New pens

So before I can start the trial to find the best commercial layer feed on the market I need to divide the flock up into 4 separate pens.

That way I can accurately record how much they eat and how many eggs they covert that food into.

They will have to take turns free ranging -- but they do have 11m X5m in each pen.

At the end of the season I will know which feed to recommend to new mini-flock families.



This is the first of 4 new pens (I'm going to have to start holding my camera sideways to outsmart Blogger).



And this is the second pen.

Next will come the coops. 

I'm planning to build a raw straw house.  The bales will be stacked like bricks to stay strong and stable without the need for any other infrastructure.

The bales will be easy to disassemble when the floor needs cleaning.  This will also air the straw regularly so mould and parasites don't start thinking it's a cosy place to move into.

The raw straw house will provide a nice warm place for the hens to lay and brood -- although some may need to be reolcated when they are broody if the other hens in the pen insist on adding to their clutch of eggs each day.

A pitched iron roof will keep the rain out but will be light enough to move during the cleaning.

In a year or two when the raw straw bales begin to break down they will become mulch for the comfrey, tansy and lavender garden.

With the shortest day of the year fast approaching I am looking forward to having some hens go broody.