Chickens: I need help!

[Rustic Pumpkin]

I am desperate to get myself a couple or three chwcks. I've got a good place for them, space for a small house and an area that could either be reasonably fenced off so they'd have a grand amount of space, or I could go for a mobile run so they'd have less space but I'd have more control over where they'd go.

BUT there is a big BUT. Next door has got two Laburnum trees that overhang the only side I can realistically put the run. Even if I lop back the overhanging branches (which I believe I am legally entitled to do) there is still the chance of seeds dropping into my side and I am reliably informed that they are poisonous to humans. Question is, are they poisonous to hens? If so, do any of you bird owners have any suggestions as to how I could still get my hens and avoid the laburnum seeds?

(:D:eek: I've even begun to calculate how many gallons of Roundup it would take to kill two trees.:D:eek:)

[annie fenbug]

Morning Rustic. Not 100% sure but I think laburnum can be taken as poisonous to animals & birds as well as humans, and I think it's the whole plant - leaves, flowers, the lot. However you don't (as far as I know) see heaps of dead wildlife surrounding the many laburnums around the countryside, and I've heard of birds nesting in them, so it's likely that most creatures have ways of telling what they should and shouldn't eat. However with the trees right over the chicken run that might be too much of a risk - would there be any way you could rig up garden shade netting over the top of the run to catch any falling bits?

[Oola]

Hi Rustic

As far as I know, chickens are usually pretty good at knowing what's good and bad for them. We have foxgloves in the garden, as well as the occasional bit of ragwort that springs up (which I will HAVE to dig out before spring), and they've not been interested one iota.

HOWEVER, there's always a slight chance that they could pick up Laburnam seed, leaf or any other part that falls down (all parts are potentally (is that a word?!) poisonous to humans & animals/livestock) so in that regard it is a bit of a risk. But you don't see lots of dead birds or other animals lying around so I think the chances are that it would be OK. It also depends whether you'd be able to manage the space every day to make sure nothing has fallen down, but even then....!

I would say that the upside of a mobile run is that the same land doesn't get worked over and over, so there's less problems with the chickens scratching it all up and not getting 'fresh' land to go on. Plus there's probably less chance of them getting worms and parasites if they're moved about in the run. You can get some pretty big runs now that are mobile.

Sorry, I've probably not been much help!

Could you not ask your neighbour to trim back the branches that overhang your property though? You'd be well within your rights!

[Rustic Pumpkin]

Thank you Annie and Oola for your help. I've been contemplating some sort of netting to catch the seeds, but until your inputs never thought about the leaves as an issue. I know I'm entitled to cut it back to the boundary and won't hesitate to do this (and as they nicked 3ft of our land when they moved in the laburnums are technically on our land, but we won't go into the whys and wherefores of this). The house is now owned by a Care in the Community unit. Lovely girls who have integrated well and they are well taken care of, but the gardens are left unattended, the owners are somewhat more than lax in maintaining them (of several properties in the village) and if I say that it has taken 4 years to get them to start to repair the damaged fence they errected 12 years or more ago and which disintegrated causing us many problems, I really don't fancy putting in another request to please cut back your trees. Although I could have a word with thier gardener when he is next here and see if he would be amenable to doing it without the owner's knowledge. They never come by to see the place so might never find out. This is a good thought now. I only want about 4, even that would give me too many eggs if they all laid one a day.

[MrZebra]

Hey Rustic Pumpkin, you probably already know this, but if your neighbours have annexed part of your land and you do nothing about it for a certain amount of time (5 or 10 years I think, I can't remember), then it legally becomes THEIR land.

[Rustic Pumpkin]

Yes, Mr Z. I am afraid I am all to aware, but it was done before I moved in, and without going into detail and boring everyone, there was a reason why it wasn't chased up. As it turns out, I've got more land on my hands than I can cope with, so 3ft x 60ft, whilst a healthy swathe would be that much more I would have to dig and mow and worry about in general.

[sunflower]

Hi Rustic, Is it possible that you could have their henhouse on that side of the fence, but have their day space in another part of the garden? What I mean is, that maybe you could fence off the bit that is most likely to have the seeds and let them free range the other part of the garden. Just a thought. Or like we did, re arrange the whole of your garden to accomodate the hens.

[jazzactivist]

Hi Rustic. One of my previous neighbours had a laburnam tree in her garden and a chicken house under it, so I think that Oola and Annie must be right that hens are sensible creatures and know what not to eat. Another idea might be that as the house next door is a Community Care home and, therefore, the Council or charity that runs it has a duty of care to its residents, you could try raising the issue that all parts of Laburnam trees are dangerous to humans and thus are a risk to their residents. It is very possible that they don't realise this, and as any residents of a care facility are likely to be physically or mentally in need of extra support the risk to them is enhanced. You could offer to pay half of the cost of their removal. Just a thought...