Luna7 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Hi there, Before i go ahead and buy a coop and hens i have a question about my garden. I live on a boat moored up to the garden and as i have never had chickens before what precautions should i take? Will i need to erect a fence around the bank side next to the water? Thank you in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 I am sure your hens would be very happy wandering around all over the place - they would happily do so and come back to the coop each night. However, if you are concerned about foxes (and potentially mink as you are near water?) you might want to fence them in with fox proof fencing. Either electric poultry netting or a weldmesh fence would do the trick, or a fox proof run, such as the omlet runs. It's entirely up to you. Where I live (not near a canal BTW!) many people let their chickens roam free all day. The country foxes are more wary and people tend to just suck up any losses and replace the chooks. It's personal choice. I keep my girls penned in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 That sounds idyllic . I think I'm right in saying hens can drown even in fairly shallow water so I would take care to keep them safely in your garden. Omlet netting is good and can be reinforced, if need be, by attaching plastic netting to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 Where you live sound lovely. I would fence off next to the canal as I have a couple of friends whose hens have drowned in the garden pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckmum6 Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 I guess they might end up In the water if they got spooked, they just fly up with no concern about where they land. One of my Wyandotte's flew onto a single story roof of my house, her wings were clipped as soon as I got the daft hen down which wasn't easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Please be careful of them near water - chickens have polarized sight, so don't see the surface of the water and can easily end up drowning. A friend has a smallholding alongside her canal boat and her chooks are securely fenced in away from the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I remember a forum member having a chicken drown in her pond some years ago. The sides were steep and there was no way of getting out. I'd fence them in to be on the safe side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna7 Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Great advice peeps thanks ever so much! I am moored up to a farm and there are foxes here which have eaten the poor wee lambs so i really need to be careful. I didn't no chickens had polarized sight that's very insightful thank you! I will be getting an Eglu as they are fox proof but want them to run free as much as poss. The whole garden is already fenced just not on the bank side obviously .. i think i might section the back end of the bank side off so i don't bash into it when i moor up then. With the electric fencing.. can i run it off an already charged 12v battery? I cant leave my inverter running all day you see, on boats we turn the electric off when not needed because the system is charged by running the engine. So i cant have the engine running while i'm at work just to keep the fence on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I had some fab advice about electric fencing from flyte so fancy, maybe give them a call and discus your requirements and I am sure they will let you know what is best for your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 You can run it from a car battery or you can get solar chargers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luna7 Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Thanks would you happen to have a link for the solar charger Dogmother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 No, but I'm sure a quick web search will throw up loads for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
