[mumof4]

I might be getting the plot next to me and thought that as i'm going to have a a lot more space i could keep so chickens as i would love to know where my eggs are coming from.

I also have a gardsen whith a spare area of 2 x 4 metres but if i was away someone would have to walk through our house to get to the back garden.

I don't know anything about keeping  them and would like to know costs involved and the type of work load involved. I now have a ploytunnel so I'm now going to be at the plot everyday twice a day.

[Wildeone]

Strat up costs are high unless you can get a house a run 2nd hand at a good price.  But once that and feeders etc are brought its really just food and thats not too expensive.

[compostqueen]

I don't think I'd like keeping hens away from my home. I'd be too flippin anxious about them.  I can hear them rosey from my bedroom and I'm on hand to get them up, put them to bed, keep checking them. It would be so much harder if they were a distance away.

[mumof4]

how much would a hen house (if thats the right word) cost and how many should I get two/three/four?

[Newbie]

I have a converted shed to house my four hens (eagerly awaited delivery in 10 days!) they have two perches for roosting, not one above the other so they won't poop on each other, a side pop hole that opens out onto a run which is approv 4x6 and they will have daily access to the gardens, except mondays.  
I think this is the cheapest way to house them as you can pick up a shed in local papers of from freecycle for next to nothing. the largest expense I have gone to is buying the wood and wire to make the run and a few tubs of sealant to make the shed draught proof.
If you can get hold of pallets from somewhere and have a half decent way with a hammer you could probbaly knock something together quite easily as they don't need much room for sleeping or laying.  I would have loved to have built one on stilts to maximise the outside space but figured if I built it I may come home to squashed chooks when it collapsed on em........ :roll:

[mtoyne]

Hiya, im really lucky coz hubby is a joiner but hes only built our chickens a basic house. It doesnt have to be a posh one. After you are set up food is very inexpensive and as far as i know chickens arnt prone to many health problems. Weve had our chickens since january and we adore them, they are proper pets. Ive got 2 kids, 9 and 2 and they love being outside with the chickens. A word of warning tho- chickens are addictive, we started with 2 in january, got 3 ex battery hens 4 weeks ago and we now want another ( 2 year old wants a white chicken.)

[mumof4]

Hiya, im really lucky coz hubby is a joiner but hes only built our chickens a basic house. It doesnt have to be a posh one. After you are set up food is very inexpensive and as far as i know chickens arnt prone to many health problems. Weve had our chickens since january and we adore them, they are proper pets. Ive got 2 kids, 9 and 2 and they love being outside with the chickens. A word of warning tho- chickens are addictive, we started with 2 in january, got 3 ex battery hens 4 weeks ago and we now want another ( 2 year old wants a white chicken.)

yes i know what you mean i first thought 2 maybe three then my 4 year old asked for 6 and my husband has said he likes the sound of 5.

I'm really surprised how interested he is in keeping them as he has never been to my allotment doesn't intend too so when i mentioned chickens  i expected hime to so no, but turnes out his mum & dad always had about 8 chickens right through his childhood.

[blulagoo]

Keeping chickens is certainly addictive. We started off a few weeks ago by giving two chiks from school a home. Then last week (when the chicks were 8 weeks) we HAD to buy 3 more - so now we have 4 hens and a cockerel - suppose that means we will have more when they find out what to do.