Back Garden Chicken Keeping

Back Garden Hens

Ex-battery hens and Silkie enjoying a new life scratching in the back yard. You can see these chickens in our videos - Backyard Chicken Keeping Tips.

There are few hobbies as rewarding as keeping some laying hens in the back garden. Not only do they amuse you with their antics, their gentle clucking is really quite therapeutic as well. And that's before you even get those wonderful fresh eggs every morning!

Financially, you make a small profit on the deal as well. Not as much as the commercial producers but when you compare the cost of eggs in the shop with what you spend on your own hens and feeding them, you do win on the deal.

Raising Backyard Chickens - How Much Room?

When you consider the tiny space battery hens make do with, you realise that hens do not need a lot of room but we want to give them as good a standard of living as possible.

Hens don't require a lot of room for sleeping so as a rule of thumb, a house just 3 feet by 2 feet will accommodate 4 hens comfortably, possibly 6 smaller hens.

For a run they need about 6 feet by 3 feet for 4 hens. Obviously if you can let them run further and scratch about naturally then that's great.

Best Laying Hens and Where to Get Them

There's a huge number of different breeds but if you're just after a few hens to lay eggs then I'd suggest ex-battery or commercial free range hens. Hens lay best in the first year of life and the number of eggs laid goes down each year after. Commercial egg producers get rid of the hens after a year and you can bag a bargain and give them a longer and much happier life.

You can get these via various charities or by approaching the farmer direct. Another source of hens at low cost are auctions. Watch out though, cockerels don't lay eggs so those 3 hens may turn out not to be!

Buying Hens

You can go for pure breeds that are decorative or hens bred to lay eggs from a breeder. Prices vary greatly and do be aware not all breeders as good as they should be so try and get a personal recommendation if you can. There's a list of live chicken, other poultry & fertile egg suppliers on the site

What is amazing is how quickly they respond to freedom and how friendly they are. They actually like your company and like being petted. Or perhaps they just associate me with food.

Build a Hen House

Chicks in Broody Ark Of course you can buy a ready made hen coop or ark but there's nothing to stop you building your own hen house cheaply. You can convert an existing shed if you have one spare. For some reason you can often buy rabbit hutches very cheaply and adapt them for chickens.

The ark on the right has growing chicks in and was bought as a rabbit hutch. It's been strengthened on the outside by fixing weldmesh in case a fox gets in the garden.

Pets Dogs, Cats & Chickens

If you've got cats then don't worry. The cats will soon forgive you and ignore these interlopers in their garden. Don't trust them with chicks though. Small birds are a cat's natural prey.

Dogs are a different ball game. Some dogs will not be bothered and others will attack. You know your dog and how obedient he is.

Further Resources for Back Garden Chickens

Keeping Chickens on a Budget 1 - finding your chickens cheaply and housing them for little.

Keeping Chickens on a Budget 2 - feeding, watering and protecting your chickens

Keeping Your Chickens Warm in Winter, discusses housing and has a number of tips for dealing with very cold weather.

The Chicken's Garden in Winter, covers ways to keep the garden in some sort of order during winter when the hens can turn it into a mud bath.

What & How to Feed Chickens in Winter, covers how to ensure your poultry have enough of the right things to eat and drink in Winter

Poultry Suppliers - looking for hens? live hatching eggs? Our list of suppliers is sorted by counties so you can find the supplier nearest to you.

There's a load of information on my other web site The Poultry Pages and a great chat forum where poultry keepers exchange help, tips and advice. Poultry Chat

G W Titmus offer a good range of poultry supplies online - more information here


Real Self Sufficiency - Living Better for Less
Home \| Money \| Energy \| Food & Drink \| House & Garden \| Grow Your Own \| Backyard Hens \| Transport \| Links \| Books \| Green Gear

