James Atkinson
Why a Small Flock Makes Sense on a Cumbrian Smallholding
There is something deeply satisfying about walking down the yard on a wet Wednesday morning and coming back with a warm egg in each hand. Six hens, kept well, will give you somewhere between 20 and 30 eggs a week through spring and summer — more than enough for the house, with a few spare for neighbours and the odd swap at the gate.
But eggs are only part of the bargain. Chickens scratch through the muck heap, turning and aerating it as they go. Their droppings are rich in nitrogen, and once composted with their bedding they will feed your beds better than most bought-in products. They also work as pest control, clearing slugs, snails, leatherjackets and caterpillars with real enthusiasm.
Do keep them away from the seedling bed, mind. A hen's approach to pest control is wonderfully indiscriminate, and a flock let loose among young brassicas will leave you with bare stalks and a rather smug expression on their faces. Fence off what you want to keep and let them tidy the rest.
Choosing Hardy Breeds for a Damp, Windy Climate
Our weather sorts the sheep from the goats, and it sorts the chickens too. What you want is a bird with a well-feathered body, a sensible comb and a temperament that does not panic at every gust. Very large single combs can suffer in a hard frost, and heavily feathered feet turn into mud clumps in a wet run.
- Hybrid layers such as Bluebelles, Speckledys and Amber Stars are the workhorses of the smallholding. Expect 280 to 300 eggs a year in their first couple of seasons, and they are generally calm and easy to handle.
- Rhode Island Reds and Light Sussex are traditional, robust pure breeds that cope well with wet ground and lay a decent number of large brown eggs.
- Buff Orpingtons are big, docile and feathery, ideal if children are helping, though they eat more and lay slightly fewer eggs.
- Cream Legbars are lighter framed, lay lovely blue eggs and forage hard, but they are flightier and need a higher fence.
- Barnevelders lay dark, speckled brown eggs and are steady, quiet birds that do well in a mixed flock.
Buy point-of-lay pullets at around 18 to 20 weeks if you want eggs quickly. Ex-commercial hens are a kind option and surprisingly hardy once they have re-feathered, but they often need a gentler introduction and a bit of patience. You do not need a cockerel for eggs, and in a village or near neighbours the noise is rarely worth the trouble.
Housing: Secure, Dry and Draught-Free
A Cumbrian hen house needs to do two jobs: keep the rain out and keep the fox out. Raise the coop on legs or a solid base so it does not sit in a puddle, and make sure the roof overhangs. Ventilation should be high and above head height when the birds are perching, so moisture escapes without a cold draught whistling across their backs.
Allow roughly 25cm of perch per bird, using a piece of timber about 5cm wide so they can settle flat-footed in cold weather. Nest boxes — one per four or five hens — should be dark, private and lined with clean dust-free shavings rather than straw, which tends to harbour pests.
For the run, reckon on at least two square metres per bird if they cannot free range, and roof part of it. Weldmesh is the only sensible choice; chicken wire keeps hens in but does nothing to keep a fox out. Sink the mesh into the ground or run paving slabs around the perimeter, because foxes dig. Remember that a hungry fox will happily call in broad daylight, especially where there are cubs to feed.
Feeding and the Daily Routine
Keep it simple and consistent. A good quality layers' pellet, fed ad lib from a hanging feeder, gives them the protein, calcium and vitamins they need. Mixed corn is a treat and a winter warmer, best scattered in the late afternoon so they go to roost with a full crop — but do not let it become half the diet, or you will see the eggs suffer.
- Fresh water every single day, in a clean drinker raised off the ground.
- A separate pot of mixed grit and oyster shell, always available.
- Garden greens, weeds, windfall fruit and a handful of corn as extras.
- Eggs collected daily — twice a day in hot weather.
Let them out at first light if you can, but check the run first. A quick headcount at bedtime is the best habit you will ever form: it catches illness, bullying and the odd bird waiting outside the pop hole before they become a problem.
Health Checks and the War on Red Mite
Red mite is the single biggest nuisance in a backyard hen house, and it thrives in the sort of damp, sheltered crevices our climate provides. The mite hides in cracks by day and feeds on the birds at night, which is why the first signs are often hens reluctant to go in at dusk, a drop in laying, pale combs and dirty-looking feather loss.
Check weekly with a torch. Run a white tissue along the underside of the perch and into the corners of the coop; grey ash-like smuts that smear red when crushed are a sure sign. Also watch your own forearms for itching after cleaning out.
If you find them, act properly rather than just spraying and hoping:
- Empty the coop completely and scrub every surface with a poultry-safe cleaner.
- Treat all crevices, perch ends and joints with a product licensed for poultry, following the instructions on withdrawal periods exactly.
- Replace felt roofing, which is a favourite hiding place, with a smooth solid sheet.
- Use a poultry-safe dusting powder in nest boxes and bedding, and repeat the whole treatment a fortnight later to catch newly hatched mites.
While you are in there, check legs for scaly leg mite, look for lice around the vent, and speak to your vet about an appropriate worming routine. Clean bedding, dry ground and a little vigilance will prevent most of it.
Eggs Through the Year
Expect your hens to moult in autumn, usually over six to eight weeks. Laying drops away, sometimes to nothing, and the birds will look scruffy and sorry for themselves. Feed a little extra protein and let them rest — pushing them through a moult only shortens their working life.
Over winter, laying depends largely on daylight. Hens need around fourteen hours of light to keep producing, so most of us get a natural lull from November to January and then a welcome flood of eggs as the days lengthen. Some keepers add a timed light in the coop; others prefer to let the flock have a proper rest, which is kinder and usually gives stronger shells later.
Store eggs unwashed, pointy end down, somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight. They will keep for weeks. If you are ever unsure, a fresh egg sinks in a glass of water while an old one floats — a trick worth teaching the grandchildren.
Start with half a dozen good hardy hens, build them a dry, fox-proof home, look them over properly once a week, and you will have fresh eggs on the kitchen table nearly every morning of the year. That is a smallholding pleasure hard to beat.
