Keeping chickens isn't just the preserve of farmers and country
dwellers - even a small patch of lawn can be enough. There are
plenty of reasons to get started. Besides a regular flow of freshly
laid eggs and a supply of manure for the garden, you'll have the
pleasure of looking after and learning about these friendly
animals.
What you need
Space: The size of your chicken house will depend
on the number of hens you intend keeping. To keep four chickens you
need a minimum internal space of 4x4ft, but the more outside space,
the better. A 10x10ft plot is plenty, but a smaller run
will do provided you can regularly move the hens on to clean
grass.
A chicken coop: Make sure you buy a good quality
chicken coop otherwise foxes will get in. But this needn't mean
spending a fortune. A 6x4ft shed from any DIY store makes a nice
henhouse you can stand up in and is large enough for six chickens.
Then you just need to add roosting bars, an external nestbox and a
small doorway.
Wooden houses cost from about £100 upwards, but for something
well built, and with an integral run, you will have to spend at
least £250. Alternatively, you could decide to build your own
henhouse and run. This is a good option if you want to keep costs
down
An Eglu chicken coop
Top of the range is the chic and futuristic-looking Eglu by
Omlet. The coops are spacious and open plan, and have modern twin
walled insulation and draught free ventilation to keep the chickens
warm in winter and cool in summer. They are made from recyclable
materials and come in red, yellow or green. For the bedding use
straw, wood chips or wood shavings and coarse sawdust in the
nestboxes.
Drinker and food bowl: A 3kg plastic hopper feeder
that can hang inside the house or run will cost you about £12. A
plastic 4 litre drinker will cost about the same.
Food: Make sure your chickens always have fresh
water. Feed your chickens Layers' Pellets which contains everything
they need to keep them healthy. You can also supplement their diet
with vegetable scraps -they'll eat almost anything, provided it
does not contain meat. Be careful not to overfeed though, as if
they're too fat they won't lay as many eggs.
Breeds of chicken
Good starter birds are often hybrids as they will produce lots
of eggs every year and tend to cost less than pure breed, which are
harder to come by and are less resistant to infection. You could
consider adopting ex-battery hens, as they tend to be killed after
the first year of life when their productivity declines. It's also
worth doing some research on the internet and getting as much
information as you can. Practical books, such as 'Best Hens for
You' by Charlotte Popescu, talk you through all the merits of
different breeds, both pure and hybrids. Popescu's section on
breeds not only covers egg-laying abilities, but the characters and
personalities of the different breeds, reinforced by the anecdotal
accounts of individual keepers.
Egg laying
Each chicken will usually produce around four to six eggs a
week, but a chicken breeder can advise you further once you decide
on your requirements. Although they will lay their eggs out in the
open, you'll have more success if you provide chickens with a dark,
enclosed nesting area. A crate filled with straw will suffice. All
chickens lay fewer eggs during the winter months because there is
less sunlight.
Chickens and the garden
Keeping chickens is good for the garden as they are a natural
form of weed and pest control. Chicken droppings also make great
compost - it's richer in nitrogen and phosphates than horse manure.
However, what hens eat in a garden depends on how much grass they
have access to.
As Charlotte Popescu, explains in an article for The Telegraph: "The more land they
have to free range, the more likely they are to feast on weeds,
wild herbs and grass and less likely to eat precious plants,
flowers and herbs. If your hens have only a little space to roam
and a small area of grass and greenery they will soon eat all the
grass and anything else green. It follows that if you keep your
hens enclosed and let them out to free range every so often they
will eat anything that's green, including vegetables, herbs, weeds,
beech hedges and some of your flowers." If you have a vegetable
patch you'll need to protect it with netting or chicken wire, at
least 6ft high.
Things to remember
Before you decide to keep chickens check with your local
authority that you are allowed to do so. Most people can, but it's
best to be sure. Consider your neighbours too - it's always a good
idea to speak to them first. Rats aren't usually a problem so long
as food isn't left lying around, and it is important to regularly
clean out the coop and bedding from under the perches.
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