We’re passionate about animal welfare here at The Three Spaniels and we do like a fresh free-range egg, so it’ll be no surprise to our visitors to find that we have half a dozen happy hens here.
One of the many fabulous things about living in the heart of West Wales is the abundance of red kite and buzzards, we have a pair of buzzards nesting in our woods every spring. This means we do have to keep our chooks under cover for their own safety, but they have a lovely big run and a plenty of space in their shed to keep cosy at night or when the weather is a bit iffy.
We also like to keep them entertained – one of their favourite pastimes is leaping up for the leafy greens we hang up for them – most of which are surplus kale from the polytunnel. The hens have a number of rustic perches in the run too; we change things around from time to time to keep the space interesting, and we give them all the bark chippings from any log splitting activity – they like nothing more than scratching around in leaf litter and wood chippings.
Keeping our own hens means we can eat fresh organic eggs with minimum carbon footprint, safe in the knowledge that the hens the eggs come from are healthy and happy. Do ask if you’d like to try the eggs, we usually have a few spare, or if keeping hens is something you’d like to do we’re happy to show you the basics of henkeeping. It’s really easy and the hens are very appreciative – they even like the occasional cuddle – and unlike a rabbit they give a little back!!
