Getting Started

Keeping a few chickens in the back yard really is quite straight forward; however there are some things to consider in order to get the right sort of birds for your situation and to keep them in the best possible health to get the most enjoyment out of keeping them.

This page hopes to get you thinking about the types of chickens and their requirements.

Choosing a breed

white orpington

White Orpington growers

There are quite literally hundreds of different breeds of chicken to choose from and out of these, many have slightly different requirements.

Some breeds of chicken come only as Large Fowl, and others are also available as Bantams which are a smaller version that look the same. The Orpington for example is available in both large and bantam sizes but the Cochin is only available as large fowl.

There are a handful of ‘True Bantams’ where there is no large fowl equivalent. Examples of these are Dutch Bantams, Japanese Bantams and the popular Pekin Bantam.

Bantams tend to be quite flighty whereas the heavy breeds of large fowl often cannot fly more than a few inches off the ground. Orpingtons for example won’t usually roost very high due to their huge size and will usually just huddle on the floor of the coop.

Every breed is slightly different in the amount of eggs they lay. Typically hens that have been bred for exhibition purposes do not lay as well as utility hens. Bantams of course lay smaller eggs which some people say they prefer for taste.

Hybrids

Hybrid ChickenHybrids are chickens that have been created by crossing pure breeds. They are typically crossed to make good layers (the hybrid to the right can lay 280 to 300 eggs!), coloured eggs or attractive hens. Some can be very attractive and they are all generally very hardy. Hybrids are produced in larger numbers that pure breeds and most of the crosses used make the males a different colour as day old chicks so that only females can be raised, therefore reducing costs by about half. A typical hybrid hen will cost you around £15 compare to £25 to £30 for a typical pure breed hen.

Hybrids are a good choice if eggs are one of your priorities although if you think you might like to hatch some eggs, remember hybrid hens do not breed true – you would need the original pure breeds to cross again in order to create more of the same thing so whilst you can hatch their eggs, you may want to consider a few pure breeds for this purpose or consider buying in eggs to hatch.

Free Range

You will of course need a chicken coop but also a secure run or area that is predator proof. A question that people always ask me is “How big should their run be?” I always say “as big as possible within reason.” Even 2 chickens kept in a 2 meter run will soon turn it to mud and get bored (which can introduce vices such as feather pecking and egg eating) but I always believe that it’s fine to provide a small run like this if you can let them out for a few hours each day to free range while you are around. This will give them a chance to forage, supplement their diet and reduce boredom.

Once chickens have settled into their new house, they will go back to it to roost every night so you can let them out in the late afternoon, knowing they will come back to roost at night keeping everyone happy! Some houses and runs have handles or wheels that make them easy to move onto fresh ground which is not only good to prevent a build up of worm eggs and disease but also provides them with a little fresh grass to graze.

Keeping Chickens in the Garden

chickens in the garden

Young Black Australorps in the Garden

If you have a ‘nice’ garden that you don’t want spoilt, it’s usually a sensible idea to limit their foraging. Chickens scratch at the ground, make dust baths in the dry soil, leave muck wherever they go and destroy tender young plants. If you can plant in pots, this will help and fencing off part of the garden is usually a good choice to keep them out if you have tender or precious plants. Chickens with feathered feet scratch less and bantams can clear a 6 foot fence if they want to. Heavy breeds of large fowl can be kept out with a knee high fence or box hedge. If you want to stop a bird from flying then you can clip one wing (not both).

So you have decided on the breed that’s right for you and your circumstances. Next, you will need to think about keeping them secure from predators in a suitable chicken house and chicken run – click on a link to go to that page!

207 Comments

  1. Thanks for the amazing website, very useful.
    What do you think the best way to convince my parents to get chickens is?
    Our garden is perfectly suitable and we have loads of spare money from a holiday that got aborted. they only worry about mess and the grass.
    James.

    • Discuss it with your parents. Maybe you could section off a part of the garden to keep the chickens. This way you will be able to enjoy your chickens and keep your parents happy! Simple!

      Good luck

  2. I have wanted pets for all my life now finally my parents have given in!!! I really wanted chickens but didn’t know what one to get! One day i went to the chicken farm where my parents but their eggs, and i saw some really beautiful chickens. I eventually found out that they are Dutch Partridges. I also heard that they were £6 for chicks and my parents loved them too! My advice to James would be just find out some useful info to tell your parents and maybe they might give in like mine did!! Suggest that you could section off a part of your garden so that you can keep the rest of it ‘chicken free.’ Good luck !!:P

  3. Great site. I want hens! We have a 1/3 acre urban garden. Half of it is wooded with rough bare soil. Thinking of putting a combined hen house with large run (9ft by 16ft). It will probably be from Wells Poultry and have corrugated roof with plinth, close to the house on the soil under two large oaks. It will have deep, loose litter down to the soil with dig-proof mesh skirt, bricks or sleepers to. Now, I travel for work a lot, keeping me away 2-3nights per week. So, I’ll often rely on my kids to do routine chores. I’ll invest in top notch equiptment, automatic door, feeder, etc to help this work. What are those daily/nightly tasks that may cause difficulties in this scenario? Also, we’ve had problems with vermin in the past. Will the run encourage rats, mice, etc? Thanks so much for any guidance! Paul

  4. I’m getting 6 chickens from a friend.

    I’m told they need to stay in their coop with feed and water for 3 days before we let them loose in the garden as this helps them settle down and know where there new home is.

    Is this true?

    • Well, it varies. Some birds I have left overnight and they find their way back in the next night. I would certainly keep them in for a day or so but then as long as you are around to keep an eye when it is dusk, you should be able to guide them in the right direction if they don’t know where to go.

    • We put our chickens in the coop at dusk for two nights and they started going in on their own each night after that. We didn’t keep them in the coop at anytime except nighttime.

  5. Just got chickens & they have ran into hedge before we could get them in the coup! how do we get them home? or will they as we have left a trail of seed?HELP Please !
    Thanks 😉

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