CHICKENS!!!!
OH and I are going to be moving house in about 6 weeks, and our absolutely lovely new landlady has said that (as long as I check with the neighbours, who she says are very friendly) then I can have chooks!
![](http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/dance014.gif)
I've never kept 'em before, though I've always wanted to, and I know there's a lot to consider before going ahead with it, but that's fine cos I'll want to wait a while until we've settled in to the new house, and then there's Christmas and New Year, so realistically it'll probably be early next year anyway.
As I intend to build the hen house and run myself, what I want to ask you folks (to start with, there'll be plenty more questions later!) is how much room each bird needs, both inside and out? I've googled and looked at all sorts of websites, but seem to get conflicting suggestions all over the place, and hoped someone here will be able to give me a better idea.
The garden is only small - there's a small paved yard area just outside the back door with a couple of outbuildings attached to the back of the house, and then a gateway through a wall to a grassy area (can't be called a lawn, it's too scruffy!) about 10ft by 10ft. Whilst I'd love for them to be properly free-range there is only a low fence between us and next door, so they might just have to be restricted to a large run, and just be let out when we're in the garden to keep an eye out for any escape attempts!
I've seen
THIS type of design (eg raised house to maximise space inside run) but am not sure if it's ideal to keep birds enclosed in permanently (or most of the time) or whether it would be too small? I'm thinking of maybe 3 or 4 bantams to start with.
Anyway, sorry for the essay, it's turned out a lot longer than anticipated!