You Are Here: Low Cost Living >> Back Garden Chickens >> Back Garden Chickens
	Back Garden Chicken Keeping Ex-battery hens and Silkie enjoying a new life scratching in the back yard. You can see these chickens in our videos - Backyard Chicken Keeping Tips. There are few hobbies as rewarding as keeping some laying hens in the back garden. Not only do they amuse you with their antics, their gentle clucking is really quite therapeutic as well. And that's before you even get those wonderful fresh eggs every morning! Financially, you make a small profit on the deal as well. Not as much as the commercial producers but when you compare the cost of eggs in the shop with what you spend on your own hens and feeding them, you do win on the deal. Raising Backyard Chickens - How Much Room? When you consider the tiny space battery hens make do with, you realise that hens do not need a lot of room but we want to give them as good a standard of living as possible. Hens don't require a lot of room for sleeping so as a rule of thumb, a house just 3 feet by 2 feet will accommodate 4 hens comfortably, possibly 6 smaller hens. For a run they need about 6 feet by 3 feet for 4 hens. Obviously if you can let them run further and scratch about naturally then that's great. Best Laying Hens and Where to Get Them There's a huge number of different breeds but if you're just after a few hens to lay eggs then I'd suggest ex-battery or commercial free range hens. Hens lay best in the first year of life and the number of eggs laid goes down each year after. Commercial egg producers get rid of the hens after a year and you can bag a bargain and give them a longer and much happier life. You can get these via various charities or by approaching the farmer direct. Another source of hens at low cost are auctions. Watch out though, cockerels don't lay eggs so those 3 hens may turn out not to be! Buying Hens You can go for pure breeds that are decorative or hens bred to lay eggs from a breeder. Prices vary greatly and do be aware not all breeders as good as they should be so try and get a personal recommendation if you can. There's a list of live chicken, other poultry & fertile egg suppliers on the site What is amazing is how quickly they respond to freedom and how friendly they are. They actually like your company and like being petted. Or perhaps they just associate me with food. Build a Hen House Of course you can buy a ready made hen coop or ark but there's nothing to stop you building your own hen house cheaply. You can convert an existing shed if you have one spare. For some reason you can often buy rabbit hutches very cheaply and adapt them for chickens. The ark on the right has growing chicks in and was bought as a rabbit hutch. It's been strengthened on the outside by fixing weldmesh in case a fox gets in the garden. Pets Dogs, Cats & Chickens If you've got cats then don't worry. The cats will soon forgive you and ignore these interlopers in their garden. Don't trust them with chicks though. Small birds are a cat's natural prey. Dogs are a different ball game. Some dogs will not be bothered and others will attack. You know your dog and how obedient he is. Further Resources for Back Garden Chickens Keeping Chickens on a Budget 1 - finding your chickens cheaply and housing them for little. Keeping Chickens on a Budget 2 - feeding, watering and protecting your chickens Keeping Your Chickens Warm in Winter, discusses housing and has a number of tips for dealing with very cold weather. The Chicken's Garden in Winter, covers ways to keep the garden in some sort of order during winter when the hens can turn it into a mud bath. What & How to Feed Chickens in Winter, covers how to ensure your poultry have enough of the right things to eat and drink in Winter Poultry Suppliers - looking for hens? live hatching eggs? Our list of suppliers is sorted by counties so you can find the supplier nearest to you. There's a load of information on my other web site The Poultry Pages and a great chat forum where poultry keepers exchange help, tips and advice. Poultry Chat G W Titmus offer a good range of poultry supplies online - more information here	Fresh Eggs in the Morning! Low Cost Living The Book! Book Reviews
Tell a friend about this site Back Garden Chickens Back Garden Chickens Low Cost Chicken Houses Keeping Chickens Warm in Winter Feeding Chickens in Winter Chicken's Garden in Winter Table Chicken Breeds Rearing Meat Birds Economics of Table Chickens Chickens on a Budget - Finding & Housing Chickens on a Budget - Feeding & Protecting Chicken Suppliers Chicken Keeping Books
Home \| Money \| Energy \| Food & Drink \| House & Garden \| Grow Your Own \| Backyard Hens \| Transport \| Links \| Books \| Green Gear Contact \| Privacy \| Site Map Design & Copyright © WebOneUK 2007-2010

Real Self Sufficiency - Living Better for Less