Keeping poultry responsibly - Janice Houghton-Wallace ponders on whether we do look after chickens properly

Tim Wass, chief officer of the RSPCA inspectorate said: "These animals are the helpless victims of our affluent, throwaway society. They are bought on a whim and discarded when the novelty wears off. Today's must-have items quickly turn into tomorrow's cast-offs."

One of today's must-have items is chickens in the garden or on the allotment but the RSPCA keep no statistics on poultry inspections or poultry cruelty. The animal charity does not do spot checks on private residences and act only on the receipt of a complaint but in some areas. Where for example animals kept on council allotments have been a big concern, the RSPCA has teamed up with local authorities to carry out proactive visits.

With the burgeoning interest in keeping poultry one wonders if there is cruelty taking place, albeit unwittingly? Is it probable that many birds bought as pretty garden egg providers will suffer some hardship through lack of knowledge rather than intended cruelty.

No one should be purchasing poultry without prior knowledge of the breed's behavioural and physical needs. People intending to keep chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys should seek training through attending courses or gain practical experience with a person who understands poultry behaviour. Owners need to learn how to protect their birds from predators, inspect them regularly for any signs of ill health and be prepared to discuss any health problems with a vet.

Five freedoms
There are recognised guidelines that should be considered by anyone assessing any animal's needs. These are the 'five freedoms', as defined by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC).These are.

• Freedom from hunger and thirst - by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour
  
• Freedom from discomfort - by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area
  
• Freedom from pain, injury or disease - by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
  
• Freedom to express normal behaviour - by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind
  
• Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.

When thinking of keeping poultry you also have to consider your facilities and lifestyle. There is a suitable breed of poultry for most people it just takes a little time and research to find out which it best for you.

What you don't want to happen is to buy some birds, such as large Rhode Island Reds to have strutting about in the garden during the day; only to find that the one thing they love most is scratching up your bedding plants and making dust baths in the lawn. If the contentedness of the birds comes first you might not mind this destruction but distressed gardeners might then shut the birds in their pen, which probably wasn't how they were to be kept originally and which may be quite a small area where they cannot display this type of natural behaviour.

Pekin bantams are one of the best breeds for roaming around the garden without destroying it. They are content to peck around but will not scratch as others may.

Your lifestyle will also impact on any poultry kept because if you are away a lot or always very late home in the evenings the birds may not be safe from predators or be fed and watered as routinely as they should. This is where the type of housing takes on a greater importance.

Mobile units are very popular for keeping small numbers of birds and they will be safer in these than running free. Howeverit is vital to buy the correct house and penning for the type of birds you are after. I have seen large fowl kept in small triangular pens that are really only suitable for bantams. In these particular designs, unless it is quite a large size, large birds such as Orpingtons or Wyandottes will only be able to walk up and down the middle of the pen because of the sloping sides.

Complete units that provid overnight accommodation with a pen area for daytime do not always allow the birds to stretch, walk around or perch adequately. Some of these units are also so small there is not sufficient space to carry out any fulfilling natural behaviour in the unit itself.

There is no specific legislation relating to stocking densities for backyard poultry and legislation relating to laying hens applies only to establishments with more than 350 birds.

You need to think about whether the space available in the housing units you look at would contribute to fulfilling the 'five freedoms'.

Kate Parkes of the large farm animal unit of the RSPCA said: "The RSPCA recommends a maximum indoor stocking density of 9 birds per square metre based on the floor area that can be utilised by the birds. Although the total number of birds may depend on the layout of facilities. Owners must ensure that there is plenty of space for the birds to move around easily. It is important not to overstock birds as doing so may increase aggression and the potential for conflict.

She added: "We recommend that owners should allow at least 1 square metre of floor area in the shed for every 5 ducks and that geese should be provided with at least 1 square metre of floor area per bird. There must be plenty of room for the birds to move around easily."

If you have just a few birds in the back garden a good quality garden shed provides a very effective poultry house. With some innovations such as adequate ventilation, a perch and some shavings there will be plenty of room for the birds to express natural behaviour and adequate room should they need to be housed during the day for any reason.

I carried out quite an interesting experiment recently with perches.

Six large Scots Greys originally had a perch in their housing, just under a metre off the ground. During the day they free-ranged around the garden but each evening I had to remove them from the Guinea Fowl house which has branches fixed quite high up for them to perch. The Scots Greys would fly up and perch on these branches. I placed some perches at varying heights in the Greys own house and now they put themselves to bed, all perching together on the highest one available. If birds do perch high you must have the appropriate space in the housing for they will need plenty of room in which to fly down. Without adequate space there would be a risk that hard landings would soon induce bumblefoot. This is severe bruising resulting in lesions which can allow the Staphylococcus bacteria to infect the foot.

Freedom from mental stress is also vitally important. Birds should be protected from other animals Dogs in particular are inclined to dash around and bark at anything strange and this would stress any poultry. Dogs should always be kept under control if there are plans to have poultry in the garden and never leave the two together until you are absolutely certain that they can be trusted.

Perhaps not surprisingly, children also come into this category. Youngsters running around the garden and shouting would certainly cause distress to poultry, especially if they are new to such an environment.

There is nothing more magical for children then keeping chickens, especially if in the spring a broody hen brings off chicks but the children do need to be taught to behave quietly around the birds and have respect for them.

All poultry owners should be looking after their birds in the kindest way possible and of course, most do. But there is now legislation to help make this more commonplace.

The Animal Welfare Act enshrines in law a duty of care which puts the onus on animals' owners to make sure that their animals' basic needs are met and the term 'animal' includes poultry. If owners do not know how their birds should be kept, this could, potentially, lead to their needs not being met, and perhaps, a breach of the Animal Welfare Act.

Sue Stafford, deputy chief office of the I RSPCA inspectorate said: "The RSPCA is very concerned that people may be taking on poultry without prior appropriate knowledge of the birds' behavioural and physical needs.

Having recently rescued 10 hens from a battery system, it is a joy to see them exhibiting all their natural behaviours for the first time and watch them gradually recover. If done well it can be a very rewarding thing to do.

However, chickens are quite complex creatures and there is plenty that can go wrong in the hands of someone who has not fully understood their needs. Which of course, it is the responsibility of every owner to do."