Forest Raised Poultry

The weather has been perfect for getting through some projects on the farm. This last week I have been busy working on a new habitat for our hens. For the last few years now our hens have been out on the pasture in there mobile coop where the hens got moved onto fresh pasture every few days while using electric netting to keep them safe from predator's such as foxes and roaming dogs. For the first two years we had no problems with predators's and we even had a family of foxes living in the same field and they never bothered the hens. However, last year we seem of been outnumbered by foxes. On a summers night if walking out to hens, there could be four to five adult foxes looking back at you. They were getting cheeky and getting very close. They wouldn't even flinch, even if my own dog started barking at them. Eventually one summers evening, and the one evening the electric fence wasn't working due to a broken connection, the fox got through and killed twenty hens. It would of killed more only I happened to be out walking in the field and it fled the scene. I beefed up the fencing and that kept the foxes out for a while. That is until one winter morning, desperate for food, and fox dung under my electric fence and this time killed another thirty hens. Again, it would of killed more, only I must of startled it and ran off as I was walking out because the hens it killed were still warm when I got there. It was a heartbreaking scene, and it can make you feel like a failure as a farmer, it's my duty to look after the welfare of my animals. So that night when the rest of the hens were in their mobile coop I hitched it up the brought it back to the polytunnel. I have excellent permanent fencing around the polytunnel and the hens were safe there. I would have had to bring them back to the polytunnel anyway due to bird flu restrictions which actually came into affect two weeks later.

So thinking about the summer ahead, there was no way I was going to go through that again. The permanent fence we have around the polytunnel works well, so I decided to extend this fencing to not only make the paddock around the polytunnel bigger but to also take in the little wood adjoining it. The wood consists of around five hundred coppicing ash which I planted back in 2012 to fuel my stove. I only cut the first of these trees over the winter, and they will grow back. We don't use much wood in the house as we have a heat pump, but still it's nice to have your own supply of wood for those winter nights when you need a little extra heat. Anyway, I thought this would be the perfect environment for my hens, why? because it's there natural environment.

In the wild, hens, descendants of the red junglefowl, live in the tropical and subtropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. These environments provide dense undergrowth, trees, and shrubs that offer shelter, roosting spots, and protection from predators. Although hens are primarily ground-dwelling, they are capable of short flights, often using them to escape danger or reach tree branches for nighttime roosting. They spend much of their day scratching and pecking at the forest floor in search of seeds, insects, grubs, plants, and fruits, which keeps them physically active and mentally engaged. Wild hens live in small social groups with a clear pecking order, usually led by a dominant rooster, and rely on social interaction for cohesion and hierarchy. When nesting, hens seek out hidden spots in tall grass or underbrush to lay and incubate their eggs safely. Their natural habitat is warm and humid, with seasonal variations, providing a rich and stimulating environment essential to their overall well-being.

Now, that's all great, but I don't want them nesting all over the place, so their mobile coop is going to stay them and I'll move it around the paddock accordingly and their food and water will remain in there to encourage them back to both nest and roost at night. They will continue to have access to the polytunnel, where they get their 'out of date' fruit and veg form the shops, and feeding them in here minimizes the risk of wild birds coming in and feeding.

So, over the week I got the job done, it did cost about €1000 to extend the fence but I think it will pay for itself very quickly. It also took a lot of work as to make the fence fox proof the fence has to be buried underground. The top wire is electric and there is also a bottom wire on the outside of the fence about 200mm off the ground which is also electric and needs maintenance to stop the grass growing up and earthing out the electric fence.

Will it make any difference to the quality of the eggs compared to raising them out in the pasture? Well the research suggests that no, the benefits of pasture raised hens are the same as forest raised hens. These eggs are known for their superior nutritional profile compared to conventional eggs. They typically contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart and brain health, as well as more vitamin D, vitamin E, and beta-carotene (Karsten et al., 2010) . These eggs also have a better fat balance, with less saturated fat and more beneficial unsaturated fats. Additionally, they are richer in antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, which are important for maintaining healthy vision. However, the main advantage to forest raised hens is higher welfare due to increased natural cover which provides protection from predators and extreme weather but also it's a habitat closer to wild junglefowl origins making it a more stress-free environment for the hens. Plus the hens also have access to fresh pasture within the paddock anyway.

The hens are only starting to explore their new environment, but I'm already starting some behavioural changes. The most noticeable is how far they are willing to roam away form their coop. They normally stay within close range but they seem happy to wonder off into the distance. The vegetation is still a little high in places so I have to cut back some of the longer grass and nettles. Another week and they should have the place well explored.

References

Karsten, H., Patterson, P., Stout, R., & Crews, G. (2010). Vitamins A, E and fatty acid composition of the eggs of caged hens and pastured hens. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 25(1), 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1742170509990214