Rose Violet
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Does anyone know if there is legislation regarding having hens in your back garden? Do you need permission from someone or is there a restriction on how many you can have?
Keeping Hens in Dublin Garden
- Thread starter Rose Violet
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You can pretty much do what you want. I think you are supposed to register them in case of a bird flu outbreak but not sure how many do.
I have 4, but it is a decent garden. My neighbour has more, but he has a bigger garden. I have not registered them, and I doubt he has.....
You have 2 other concerns (in my opinion):
1) your neighbours. my hens can be a bit cackley early in the mornings. There are ways to reduce the noise (lock them into their house until a decent hour)
2) your hens welfare. there are lots of houses and runs available, but hens really should be let run around... most houses have a little mesh "run" of a few foot square, I don't think this is reasonable.
I have 4, but it is a decent garden. My neighbour has more, but he has a bigger garden. I have not registered them, and I doubt he has.....
You have 2 other concerns (in my opinion):
1) your neighbours. my hens can be a bit cackley early in the mornings. There are ways to reduce the noise (lock them into their house until a decent hour)
2) your hens welfare. there are lots of houses and runs available, but hens really should be let run around... most houses have a little mesh "run" of a few foot square, I don't think this is reasonable.
We have five hens living in our back garden, though none of our close neighbours have them. We've had them for about 2 and a half years.
You are meant to register your flock, as fraggle mentioned, with the Dept of Agriculture. Apart from that, I don't think there is any legislation covering it.
Things you should bear in mind, though:
The hens will scratch and eat and roll around in dust, and generally wreck your garden. I don't mean this as a reason not to get them, but if you have particularly prized plants or if you're particular about your lawn, you'll have to make sure that you can confine them to a particular area of the garden which gives them sufficient space for scratching.
Noise can be an issue, especially if you're planning on getting a rooster. The hens tend to cluck a bit after laying an egg (you would too!), but don't make too much noise apart from that. Or maybe I've just got used to it by this stage.
If you don't get a rooster, you will still get eggs. However, the eggs won't be fertilised, so they will never hatch.
Sooner or later, foxes will figure out that you have hens and will start hanging around. This happened to us about 9 months after the hens first arrived, but fortunately, our neighbours took to throwing stuff out of their windows to scare away the foxes. (We repaid them with eggs.) It's worth considering how you're going to protect your hens. If you are at home for most of the day, it should be fine to let them roam around the garden, but if you tend to be out all day, it might be a good idea to put up a fence, which is submerged into the soil. This will stop the foxes tunnelling under hte fence.
There are probably hundreds of other bits of advice you might want, but I'll leave it at that for now.
You are meant to register your flock, as fraggle mentioned, with the Dept of Agriculture. Apart from that, I don't think there is any legislation covering it.
Things you should bear in mind, though:
The hens will scratch and eat and roll around in dust, and generally wreck your garden. I don't mean this as a reason not to get them, but if you have particularly prized plants or if you're particular about your lawn, you'll have to make sure that you can confine them to a particular area of the garden which gives them sufficient space for scratching.
Noise can be an issue, especially if you're planning on getting a rooster. The hens tend to cluck a bit after laying an egg (you would too!), but don't make too much noise apart from that. Or maybe I've just got used to it by this stage.
If you don't get a rooster, you will still get eggs. However, the eggs won't be fertilised, so they will never hatch.
Sooner or later, foxes will figure out that you have hens and will start hanging around. This happened to us about 9 months after the hens first arrived, but fortunately, our neighbours took to throwing stuff out of their windows to scare away the foxes. (We repaid them with eggs.) It's worth considering how you're going to protect your hens. If you are at home for most of the day, it should be fine to let them roam around the garden, but if you tend to be out all day, it might be a good idea to put up a fence, which is submerged into the soil. This will stop the foxes tunnelling under hte fence.
There are probably hundreds of other bits of advice you might want, but I'll leave it at that for now.
Just to add, that I have a large fruit and vegetable garden which I don't want the hens near, so I built a large run (this is a proper structure I can stand up in for easy access and cleaning). It has a roof and woodchip on the ground and it generally maintenance free. I have about 20-25sqft per hen and they have told me they are happy with this. YOu can build perches,ramps and platforms to increase the space, variety.
