Chickens are free to range

Our ex-battery chickens are doing well and now that they have put on weight and gained their feathers we have given them more freedom and a large paddock to roam in.   To give them too much space at the start is overwhelming for them so while they can go out it is in a smaller pen to begin with.

Now they have plenty of room, lots of grass and weeds to scratch through and a roomy hut to go back to at night or when the weather is bad.   Hens are timid creatures and they are not venturing too far to start with.

Their red combs are a sign of health, when they are in poor condition they are paler in colour.   They have a ration of poultry corn every morning, also scraps and the best diet of all is natural food that they get for themselves – worms, grubs, herbs, grass, seeds, insects – there is plenty of that waiting for them when they get their confidence up and start to explore.