sparkysmum Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Hi, We spent the weekend creating a wildlife pond, a project which has been on the agenda for years. We were feeling really pleased with ourselves and spent a happy time speculating on how long it would take the neighbourhood frogs to find the pond Has now gone pearshaped - we've just read that hens go mad for frogs and froglets This is a real issue for us as neither Simon or I find the prospect of hens gobbling up froglets terribly amusing. We would like to hear of anyone else's experience of hens & pondlife. Thanks for reading. Allison & Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I don't have a pond in my garden but I do have quite a few frogs. I often find them in the undergrowth when I am trying to clear. My chickens have only got one once (to my knowledge) they dropped it and I popped it over the fence. It didn't look damaged. They range in the garden for a few hours each evening while I keep an eye on them. With or without the pond if there are frogs in the neighbourhood they are likely to come into your garden anyway. You can always fence the pond off from the chickens to give the froglets a chance to grow. When I picked my chickens up there was a hen at the bottom of the field that was being chased by the other chickens because it had a frog. Don't be deflated. Your wildlife pond will encourage bio diversity of all kinds in your garden. I hope it gives you lots of pleasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Don't let it put you off! Give the pond some form of protection anyway (to deter children and chickens!) and the frogs will flourish! We get loads of frogs and froglets in our pond - to my knowledge the hens have only ever had two frogs. The frogs seem to be able to keep out of their way! I have a roll of green, plasticy fencing around mine - you can't see it from a distance and the frogs are safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Like Snowy, I would suggest fencing off an area around the pond anyway. You don't want to risk the girls falling in, do you? I have had a tiny wildlife pond in my garden for some yeas, which gets loads of frogs and spawn and (to my knowledge) the girls have never had a frog yet. We've now built a large wildlife pond up at our allotment, a few weeks ago, and it is already teeming with wildlife. We even had a beautiful ruby-bodied damsel fly the other day. Well worth it. I'm sure you'll gain a lot of enjoyment from your pond. Any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 Hi, Thanx very much for getting back to me. Your posts have been so encouraging and heartening. I really couldn't have stood by and watched the girls gobbling up frogs. Will post some pictures once our pond is planted up. Cheerie. Allison & Co Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Don't be put off having a pond. We have had a wildlife pond in the garden for years, we get toads, frogs and every year the spawn turns into froglets. When the chickens had access to the pond part of the garden they gave it a very wide berth, they seemed to know it was a dangerous area However they do eat the froglets if they find them, but so does the kitten and the lawnmower 'tis part of life On the plus side we get beautiful dragonflies, I just wish some newts would take up residence. Anything I can do to encourage them? Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basset Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I must add that we've never had any problems with the hens eating frogs from our garden pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