Rose Violet,
Thanks a lot for starting this thread.
We've had a conversation at home on this.
So do you need any specialist anti-fox measures?
We live on a hill and see a lot of urban foxes at night.
They seldom forage in the rear gardens but I know they can climb.
I have seen one go straight up a 3.0M railway embankment masonry wall.
Thanks a lot for starting this thread.
We've had a conversation at home on this.
So do you need any specialist anti-fox measures?
We live on a hill and see a lot of urban foxes at night.
They seldom forage in the rear gardens but I know they can climb.
I have seen one go straight up a 3.0M railway embankment masonry wall.
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rofl.
dereko1969
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Doctor Doolittle, is that you?
My fox protection is as follows..
hens wander free during the day. (I live on a farm) No fox probs yet. Have had hens since 2005.
Hens enter an old "Barna" type garden shed at dusk to roost.
I fitted light sensitive door, available on internet (approx £100). Door opens at dawn and closes at programmed time. Means I dont have to be there to dock the door against any potential predators, not let them out again at dawn.
Noise should not be a prob unless you get Cock ( not recommended unless you need to breed chicks, they can be vicious).
Soiling of paths and lawn will be a prob, esp with toddlers who seem particularily attracted to hen poo.
Scratching of flower beds etc will be a prob.
Supplimentary feeding may be required, min kitchen scraps but possibly some layers pellets. Water and feeding may have implications if you take holidays for more than a few days (but lots of hoppers available retail for feed and water). Make sure the hens cant wander into your next door neighbours garden (chicken wire gaps etc and they could 'fly' to 10 feet high if they have to but you can clip their wings to stop that, or just ensure they have plenty of feed etc so they dont feel the need to wander. Hens have very strong homing instinct, thus they can wander a little but rarely more than 200 yards in my experience)
They are very friendly and good pets and lovely eggs, 1/day for 9 or 10 months of the year. Keep them in batches, avoid frequent introductions as vicious pecking orders, yes "literaly" have to be established each time. Hen should have 3 to 5 years laying life. You should consider what you will do when the hen stops laying for good and yet lives on. Too old 'for the pot' and harder than you would think to kill anyway. If you have only 2 or 3 you could double the numbers (with the new poulets) and keep the old girls till nature takes its course.
hens wander free during the day. (I live on a farm) No fox probs yet. Have had hens since 2005.
Hens enter an old "Barna" type garden shed at dusk to roost.
I fitted light sensitive door, available on internet (approx £100). Door opens at dawn and closes at programmed time. Means I dont have to be there to dock the door against any potential predators, not let them out again at dawn.
Noise should not be a prob unless you get Cock ( not recommended unless you need to breed chicks, they can be vicious).
Soiling of paths and lawn will be a prob, esp with toddlers who seem particularily attracted to hen poo.
Scratching of flower beds etc will be a prob.
Supplimentary feeding may be required, min kitchen scraps but possibly some layers pellets. Water and feeding may have implications if you take holidays for more than a few days (but lots of hoppers available retail for feed and water). Make sure the hens cant wander into your next door neighbours garden (chicken wire gaps etc and they could 'fly' to 10 feet high if they have to but you can clip their wings to stop that, or just ensure they have plenty of feed etc so they dont feel the need to wander. Hens have very strong homing instinct, thus they can wander a little but rarely more than 200 yards in my experience)
They are very friendly and good pets and lovely eggs, 1/day for 9 or 10 months of the year. Keep them in batches, avoid frequent introductions as vicious pecking orders, yes "literaly" have to be established each time. Hen should have 3 to 5 years laying life. You should consider what you will do when the hen stops laying for good and yet lives on. Too old 'for the pot' and harder than you would think to kill anyway. If you have only 2 or 3 you could double the numbers (with the new poulets) and keep the old girls till nature takes its course.
In fairness, the Fraggles were able to converse with a Rubbish Heap. A few hens shouldn't pose a problem.