Environment
Chickens are highly adaptable, so urban chicken ownership isn’t off the cards. If you’re intending to breed though, cockerels can be VERY NOISY. Chickens love to amble about in open spaces, so if you have a yard or garden with high fencing your birds will likely enjoy the freedom throughout daylight hours. Chickens have a fairly strong instinct for self-preservation, so can be trained to go back into their chicken coop as daylight fades (that said, there’s always one fussy one who insists on sitting on top of it instead!) Chicken housing should always be tailor-made for chickens. They’re resilient little birds, but using small or cramped old rabbit hutches etc. is cruel.

Commitment
Chicken housing needs to be kept clean, and they need to be fed and watered every day. Although far less of a commitment than a dog or even a cat, chickens do require care and attention daily.

Predators
It’s a lucky cat who tangles with an adult chicken and leaves without a few bumps and bruises! The main worry is urban foxes. As we learned from Fantastic Mr Fox, foxes adore fresh chicken! Protecting your chickens from predators is fairly easy with specifically designed chicken coops. Avoid siting bottomless coops on soft ground, as Fantastic Mr Fox could dig underneath.

There used to be a tendency to think of foxes as creatures of the countryside, but over the last thirty years we have seen the rise of the suburban fox, which means potential problems if you keep chickens. There are plenty of things you can do to keep your chicken coop secure from foxes, the first being to ensure that any windows are regularly checked, and that the door is solid. If you have wire fencing around the chicken coop, it’s a good idea to extend the depth of the fencing. Foxes can burrow, so make their job a little more difficult by installing the fencing at least two feet below the surface.

Have a look at the ideas-4-pets website and you’ll find a wide choice of coops, as well as hundreds of other ideas for pets, from the vivarium to a parrot cage.

Thanks, in part, to an increasing emphasis on locally sourced produce in the UK and to the TV personalities who support the idea, many consumers are now attempting to grow fruit and vegetables in their gardens and some are even rearing livestock.

If you are keen to get involved in the trend and reduce your reliance on supermarkets and other shops, you might want on invest in a chicken coop – and of course the birds to go with it.

This way, you should be able to enjoy fresh eggs on a regular basis.

Indeed, having chicken coops in your garden can be a fun and rewarding experience. It may also be a great way of introducing any youngsters in your home to the processes involved in food production.

Of course, there are potential health benefits too, as you can ensure that no chemicals are used.

And keeping chickens is considerably easier than many other animals, such as pigs and goats.

These days, sourcing chicken coops is very easy. For example, you can order them online via firms such as us here at ideas-4-pets.

Before you know it, you could have your chicken coop set up and be collecting baskets full of eggs.

Chicken coops can be made from different materials. Wood may be used to keep the chickens warm and safe as it is a very strong, durable material. Alternatively, metal designs are also another option.

To get tasty eggs, you need to keep your chickens happy and healthy. If they feel stressed or threatened by predators, they may not be able to produce as many eggs. When thinking about the chicken house you need to understand the behaviour of the birds. Chickens choose to huddle together on a raised platform in the chicken coop when sleeping. They do not sleep on the ground or in their nesting boxes as they like the warmth and comfort of feeling other chickens beside them.

The coop needs to be quite high as this is where they like to roost; however, if it is too high then they may not be able to reach it. Try not to place roosts at different levels as this may cause stress among the birds. The roosting area should be higher than their nesting boxes however you should not have it directly above them as it could cause the boxes to be covered in waste. To ensure your chickens are healthy you need to clean the coop on a regular basis.

Chickens are also easily trained and respond well to their master who rewards them with treats of food. They are extremely loyal once you have created a rapport and will show that they are enjoying your company by following you around the garden or yard.

It is important to know how many chickens you will be keeping before purchasing a chicken coop, as you will need at least three to four feet per chicken. The purpose of the chicken coop is to provide them with a place to live, so it is important they have adequate space in order to have healthy and happy chickens.

The chicken coop should be layered with straw, hay or shredded wood, this will keep the coop warm and will make it easier for you to clean.

Ventilation is also a vital part of ensuring hygiene in the chicken coop as it releases bad smells from the coop but it also allows your pets to breathe easily. However, too much ventilation can subject your chickens to illness, so ensure they do not have too much ventilation as the last thing you want is for your pet to become sick.

Ideas4Pets have a wide range of chicken coops in order to satisfy the growing trend of keeping chickens. One of the most popular items from their range is the Grande Chicken Den 002H, this den is suitable for up to 15 small to medium sized chickens or six hens, and gives that extra space for pet owners who want to ensure their pets have plenty of freedom. It comes with ventilation holes at the bottom of the coop which ensures the correct amount of air distribution and has ten removable perches for easy cleaning which maintains hygiene standards.

