Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle Magazine August 2013 | Page 64

To be healthy, your birds need to have access to fresh air and exercise, and happy hens
will produce more eggs! Will you build a run – a small fenced area or pen – or will you allow
them to roam free range? Do be aware though, as cute as they certainly are and as
charming as their little scratching ‘dance’ can be, hens can ruin a lawn and decimate your
flower border in no time at all.
My girls, Madonna, Kylie and Lady Gaga,
have access to a large field at the back
of our cottage, which they reach via a
‘pop hole’ in the fence. They spend their
days like feathered commandos, making
their way over the grassy hills in a
scouting formation, so they won’t miss a
single juicy worm, bug or beetle, in their
path. Despite this, they still need a
constant supply of clean fresh water and
to be fed. I feed my girls twice a day on
layers pellets, a dried all in one balanced
food for laying hens. As a treat they get a handful of corn, which they love almost as much
as any leftover cooked rice (which I’m sure they think are grubs) and cooked spaghetti
(worms?).
I have to say that keeping hens is an absolute joy and, despite what you might think, they
are not completely feather brained. Hens can be trained to come when called. They ‘talk’ to
you with their cute cooing and clucking noises and, the best of all, they like to present you
with a small oval gift every morning. So get cracking. What’s stopping you from keeping a
few hens on the hill or a few chickens in the coop?

Free Range Hen on The Hill
Janice Horton lives in a remote cottage on the
side of a hillside in Scotland. She says that the
Scottish mist, the diffused light, the ancient
castles and old traditions that surround her,
inspire her stories and fire her imagination.
Brought to you by: Janice Horton
Website/blog: http://www.janicehorton.co.uk/
Twitter: @JaniceHorton
FB: Janice Horton Author