Welcome to my chicken keeping guide. I'm not an expert, not by any means, but I have been keeping chickens for a number of years now. I've learnt a lot, made mistakes (don't we all) but I've enjoyed it all and now consider chickens an essential part of the garden. As such I want to encourage anyone interested in keeping chickens to go out and get them and in the process make their garden a more interesting place.

This is a guide for anyone thinking about getting chickens, people new to chicken keeping and there might even be a few bits of useful information for people who have been keeping chickens for a while too.

There's a lot to get through, so it won't all get done in one go and bear with me; there is no grand plan to this, I'm winging it, writing as I go. I'll keep at it adding to it, editing and amending. Perhaps one day it will become something useful.

Part I - Thinking about getting chickens

The first and most important thing to do before you buy any chickens is research. Make sure you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. Keeping chickens is fantastic. They will make you smile every time you look out into the garden, they'll follow you around clucking hopefully for treats and their general antics will most assuredly keep you amused.

However, whilst they are certainly not difficult to take care of, like all pets they will demand a portion of your time. They will need cleaning out on a regular basis. Not just in the summer when the sky is clear and the sun is shining (even in England this does happen from time to time), but throughout the winter. It's not the greatest fun to scrub poop covered roosting bars with soapy water in sub zero temperatures, but it needs doing. I'm not trying to put anyone off, but you need to do your research and know what is needed to ensure your chickens will be happy.

There are many areas to consider and this is simply an introductory overview. I'll go into many of these in much more detail, but for now here's a summary of the areas you should be thinking about:

Breeds - There are so many breeds I can't even begin to discuss them all here. I will add a breed guide at some point in the future. Go back to the first principle. Do your research. First decide if you want a hybrid or a pure breed. Hybrids will provide you with more eggs, pure breeds will lay less, but will usually have a longer life. Some breeds are more friendly, others will be more flightly (or indeed batty). We started with hybrids and they are great fun and lovely birds. However it's hard to lose them. As such we're currently favouring pure breeds in the hope that they'll be with us for longer. It's a personal choice, you'll be happy either way.

Houses - This comes down to two basic choices; wooden or plastic. There are so many options now it can be a little bewildering. Wooden houses can be quite beautiful and are considered the traditional choice. Plastic houses offer a more funky design but may not be to everyone's taste. We went for the plastic option from Omlet (and I am not in any way saying this is the best choice, it is simply the choice we made). It's not cheap, but then some of the wooden designs will remove a sizeable sum from your pocket or make your credit card groan with the strain. That said there is no denying that a plastic house is easy to clean and maintain. A wooden house will need to be treated on a regular basis and is considerably more susceptible to red mite (more on that terror later). But wooden houses do have a number of distinct advantages and I'll discuss these in a later section.

Noise - This is something you'll need to think about. The last thing you want to do is annoy your neighbours. It is certainly something we were concerned about. Chickens generally do not make that much noise. Hens do cluck but certainly make less noise than the dog that barks a few doors down the road. Most people find the noise of happy hens a quite pleasant sound. They do on occasion get spooked or lay an egg they're particularly proud of. They will then crow and bawk, this can at times be fairly loud and yes ours have done this early on a Sunday morning (the little oiks). For us it has never been an issue. We have great neighbours who have no problem at all with chickens. If you're worried, talk to your neighbours, but remember your pets will lay eggs and everyone likes half a dozen free eggs from time to time.

If you want a cockerel, then noise will have to be a consideration. They will crow at dawn (and remember in the summer this could be as early as 3 to 4 am!) and this means they may not be suitable for all gardens. Consider your location and decide if having a cockerel is right for you.
Cockerels - Which brings me naturally onto cockerels. Some people seem to think that you have to have a cockerel. I'm not sure where this idea comes from, but it is simply not true. Cockerels will keep the girls in line and can be strikingly beautiful birds, but they are not necessary to keep a few chickens in your back garden. Chickens will be quite happy without a cockerel and will lay just as many eggs.

Garden size - Chickens don't need huge amounts of space and can quite easily be accommodated in even relatively small gardens, but quite naturally, the more room the better. You can keep them inside a run, but they love to be out and about, foraging in the grass and amongst the shrubs and plants. Consider your garden size and tailor the type of house and the number of chickens accordingly. Above all else make sure they have enough room to be happy.

Chickens and the garden - Garden friendly chickens are a myth*. Some chickens are better than others, but all chickens will scrat your favourite annuals and munch the leaves of anything that takes their fancy. To a chicken, the garden is a larder, gravel paths are great fun to play in and spread to areas they were never meant to be spread to and soft fruit on low lying branches will disappear quicker than you can blink. That said chickens love bugs and slugs so they're not all bad for the garden. You will need to adapt to make your garden as chicken proof as possible. If you are particularly garden proud, then consider a separate fenced off chicken section, perhaps at the bottom of the garden or perhaps consider bantams, the smaller type of chicken which will be a little easier of the garden.

* - As per my experience to date - please do feel free to comment if you have the perfect garden friendly breed as I'd love to know what it is.

Obsession - A genuine concern. Two chickens lead to four, to nine, to bigger houses and larger gardens, to several acres in the countryside, a small holding with pigs, sheep and a goat...

...ok that's just my wife's dream and she has been diagnosed as batty about chickens. And I'm writing this...
I'm not finished yet, there's much more to add and it's coming soon. Maybe I should write a book...
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more at:
Raising Chicken For Eggs And Meat: A Complete Guide For Beginners
The 2 Best Grandpas Chicken Feeders
https://morninghomestead.com/chicken/
https://elliotthomestead.com/warm-chickens-without-burning-coop/

Following

Does anyone have experience in free-range chicken keeping? I have never had chickens and my wife decided to get some in the backyard.

Denis08:
Does anyone have experience in free-range chicken keeping? I have never had chickens and my wife decided to get some in the backyard.

hi there. I am happy that my experience is needed somewhere) I don't own any house animals now, because I live in the apartment, but I grew up on a farm. So I know much about keeping house animals. You need to make sure that you have everything that they need to stay fit and healthy. So, that includes the chicken coop, feed, and both water and food containers