclosure at the end of the day, they had space to be on their own if they wanted to, or to be together as a flock, and seemed genuinely more content. It’s probably all psychological on our part, but we’re certainly happier and excited about the whole situation. Let’s hope our three birds will be when we introduce more playmates for them later in the year.
Tags: Chicken-keeping, Home, Journal
Some good chicken info – have been keeping hens for a few years now and am only now discovering that there’s a whole online hen community out there! So much to learn about and pick up from other people’s experiences.