You don't need very much space

Keeping chickens doesn't require acres of land either. Of course, any chicken lover would advocate that the more space chickens can have the better but a couple of small bantams, for example, need very little space.  There are many great chicken houses and runs that would fit in most gardens or back yards, and even olds sheds or outbuildings can be adapted for the job.  Chickens are not too particular about room design and really only need somewhere to perch at night, to nest in the day and room to roam, safely protected from predators (especially at night). Small flocks don't require any registration or permissions to keep, although some tenancy agreements or housing deeds can still have exclusion clauses to the keeping of poultry and particularly cockerels in urban areas, for obvious reasons. So it is always worth checking these over before arriving home with some chickens.

Chickens are almost self caring

Had a busy day at work?  No time to walk the dog?  With chickens for company, you don't need to worry about providing regular exercise and stimulation.  Once they've been let out in a morning they'll happily entertain themselves all day, pecking and rooting around.  Provided they've been left with a clean supply of drinking water and feed, they'll happily even put themselves to bed at night!  It's quite amusing to watch, the daily procession to roost, as soon as the sun starts to set.  As with most pets, however, if you want them to be nice and tame, you do need to give your chickens some time, care and attention.  With regular food bribery, you'll soon have them, quite literally, eating out your hand!  Even the sound of the squeaky gate into the chicken run, has our chickens tearing over to greet us, of course, they are expecting some bread but we like to think that it’s our company they're after!

Chickens are inexpensive

Keeping any pet has its expenses. From the initial cost of their purchase, then food, housing, veterinary bills and insurance. It all mounts up.  One of the advantages of chicken keeping is that they are a relatively cheap pet to have.  If you consider the hundreds of pounds that it can cost for some breeds of dog for example, you’d be unlucky to have to pay a fraction of this, even for an elaborate pure breed chicken.  We obtained four of our chickens for free, from a local organic farmer, and our other chickens have all been hatched at home from our own hen's eggs, thanks to the added efforts of our cockerel, Tiger.  There are also many lovely ex-battery hens who deserve an opportunity to live the free-range life.

And come in useful too

Chickens can also be of help if you want to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle;  Reduce your carbon emissions by collecting freshly laid eggs from the bottom of your garden, rather that getting in the car to you local supermarket.  Provide your garden with wonderful chicken poo compost, it'll be great for your veggie patch and, don’t bother with weed killers and back breaking digging, your chicken's claws will be make light work of rooting out any unwanted vegetation and digging over rock hard soil. 

Feeding chickens a varied diet is not only a great way of ensuring that they are healthy, but it also reduces the amount of kitchen waste discarded in your bins.  Chickens love food scraps (not meat though) and it's great fun trying out different things to see what they like best.  Recycling your unwanted food, free-ranging for delicious bugs, grubs and greenery are all excellent ways of supplementing your chicken's diet.  However, they do need “proper” chicken food which is very cheap to buy and comes in the form of pellets or a mash. Check out your local farm produce store for all the different types e.g. organic food, G.M. free food, vegetarian food…etc.

Chickens are pretty healthy animals

Well looked after chickens are generally healthy birds. They require very little medical input provided that they have clean accommodation, freedom to move and access to food and fresh drinking water. By getting to know and love your chickens, you'd soon spot if they weren't well, but you would be unlucky for anything too serious to afflict them.  A good book on chicken keeping is important and an understanding of some of the more common problems that can affect chickens e.g. red mite, scaly leg mites and worms.  Of course, the threat of avian flu is an ever present issue and you should familiarise yourself with the DEFRA web site and their advice, just as a sensible precaution.

We hope that you have seen that chicken keeping is well worth considering for many people, and not as difficult as you might think. As a contented chicken keeper, you won’t ever be stuck for a conversation piece over the dinner table and, with delicious free range eggs on offer, you'll be everyone’s best friend!

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