A customer rang me at ideas-4-pets the other day and said he was wanting to keep a few chickens as he’d seen the programmes on TV advocating fresh eggs and the welfare of chickens and he wanted to teach his son some responsibilities involved in pet owning without having to invest in a dog or cat.

I advised him that keeping chickens would probably take up more time that he seemed to expect, especially as he had never kept them before, because although chickens are less demanding than a lot of other types of domestic pet, they still attention,  access to fresh water, fresh food, a suitable quality chicken coop and have access to soil so that they can dig up the odd worm and insect.

Chickens can’t be left for days on end with just a big bucket of food for company. They need daily, regular attention. In fact, if you have any idea what it’s like to own a dog, then treat the caring of your chickens in the same way.  The main difference being that you don’t need to take your chickens for a walk or a run in the fields. 

Keeping chickens isn’t an expensive hobby, but you do need to purchase a quality hen house and chicken run and you will also have to look at the price of feed, supplements and vitamins. There are several types of chicken coops or chicken houses on the market but it is wise to consider how many chickens you’re planning to keep and make your decision from there.

The amount of eggs you can glean from your chickens easily pays this outlay back providing you have layers!  Chickens tend to live up to about 15 years old and can lay for a large part of their life but it’s worth remembering that a healthy, happy chicken will lay for a lot longer than one that is poorly kept and ignored.

If you’re a newcomer to chicken keeping, then it’s adviseable to keep only standard breeds such as the Rhode Island Red, the Marran or the Silver Sussex.  Don’t buy a chicken purely on it’s looks, as cross-breeds and exotics can be unpredictable in nature and behaviour.  We’ve been informed by some of our customers that some types of birds are known for being extremely noisy and will crow all day long. Your neighbours will certainly not take kindly to this trait if you live in a residential area and intend to keep them in your back garden !!

Certain other breeds are poor at resisting disease and require much more attention and a greater level of pampering from their owners.  Some types of chicken are not good layers and others may be susceptible to being attacked by other chickens.  This is known as being “lower down the pecking order” as they are lower down in the hierarchy of chickens.

You really do need to choose chickens that lay well, are easily tamed,  are physically strong and not known for being too noisy.  The birds that always seem to meet these requirements are the good old faithful Rhode Island Reds.

If you haven’t kept chickens before then 3 birds is a good number to start with.  Don’t ever keep one chicken because they are social creatures and need contact with birds of their own kind.   A lone chicken will suffer from being lonely and will not lay well.  Any more than three and you will very soon see the mess they create in terms of chicken poo and the amount of scratching about they do is unbelieveable !!

If you have 6 chickens or more don’t forget the difference it will make to the noise levels because more chickens means more birds competing to be top hen.  It’s also worth remembering that the amount of space they will need around them also changes dramatically.  That means larger chicken coops and larger chicken runs.  A good guide is to allow approx. 1 square foot for a small breed bird, 1 1/2 square feet for a medium sized bird and 2 square feet for a large breed chicken.

On average, one hen will lay one egg a day during the summer months, so this will maybe give you some idea of how many hens to purchase.

There are lots of chicken coops to choose from and generally they are made from wood.  Provided you either purchase a tanalised chicken coop or treat it with non-toxic wood preserve annually, these are good because they provide your chickens with a warm, dry environment.  Make sure they are well ventilated and  have an external egg box for easy egg collecting.

Some versions of chicken coops need a chicken run to go with them, but some of the newer versions can come with an integrated outer cage to act as the chicken run. These are ideal for bantams and smaller breeds or if you intend to keep 3 or 4 medium sized birds (dependant upon the size of the coop) Chickens love to roam around and scratch about so the more space you can provide them with the better. One curious bird can scratch every bit of interesting earth from a space 10 feet square within a couple of days, so that information gives you some idea of the space they require.

After all that, chicken keeping seems to be the hobby of the day and is becoming increasingly popular with people of all ages – whether retired or young families.

Our customer bought a chicken coop with an integrated run area and invested in 3 chickens and we are told that his venture has been very successful and his young son is enjoying the experience tremendously.