Why a Small Flock Suits a Glen Garden

A couple of hens will earn their keep in even a modest rural garden. They convert kitchen scraps and garden weeds into eggs, scratch slugs and leatherjackets out of the lawn, and give you some of the best manure you can put on a vegetable bed. In a glen garden, where the nearest shop can be a fair drive away, a small flock is a quiet sort of self-sufficiency that pays back every morning.

Two or three birds are plenty for a household. If you want eggs through the winter, choose a hybrid layer; if you keep hens mostly for the pleasure of it, a traditional breed such as a Scots Dumpy or a Buff Orpington will reward you with character and a longer life, though fewer eggs and a tendency to go broody. Buy point-of-lay pullets in spring, or take on ex-commercial hens if you have the patience to bring them back to health. Leave cockerels to the crofts — neighbours in a quiet glen will hear a dawn crow from half a mile off.

Housing: Dry, Draught-Free and Off the Ground

Hens cope with cold far better than with wet and damp. Allow at least 30cm by 30cm of floor space per bird inside the house, so three hens want roughly a square metre. Site the house on a hard standing — paving slabs or a gravel pad — and raise it 20–30cm on legs so air moves underneath and rats struggle to tunnel in.

• Perches: allow 20–25cm per bird, set about 45cm off the floor, using rounded timber roughly 4–5cm wide so toes can grip properly.
• Nest boxes: one 30cm cube for every four hens, lined with straw, sited in the darkest corner.
• Ventilation: high-level slots or a vented ridge, never a draught at perch height.
• Bedding: a deep layer of wood shavings, with droppings lifted daily and a full clean-out weekly.

Red mite is the great enemy of a wooden hen house. They hide in crevices by day and feed at night, leaving birds pale and reluctant to roost. Take a torch to the perch ends and roof joints every fortnight in summer, and treat any sign immediately with a mite powder or diatomaceous earth worked well into the cracks.

Runs, Netting and the Local Fox

A fox will hunt in broad daylight, and in glen country you may also be visited by pine marten, badger or a stray dog. Chicken wire keeps chickens in; it does not keep predators out. Use welded mesh, ideally 25mm, fixed to a sturdy frame.

• Space: at least one square metre per bird in a permanent run, more if they cannot free-range.
• Ground defence: bury a 45cm skirt of mesh, or pin an apron flat on the soil facing outwards so digging animals meet wire.
• Overhead: net or sheet the run against buzzards and driving rain.
• Electric netting: excellent for moving birds onto fresh grass, but check the energiser weekly and keep grass cut back from the line.

In a wet glen, a fixed run soon poaches into mud. A moveable ark rotated every fortnight keeps the grass sweeter and the birds healthier. Whatever the setup, give them a dry dust bath — a shallow tray of sand mixed with wood ash — so they can keep their feathers in condition.

Feeding and Watering

Feed a balanced layers' pellet as the main ration, roughly 120g per bird per day, and keep it topped up in a metal feeder under cover. A handful of mixed corn per bird in the evening is a useful winter warmer, but too much corn dilutes the protein and calcium they need for steady laying.

Keep separate hoppers of insoluble grit and oyster shell available at all times. Grit grinds food in the gizzard; oyster shell supplies the calcium for strong shells. Water matters more than many new keepers realise — a hen drinks 250–500ml a day, and considerably more in a warm spell. In hard frost, check drinkers twice daily and use an insulated or floating-ball drinker rather than letting ice seal the top.

Kitchen scraps are a treat, not a diet. Never offer mouldy, salty or fatty food, and avoid avocado, raw potato and large quantities of onion.

A Daily Routine and Simple Health Checks

Hens thrive on routine, and the routine takes ten minutes. Morning: open the pop hole, feed, refresh water and count heads. Midday: collect eggs promptly so nobody learns to eat them. Evening: shut them in, count again, and watch for any bird still on the floor rather than the perch.

Once a week, scrub and refill drinkers, check perches for mites, and handle each bird briefly. Look at the comb colour, the eyes, the vent, and the scales on the legs, which thicken and lift with scaly leg mite. A hunched bird with a pale comb and a dropped tail is unwell; separate her and seek veterinary advice rather than waiting. Worm according to your vet's advice, usually twice a year, and expect a late-summer moult with dull feathers and a dip in laying — boost protein then and be patient.

Weather, Season and Neighbours

Glen weather is the real test. Anchor the house against gales, plant or hurdle a windbreak, and make sure rain cannot run into the run. Short winter days naturally reduce laying, so rely on good husbandry rather than artificial light. In hard frost, smear a little petroleum jelly on large combs to guard against frostbite. In summer, provide shade and cool water, and be ready for the 4am chorus — hens are up with the light in a Scottish June, so keep the house away from neighbouring bedrooms.

Get these basics right and a small flock will settle into the rhythm of the place: out at dawn, scratching through the drizzle, back to the perch as the light goes. Few things suit a rural garden better.