| Why keep chickens? | | | | themselves. You will need to clean out their nesting |
| Whether you are thinking about taking the first steps | | | | area at least once each week. |
| towards self sufficiency or you are simply looking to | | | | The Cost of Keeping Chickens |
| save money by producing your own food, chickens | | | | Domestic chickens cost £8-£15, and are |
| are the perfect way to start. | | | | available from poultry farms and some pet shops. |
| - Owning chickens is great for the environment. You'll | | | | Alternatively, you could choose to rehouse |
| be reducing your carbon footprint with zero food | | | | ex-battery hens, available free or at very little cost |
| miles on your eggs. You will also have a constant | | | | from rehousing charities such as the Battery Hen |
| supply of free organic compost. | | | | Welfare Trust. |
| - Chickens make excellent family pets. Many chicken | | | | Your main outlay will be a coop and fencing for a run |
| owners say keeping chickens is less work than | | | | area in your garden. Choose a good quality coop to |
| looking after a dog. Friendlier breeds are ideal | | | | last your chickens for their whole lifetime and to |
| companions for children, and are fun and educational | | | | keep predators out. Coops cost from around |
| too - teaching children where their food comes from | | | | £100 for a basic model up to £400 for |
| and how to look after a pet. | | | | a top of the range design. |
| - There's nothing quite like collecting eggs fresh from | | | | Feed costs around £10 for a 25kg bag. The |
| your garden each morning. They taste wonderful. | | | | amount that chickens eat will vary depending on |
| You'll never want to go back to supermarket eggs. | | | | breed type, the amount of exercise they're getting, |
| - Gardeners take note: chickens will gobble up garden | | | | local climate, and the type of feed you use. A small |
| pests, so you'll no longer have to use unhealthy, | | | | laying chicken will eat 100-150g of feed per day |
| polluting pesticides. | | | | (costing you between 4 and 6 pence for feed per |
| - Recent campaigns by celebrity chefs have rightly | | | | day). |
| made people aware of animal welfare on farms. With | | | | Choosing a Chicken Coop |
| chickens in your garden, you'll have an intimate | | | | A poultry coop is the ideal home for your pet |
| knowledge of exactly how the hens that lay your | | | | chickens. Chickens are sensitive to too much heat, |
| eggs are looked after. The cruelty of factory farming | | | | cold, or dampness, and a coop keeps your chickens |
| is well documented. Less well known is that even | | | | sheltered from the rain and cold. A secure, well-built |
| 'free range' chickens are often kept in crowded barns | | | | coop keeps chickens safe from predators such as |
| with little access to outdoor space and their beaks | | | | foxes and cats. |
| cut blunt to prevent them pecking each other. | | | | When choosing a coop, bear in mind that chickens |
| Feeding and Caring for your Chickens | | | | need 1-2 square feet of nesting space and 3-4 |
| - Chickens are not fussy eaters. Their main diet | | | | square feet of outdoor space per bird. For a small |
| should consist of layer pellets or mash and mixed | | | | number of chickens, a coop will provide all the space |
| corn seed. | | | | they need. For example, our standard 5'1" x 2'1" |
| - Chicks (age 0-8 weeks) should be fed chick crumbs, | | | | poultry ark is suitable for housing three small chickens. |
| whilst growers (age 8-18 weeks) should be fed | | | | To keep more chickens in this coop, you would need |
| grower pellets or mash. | | | | to let them roam free in your garden or a larger pen |
| - Chickens love treats, such as leafy vegetables, | | | | for at least an hour per day. |
| sweetcorn, fruit, or brown bread. These should be | | | | During the daytime, chickens will need access to |
| kept to a minimum to stop your chickens from | | | | exercise space and a dust bath. Day and night, |
| getting overweight. Overweight chickens lay fewer | | | | chickens need access to fresh drinking water. |
| eggs. | | | | Chickens can live up to 15 years, so it is important to |
| - Do not feed your chickens meat, fish, or raw | | | | choose a coop that will last. |
| potato peelings. | | | | Living in a coop will help your chickens feel |
| - Water should be topped up daily with at least | | | | comfortable and secure, so they'll produce more |
| 200ml per chicken. | | | | eggs. |
| - Chickens need access to a dust bath to clean | | | | |