Hen Pen – Gold Dust

Poultry and arable enterprises work hand in hand at Edington Mains, Duns – utilizing the poultry manure saved David Runciman £27 300 in Potash and Potassium applications last year. Investing £1Million in a 32000 bird poultry unit has been worth every penny says David Runciman, who farms in conjunction with his father on 926 arable acres near Duns in the Scottish Borders.

Chicken Run

Thirty-one year old James MacLean, of Hutton Hall Barns, Berwickshire,could give all the applicants on BBC2’s The Apprentice programme, hosted by Sir Alan Sugar, a run for their money! James, who established his Organic Free Range Egg enterprise – Border Eggs – in March 2007 with 3000 Lohmann Brown laying hens and tripled his numbers last year to 9000, is upping poultry production once more. In July a further 12000 free range hens will take up residence – at Hutton Hall Barns – in the new state of the art shed, which has its founds going down as we go to press.

Embracing Change

Deciding whether to convert their poultry enterprise from caged to free range is the main topic of conversation around the kitchen table at Overton farm, Fintry. The Aitken’s of Overton, Fintry could be categorised as a ‘rare breed’ in the farming world – they are one of very few small battery hen farmers, who market all their own eggs.