4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Marky D]

Well, i'm still trying to persuade the wife to let me have chickens, her main concern was the welfare of our garden. We have a well enclosed back garden and although not huge, it should be big enough for a few chickens to run around in. My question is do i really need a run or can i let them roam around all day by themselves i.e. would they be safe? We have a cat and there are a quite a few local cats who occasionally pay a visit to our garden and i have read they are a deterant to mr fox (but would they be a big enough deterant) and that the cats would be no harm to the chickens. We have a grassed / decked / flagged garden with some borders with flowers in but wouldnt be overly concerned about the chickens getting at the flowers. My reasoning is that if they are allowed to roam all day the damage to the garden would be more widespread and less noticable (am i kidding myself there?), plus i am only planning on having 2 - 3 hens.

Any advice would be useful. Thanks

[Gallina]

I think that the hens will destroy the garden, and a fox is very likely to destroy the hens.

 

I am sorry to be so negative.

[Guest]

foxes are as agile as cats, if cats can get into your garden then so can a fox I'm afraid. I would not advise letting them free range all day without supervision.

 

We don't have a big garden so DH built a large run and they're very happy in it. We let them out occasionally to roam the garden, we don't have flowers just shrubs so they haven't done any real damage but they will dig. We don't mind that though as we just rake the soil back into place when they've gone to bed etc.

 

Have a look thru my photos if you want to see our run, it's in my signature entitled ~our girls~.

[Stevie]

Unless you can satisfy yourself that the chickens would be 100% safe-i wouldnt let them roam free 24/7.It only takes one fox to dig under/go over a fence to kill them all.I regard my garden safe,but they are only allowed out when im here.

 

Your garden will be different no matter what anyone says.Two or three wouldnt neccesarily destroy it,but they do love foraging/scratching and you also have to consider their poop-they do it everywhere! I can no longer leave my backdoor open because they just strut in looking for food! I wouldnt ever go back to not having them though!

 

If you & your OH can put up with all this-then go for it!

[Ziggy]

I would agree with what others are saying, that leaving them to roam free with no supervision is risky... they might be fine for a number of days, but it just takes one fox one day to mean the end of it all... we have 5 cats and the neighbours have a dog, and we still do get foxes. We haven't seen any for a while, but they come and go. You will get attached to your chickens and feel responsible for them, and it is not a nice experience to come home to a carnage...

 

A run would be a good idea...

[Olly]

Echo the above - cats are no deterrent to foxes at all, and if a cat can get in then so will a fox. You will feel much happier knowing they are safely locked up at night in a secure run.

 

I think your point about widespread ranging is a valid one - if they are kept in a small area they will destroy any vegetation, in a larger area they spread their work out, so to speak! However they are very undiscriminating and will eat/scratch what they fancy, with disastrous results sometimes. The solution really is to have the run on a permanent base, and to keep them in it for at least part of the day (there is no choice for a lot of us on this, anyway, because of the fox problem).

 

Then when you do let them out, you can use netting to restrict them to those parts of the garden that you want them to work on - clearing weeds, eating snails! - and keep them off the veg patch and the tender plants. It is possible to have chooks and have a garden, but I think you have to restrict free-ranging to do so.

[Christian]

Hello Marky D and welcome to the forum.

 

The risk is there for everyone, but you do have to weigh up the pros and cons. If you have seen evidence of foxes, then an omlet/permanent run is the only answer.

 

Chickens don't necessarily have to trash your garden. I would suggest sectioning off an area that you are happy for them to free range in, that way any damage will be minimal to the rest of your garden.

 

Chickens are wonderful pets and do bring so much to a garden. I couldn't imagine not having them now

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

If you have any other questions please ask.

[Cooks]

I've only had mine a week and wouldn't be without them for anything now, all the poop is forgotten when they talk to you. (or throw their grapes around trying to gobble them up)

They do need a secure area though as foxes are cunning creatures. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Reynard]

Cats are no deterrent to foxes, despite us having 2 large adult male cats a fox gave birth to cubs under our shed, they used to play on the lawn in broad daylight with no concern for our felines! We also suspect that a fox took a small immature female cat that we had adopted, she went missing and there was signs of a fight in the garage - entry via the cat flap. We can't prove it but we are convinced it was a fox that took her.

 

Check out other posts about foxes.. best to play safe and keep them in a run when you can't be there to supervise...

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24039

[Egluntyne]

A fox can easily scale a 6ft wall or fence, especially if there is something to give them a boost, such as a bin.

 

I would urge you to only allow them to free-range when you are able to supervise....or the fox will get them sooner or later....as sure as eggs is eggs.

[MedusA]

I endorse everything said on here. Foxes will get your chickens if you don't have a secure run. Fact of life!

 

After having my garden virtually destroyed by my girls, they now have a large walk-in run and a bit of supervised free-ranging. Much as I love my girls, I also love my garden. But it was worth losing the lawn to them.

[Gallina]

I spoke to a farmer who was selling eggs at the farmers' market in Oxford last week. He has 200 free-range hens, and I asked him if foxes were a problem.

 

He said they were no problem at all, as the local foxes were able to catch as many hens as they liked in the local village, as so many people kept hens in their back gardens now.

 

Until you have hens, you just don't realize how many foxes are about. It is very dangerous to let hens free-range unsupervised in a garden. And unless you just have rough grass under trees (as in an orchard), they will do quite a lot of damage if they are out all day.

[Marky D]

Thaks all for your replies, definately wont be leaving them out all day to free range unsupervised. Has anyone ever lost a hen to a cat?

[Chickvic]

I have 3 chickens and 3 cats. The cats were very interested to start with but they were soon chased off! The girls and cats share the garden very happily and neither bothers the other!

Edited May 4, 2008 by Guest

[Olly]

I've never heard of anyone losing a chicken to a cat, I suppose that perhaps a bantam or a chick might be at risk, but not a grown bird.

 

My cat has gone from intense interest (leading to an abortive attempt to mug one of the chickens) to abject terror following a spirited chicken defence! Since they've been freeranging more recently, he has got a bit braver and now he sits and watches them, but moves away if they get near.

[Shirl]

I suspect I lost one to a cat. My first thought was it was a fox but we haven't had a visit since and I often leave the girls freeranging all day. I did see a large cat stalking in our garden once and if the OH hadn't shouted then it would have attacked one of the chickens. What would have happened is anyone's guess. The one that was killed was a little polish bantam so didn't stand a chance.

 

Also I had a cat attacked and later killed by a fox. My vet confirmed this.