"Sally Thompson" <spt@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C452446B00FD51C8F0182648@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Some of you may remember I posted some questions here a few months ago
> while
> planning my new role as a chicken keeper<g>. I haven't got much further
> forward but I have a particular question.
>
> I plan to keep two or three hens in a decent-sized house with a good
> fox-proof run (probably electric fencing) which they would be safe in if
> we
> are out for any length of time. Of course I would shut them in at
night.
>
> However, we have about an acre of fairly wild land which I would like
the
> hens to have free access to at all other times - ie, when we are around
> during the day. One boundary has a 6 ft close-boarded fence, and two
> others
> have stock fence which is rabbit-proofed. I hope that will be
sufficient
> to
> stop them wandering into the lane, the reed bed next door and so on.
> However, our back boundary slopes down to a stream, which has a couple
of
> husband-made bridges over and then just stock fence the other side of
the
> stream (not our boundary). The bridges are both reached down some rough
> steps. Are the hens likely to go down the steps and over the bridges do
> you
> think? If they go over to the other bank they can of course then wander
> down
> the opposite bank of the stream, possibly never to be seen again.
>
> Sorry for the long posting but I hope I have explained sufficiently. It
> is
> not possible to fence off the stream, nor would we want to.
Depending how far it is from their houses, they probably will cross the
bridges. But they'll also come back. Chickens aren't looking to
hitchhike
to Vegas (or Gretna Green) ;-).
-Amy
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