[NovaStar]

OH and I are also looking to start keeping chickens and are also looking at the options to convert the old brick/concrete -roof bomb shelter in our garden! The walls and ceiling are over a foot thick so the internal dimensions are roughly 4' x 5' (1.3 x 1.5m)!

There will be an adjoining walk-in run on an existing flowerbed, extending to about 6'x8', with multiple levels and perches etc (Chicken adventure playground? ). They will also be let out into the garden (fenced off from my veggies!) for a few hours when I get home from work.

I'm aware this isn't a huge amount of space for 3 ladies, but without going down to bantams (I'd rather have larger eggs), are there any smaller breeds that would be okay in a run this size or should we just stick to 2 chooks?

Thanks for any advice!

[AL Hathaway]

you still could get your 3-4 hens Large fowl but some large birds can be small in body like a  Appenzeller Spitzhauben medium/large white eggs, araucana medium/large Blue eggs,leghorn medium/large white egg ,Isa Browns medium/large brown,columbian blacktail medium/large brown eggs.

just to name a few i guess it depends on what your looking for in a bird

[NovaStar]

I was hoping so, hence why I was looking for advice on smaller breeds
Without actually being able to see lots in one place to compare them, it's hard to know where to start! 

I like the more 'traditional' looking birds and am a fan of preserving rare breeds. So far love the look of the Welsummer, Barneveldar, Cream Legbar, Marans, Welbar and RIR - although naturally not all of these would be suitable.

We've also considered rehoming ex-batts, but not sure if they're suitable for novices?

[NovaStar]

No other suggestions?