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[mothercarey]

Hello everyone - finally got round to registering here after many years of chicken keeping and almost a year with an Eglu!

 

I just have a quick question - has anyone had experience of disguising/camoflaguing an Eglu? I'm about to complete my purchase on a shared ownership property, and they've just thrown in a clause on the lease which states 'no livestock'. I can't leave my beloved girls behind, I just can't.

 

I thought about careful planting and using some willow screening, but does anyone have any other clever tricks?

 

Thanks everyone, and HELLO!!!

[Reikiranf]

I think you'll find that a few chooks in the garden aren't classed as livestock but are exotic pets!

[mothercarey]

I think you'll find that a few chooks in the garden aren't classed as livestock but are exotic pets!

 

Nice! I'll definitely try that one! Haha!

[Christian]

Yep, poultry not livestock! Willow hurdles sound like a plan though!

 

Good luck!

[Tiggy]

my vet has my girls registered under exotic pets so it must be official

[Olly]

Willow hurdles, and some rapid-growing plant (Virginia creeper) or similar? Surely it's not the Eglu that's your problem however - you could say it's a new playhouse for children? The Eglu will not walk about, cluck, or have a hissy fit if it sees a cat pass by ...

[Reikiranf]

You don't want to cover it too much as you need access for cleaning etc. I've got a fig tree, bay and an acer in pots that stand along the side of the run so they screen it a bit but are easy to move.

 

Or if neighbours will only be able to see it from upstairs windows how about a couple of parasols?

[mothercarey]

All great suggestions, thanks!

 

I agree about getting access for cleaning, and the upstairs thing is genius - I'm only overlooked by one small window, so a strategically placed parasol would be perfect!

 

Brilliant!

[keyhole kate]

my vet has my girls registered under exotic pets so it must be official

 

Yep my vet also charges me for an exotic pet consultation so it must be official they are not livestock or poultry

[Geoid]

According to the Allotments Act 1950, you can keep hens no matter what the lease says.

 

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any lease or tenancy or in any covenant, contract or undertaking relating to the use to be made of any land, it shall be lawful for the occupier of any land to keep, otherwise than by way of trade or business, hens or rabbits in any place on the land and to erect or place and maintain such buildings or structures on the land as reasonably necessary for that purpose:

 

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorise any hens or rabbits to be kept in such a place or in such a manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance or affect the operation of any enactment.

[Olly]

Fred, that Act has never been tested in court, and there's a school of thought that says it only applies to allotments. It would be very dangerous to rely on it, especially in relation to a rental property.

[Redwing]

The Allotment Act is often quoted as the answer but somewhere in the small print it says its only applicable to land not attached to a house

 

Even if you manage to screen the Eglu the neighbours will see you going to and from the run, cleaning it out and also hear the chooks

 

I'd try to get your neighbours charmed by the chooks personally, if its a new clause they may not even be aware that it exists

 

If you do run in to problems explain that the chooks are not livestock but pets

[Geoid]

it only applies to allotments

I read through the whole act (took a while! They don't make these easy to read!) and found this:

as the only kind of notice to quit that may be given by a landlord in respect of land let on a tenancy for use by the tenant as an allotment garden

Which would suggest that it only applies to allotments .

 

But, I would also try and win over the neighbours, coax them with some delicious eggs!

[mothercarey]

This is all great stuff, thanks!

 

The screening is probably a good idea in any case, but I'm already dubious about the Allotments Act as I have heard of it being pooh-poohed by landlords and solicitors before, but am definitely going to go down the road of 'they're PETs, not livestock'. Once my solicitor has the lease from the developers I'm going to check the exact wording. If it says simply 'no livestock', I have this to fire back at them:

 

livestock (ˈlaɪvˌstɒk)

— noun

( functioning as singular or plural ) cattle, horses, poultry, and similar animals kept for domestic use but not as pets, especially on a farm or ranch

 

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition

2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins

Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009

 

And I intend to make sure the neighbours are charmed with free eggs and offers for their children to visit the chooks. How can it fail?

[The Dogmother]

Generally these clauses aren't usually invoked unless there's some sort of dispute. A 'no livestock' clause is quite common.

[Henergy]

I'd go for trellis & an evergreen climber which will give coverage in winter too. Or even just a prettily painted fence panel.

[fluffy chick]

I think if you only have two or three hens it's pretty easy to pass them off as 'pets' if you have a shed full that'd be another matter

[mothercarey]

I'd go for trellis & an evergreen climber which will give coverage in winter too. Or even just a prettily painted fence panel.

 

That sounds lovely - I may try some evergreen honeysuckle