Keen to provide his hens with overhead shade on the range but unable to plant trees, producer Ivan Hayward has instead grown plots of kale for his hens to shelter under.
Ivan's 3250 Columbian Blacktail birds range on some rented land on Salisbury Plain, near Shaftsbury.
"The flinty, fast-draining soil makes it ideal ground to run hens on but it's lacking in vegetation," says Ivan, who was keen to give his hens overhead shade to make them feel more secure on what is a very exposed site.
"Trees would struggle to grow here and besides, it's rented ground which is otherwise used for growing cereals."
Undeterred in his quest to improve life outdoors for his birds, BFREPA member Ivan decided to give kale a try, having seen it used successfully as a cover crop on the many game shoots that are dotted around the rolling Wiltshire landscape.
Four plots, around a ¼ acre each, were sown 12 months ago ready for when the two mobile houses were moved onto fresh ground this year ready to house new birds. As an organic producer registered with the Soil Association, Ivan is required to rest the range area between flocks.
"One problem we did have was that we weren't able to source organic kale seed but the Soil Association granted us a derogation," explained Ivan. "The kale survived the winter and the new pullets went outside in March and absolutely love it."
Ivan says the birds quickly devoured all the lower leaves up to head height which has left a dense overhead canopy under which they freely wander. Now feeling safer out on the range, the hens are spending more time outdoors and in greater numbers.
"It is quite entertaining to watch them jumping up trying to snatch another beak-full of kale leaf."
Any concerns that Ivan had about the hens' diet not being balanced when they were consuming such large volumes of vegetation—or indeed whether it would taint the eggs—have been unfounded, for flock performance and egg quality have been unaffected.
Ivan has spent a lifetime in poultry and continues to be involved in the broiler industry. But he's particularly enjoyed the six years he has spent keeping free range layers and describes the Columbian Blacktail scheme—operated by Stonegate which supplies the eggs exclusively to Waitrose—as one of his more profitable ventures.
"Successfully producing organic eggs involves a lot of effort and attention to detail," he says. "We're using birds which haven't been beak-trimmed and they need careful management. But if you can get them to perform well, which we've managed to do, the financial rewards are considerable."
Despite the success of the enterprise, Ivan, aged 61, has reluctantly decided to give the operation up and is now looking for someone to take it over while he phases in his retirement.
Permission has been granted by the local planners for the siting of two further mobile hen houses and the landowner is keen to see poultry remain on the farm, for not only does he welcome the rent but finds the manure useful too.
So if you should fancy free ranging on Salisbury Plain then give Ivan a call on 01747 828322.
