sorry another question for you

[pink-angel29]

i am still writing my letter to the council for my chickens and another question is how do you plan to keep vermin from gaining access.
What do you all use to keep your chickens safe ???

sorry for being a pain

[Bramble-Poultry]

vermin - they are asking you what measures you are plannig to use to control vermin. easy, inform them that the intention is to use approved baiting stations, placed strategically around the plot. You will keep a regular recod of bait placed and bait taken and monitor rodent activity in the area accordingly. You also intend to keep the food in a metal container that will be rat proof to stop them gnawing the way into a food source. you also intend to remove the feeders and drinkers at night and place within the housing, again behind lock and key to stop rodents from accessing it in the night.

However, it may be worth reminding them of the Allotments Act 1908 that states that they CANT STOP you from having chickens on the alltoment, you are doing them a favour by informing them of your intention to do so. To state that you cant keep chickens is breaking the law. The Allotments Act 1908 clearly sets out that you have a right to keep poultry and rabbits for food production (eggs and meat for chickens, meat for rabbits) without consent from the land owner.

obviously, dont get thier backs up, but you shouldnt have to prove why you want chickens, they need to prove why you cant.

[Suechooks]

I use bait boxes for both rats and mice, baited with Eradibait which is safe for wild life other than rats and mice, so if an owl (or indeed a hen!) takes a dead one it doesn't poison it. I also use an ultrasonic repeller (battery operated) in the runs and take up all feeders at night and try not to leave any spilt food about. I also use mouse traps inside a box so other birds etc don'y get caught in the traps.
Keep any bales of straw well above the ground ie on pallets and try not to stack them or store them too close to each other.
You need to keep your open bags of food in containers with fastening lids. I have dustbins with clip-on lids and store them inside a plastic garden store to keep dry.
In actual fact my allotment is council run and we have access to the pest control guy if we see any rats etc. However I feel it is the responsibility of chook owners to minimise the risk of rats by taking adequate precautions.
Hope that helps.

[Bramble-Poultry]

homefarmer magazine will be running an article next month (june issue) on rat control. have a read through that when its published, usually around the 7th May.