We have taken the plunge and got three lovely ladies! Am excited but also a bit nervous now they're here - I hope reality lives up to expectation, at least a bit?! We've already had 2 eggs from the most mature girl (they're POL hybrids) so they seem to have settled ok - I'm the one that's fretting a bit about being responsible for three additional little lives in our home!
It was their first full day at home yesterday and already they've been terrorised by the local sparrowhawk, which I spotted in the morning and which also took a low pass over the run late in the afternoon. Do I need to worry? The hens are a good bit bigger than the sparrowhawk but they freaked out a bit when it was around. They've got an eglu go with 2m run inside some omlet netting and are reasonably sheltered by a wall at the back and some overhanging trees and shrubs.
I'm already anxious about the possibility of a fox attack - I didn't even consider airborne threats