Housing; Mine is completely DIY. I've built 2 nesting boxes inside and have
an outer nesting box with a lid making 4 altogether. They never seem to
fight over them and there's always room for everybody. Plus, they have a funny habit of seemingly forming a queue, laying eggs from early morning through to early afternoon. When we let them out they're all back by sun set except the occasional one to takes a fancy to the coal shed. I have a second outer gate now so they're completely shut in til I feed them in the morning. Click here for new Chicken Housing Page
They sleep on 3" x 3" timber across the centre of the house about five feet up.

So by the time I left the railway in May 2000 I had 8. Going to the Auction became a regular Wednesday morning event; I saw what breeds there were and picked up loads of useful information off farmers who obviously knew what they were talking about.
By this time we were getting more eggs than we could eat so we started selling them up at The Golden Ball. More people were asking for eggs so by

so I strimmed out a larger area of about 30' x 30' to give them even more room.
At that time I heard about the poultry auctions at the local market and off I went to have a look at what happened. I found chickens were selling anywhere from 25p to £3 each and I'd paid £5 at the Breeders. So I brought another 4 !

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Fencing; Well, something got through or over my fence but it's only once thus far. 5 feet should be enough but the higher the better. At the back of our run there's a very thick hedge and this has also been a deterrant. It is just as important though to think about the bottom of the fence and
sinking it into the ground 6" should help. Watch out for overhanging tree's, it took me ages to work out the fox had climbed it, then jumped in MORE HERE

At present EU laws permit
5 hens to be kept in a cage 500 x 500 (20" x 20" ). That's one hen per three quarters the size of an A4 sheet of paper. By 2012, this will be increased to just over one A4 sheet of paper. If you can afford not to do so, please don't buy eggs marked 'from cage birds'. They're cheap, but please have a look at my Chicken Welfare pages (links at top of page)

Inspiration to have some chickens first came in June 1999 . I went to a local breeder, brought 2 Lohmann Browns and a 6' x 3' Chicken Arc. After the elation of the first egg some 3 days later (fried I think), I started feeling sorry for them cooped up in such a small space. The disused Barn next to us has hundreds of old apple boxes from the days when there was an Orchard here, so I used a couple, made some holes and put them upside down against the end of the arc. Well, that was OK until I had to move them once a week. I decided to build them a shed (see how in the Frugal Living page) and attach a small run of about 10' x 10'. This was good so I brought another 2 chickens.
Now, at the back of us, the Landlord had told
us we could use the wasteland

We let them lose in the winter month's and they wandered freely up and down the Lane, two of them often visiting the Golden Balls back door. They either thought they'd get fed or thought I was in there ! I should add that our Lane has only five houses in it, it's a stony track and a 'no through road'.
During the summer they are shut in the run. The grass is good and I occasionally go in there with a spade and dig a little area up for them. This is where the spade comes in. As soon as they see me with a spade in my hands they're completely stupid, they try jumping on the spade, jumping on me
and how one hasn't been cut in half yet I'll never know.
Surprisingly, they do become attached to you and vice versa. We haven't made much money from the eggs (enough on average for about two and a half pints of fine Kentish Ale a week) but the enjoyment and feeling of farming is good.
 Here's a few pointers;

The New Forum
 Pop in and meet some regulars, a fine knowledgable bunch if ever I knew any !

February 2001 I had 18 and extended the run to 100' x 60' surrounded by a 5' high fence (some of which looks remarkably similar to the fencing used by Railtrack !). In May we were getting over 80 eggs per week.
 All was going so well until Freddie Fox and his family got hungry early one Sunday morning in June 2001 and killed 10. He left 6 dead ones in the shed and took 4. Until then we had no problems and maybe I'd become lapse in one or two things.
I read somewhere that foxes won't go round sharp zig-zags and I'd made 3 sharp bends in the shed entrance to prevent such a thing happening. This worked well for nearly two years and I wrongfully thought they were safe.
In 2003, the fox took many and I've now had to corrugate fence around them. No matter what I seemed to do, he had the better of me.
I have now added a page to this site with some thing's I have learnt and possible deterrents. Click here .
I still can't work out or see how he got in but drastic action had to be taken.

Buying; Don't buy them too young if you're only having them for eggs. I brought 4 and waited 8 weeks before I got any eggs. Equally, try not to buy them too old. You can usually tell the old from the young by their crowns and by their legs. Battery hens are sold around here when they're a year old. Hens will lay well for the first 2 years. I paid 25p each for some; they were scraggy and hen pecked and didn't move further than 3 or 4 feet for a fortnight but after a few weeks they were fine looking
birds and did us proud. It makes you feel good as well.

Food; I give them a 3 to 1 mix of mixed corn and layers pellets, about a handful and a half in the mornings and about half   again in the evening. All left over vegetables, peelings etc. go in a saucepan and are boiled up for them. That's about it besides the sandwich left overs from the Pub after Pool and Bat and Trap matches.
Something else you find is the neighbours give you all their leftovers as well. Ours are often seen feeding them !! Now of course, I have the cricket left overs as well - 'The Ritz' !! They do eat and need more in the winter if you're not in a position to let them out. MORE HERE

Pest's; They do attract rats and mice so be prepared for that. Plus, early morning when you go to feed them, the telephone wires and high fencing around your property will look like a scene from Hitchcock's 'The Birds'. But that's the law of the jungle.
For diseases please use the 'Poultry Links' link on the left as I'm not that expert.

We've had no end of enjoyment from ours. I was nervous at first in so far as could I keep them and am I doing it right etc. but as long as you keep their house clean and draught free and the ground is relatively well looked after, they're happy.One thing's for certain;

YOU'LL NEVER EAT A BATTERY EGG AGAIN OR ANY FROM A SHOP  !!

Chicken Housing
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Chicken Nest Boxes
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Dogs,Cats and Chickens
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Trying to beat the Fox
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The Four Seasons
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  Free in the Garden
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 Rats and Chickens
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Chickens - The Fun Side!
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Keeping ex-Battery Hens
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