Unfortunately for chickens, animals like foxes (and even people’s pet dogs) have had a lot of years of evolution to hone their hunting skills, and therefore even the slightest flaw in your chicken coops security is open to exploitation by wily hunters. With this in mind, you should endeavour to check your chicken house etc on a regular basis for potential structural weaknesses such as loose wooden panels.

One of the most common entry points for predators is underneath doors, gates or fences, and therefore you should try and minimize these entry points as much as possible, by, for example, using tent pegs to secure chicken wire to the ground, or concrete slabs to block and potential entry points.

Of course chickens are not only vulnerable to predation, there are plenty of other ways for a chicken to come to an untimely end: for example, if your chickens are allowed to roam near a pond they may fall in, or if your chicken coop or chicken house is not built properly then they could injure themselves on loose fittings.

Like with all pets, chickens will enjoy being allowed to roam outside of their chicken coop; however, whilst this will have a positive effect on their wellbeing overall, it may also leave them vulnerable to attack by, for example, cats, and therefore you should keep a close eye on your birds at all times.

First of all you will need an appropriate home for your chickens, which will consist of a chicken coop and also plenty of room for your chickens to roam. In order to create a spacious environment for your chickens at minimal cost, you could use some chicken wire to cordon off a section of your garden.

When choosing the chicken coop itself you’ll need to consider a variety of factors. For example if you plan on keeping a large number of chickens, you will need to ensure that the chicken coop is able to accommodate plenty of nests. Of course as an outdoor housing solution, a chicken coop needs to be durable enough endure anything the weather has to throw at it, whilst also being secure from invasion of predators, like foxes for example. With this in mind, highly durable materials such as quality timber will be suitable for keeping your chickens secure.

Like all pet housing, your chicken coop also needs some appropriate bedding and at Ideas-4-Pets, we offer “barn dried hay” – which is perfect for coops as not only is super-comfortable, but it is also is medicated to help protect your chickens from any potential disease.

If you are looking to purchase a chicken coop, there is a choice between a stand alone chicken facility and one with a chicken run attached. If you are going to have chickens in your back garden, consider the space you have available before ordering your chicken coop. Obviously, the number of chickens you will be able to keep will depend on the size of the coop itself.

Larger models of chicken coop are able to house up to one hundred chickens, but that would be too many for a typical garden. Chicken runs attached to a chicken coop allow newly acquired chickens to run around and peck away at the ground.

Choosing high quality bird accessories, such as feeders and bales of barn hay will help to keep your chickens happy. If your birds are nesting, you should fill their nesting boxes with dry wheat straw on the top of a layer of sawdust. Once you are up and running with your chicken coop and possess a number of chickens, you will clearly need to establish a regular cleaning routine. Clean your chicken house once a week, using a covering of sawdust on the floor to avoid your birds acquiring a nasty chest infection.

At Ideas-4-Pets we give our customers a choice of quality chicken coops and chicken accessories. We also stock products for a variety of other animals, including dog beds, rabbit hutches and cat carriers.

You can top up your chicken coop or hen house with extra insulation by adding cardboard in strategic places. Plenty of fresh hay can provide a large amount of warmth as the hay will start to decay and, in doing so, it heats up. Remember that if you keep your chickens in a chicken coop with a pile of hay, it will need replenishing.

It’s not at all healthy for your birds to live in their own manure. An important part of caring for chickens is to remove the manure on a regular basis. To increase your production of winter eggs from your chickens you can give them a vitamin D supplement. A daily treat of scratch grains will help them while they are roosting in their chicken coop. In the winter you may decide to feed your birds with whole wheat kernels as the split kernels will provide excellent fresh greens. Keeping your birds together in a chicken coop allows you to watch out for unwanted predators without upsetting your neighbours.

To keep your chickens warm and safe, at Ideas-4-pets we have a great selection of stand alone chicken houses, hen houses, chicken runs and feeders and bowls. We also cater for other pets and have a range of dog beds, rabbit hutches and parrot cages amongst other stock.

If your young birds are born during a hot summer they will need plenty of shade as they may start moulting too early. Moulting hens will not be able to provide eggs so make sure you have enough protection. Your flock of young chicks can benefit from a good chicken coop that has ventilation with enough protection from the cold winds that usually come from the north or east.

We at Ideas-4-pets recommend that you measure your allocated space. Three square feet per bird is the recommended allocation when caring for chickens. Your hens will need to have some nests provided to tempt them into laying eggs indoors. Two birds can share one nest.

Remember to keep your hen house protected from predators. If you live in the countryside you may decide to purchase an electric fence. General maintenance for chickens in a chicken coop is keeping their food and water feeders clean. When deciding on your choice of chicken house ensure you are able to get in to it to keep it clean.

At our site we stock a wide variety of quality chicken coops, hen houses and chicken runs plus chicken accessories which can give great value for money. We also supply a variety of dog beds, parrot cages and rabbit hutches if you have other pets.