LIZ FAIRBROTHER says protect your poultry but let them run out to forage.
There is nothing I hate to see more in the world of poultry than so called free range back yard poultry trapped in a small poultry house and run, never to come out and be able to express their natural behaviour. Clarence Court free range eggs apparently did an experiment some ten years ago and discovered that the average bird took more than 7000 steps which is nearly half a mile and some walked up to a mile a day in a five acre field. So only being able to move a metre in either direction is severely compromising the bird's needs. It is also important that birds can select green food for themselves and invertebrates.
But I don't want my birds eaten by predators I hear you cry.
Denne historien er fra Sept - Oct 2017-utgaven av Practical Poultry.
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Denne historien er fra Sept - Oct 2017-utgaven av Practical Poultry.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Growing food for Chickens
Mary Larham explores some crops to grow on your holding…
Poultry in the garden – the truth!
Jo-Jane Buxton shares her experiences
The British Waterfowl Association
Which came first, the goose or the egg?
WHY FIT A FAN IN AN INCUBATOR?
Brinsea Products, the Incubation Specialists explain the difference between still air and forced draught
Incubating turkey eggs
Janice Houghton-Wallace looks at broody turkeys and artificial incubation
Chicken nesting box herbs
Diana Clauss owns The Blue Feather Farm, in St Cloud, Florida, home to chickens, ducks, goats, and Anatolian Shepherd dogs.
Incubate in January?
Jessica Wombwell says plan the breeding
Andy's DIARY
Andy emphases the importance of keeping out damp and wet but allowing ventilation even in cold weather
Feeding for Breeding
It may be winter, but as Joanna Palmer, nutritionist for Smallholder Range explains, now’s the time to get your flock in tiptop shape and plan ahead for a successful breeding season next spring.
A chick named Cuckoo raised by a duck!
Chris Hammacott and her husband live on a small croft in the Outer Hebrides, they keep a ‘no kill’ flock or rare and rescue sheep which they use to spin and weave rugs. They also share the 8 acres with hens, ducks, cats and 9 rescue pugs.