Chicken beginner

Can you please help I would love to keep chickens in my not too big back garden. I would welcome any ad ice how to start size of coup to keep around 4 hens any help would be appreciated. Thanks kevc

Welcome to the forum 

for what it's worth these are my top ten tips in no particular order of priority

1) Use a reputable breeder and check out the conditions first.  How do the chickens look?  Get point of lay hens and at least three.  Hens are flock creatures and do not do well on their own.

2) Allow plenty of space.  You need a minimum of 2 sq metres per bird and that does not include feeders drinkers and coop etc.

3) Be prepared to want to increase your flock.  Chicken keeping can be addictive 

4) Fox proof your area - use weld mesh rather than chicken wire (foxes can chew through chicken wire) and possibly electric net fencing. 

5)Little visitors!  use flubenvet for internal parasites and frontline kitten strength for external parasites.

6) Redmite.  These little ***ers lurk in the cracks and crevices of wooden coops  and drop down onto the hens at night to drink their blood.  Use a cleaner like poultry shield, a disinfectant like Ficam W or Stalosan F and a slurry of diatomaceous earth powder painted into the cracks and crevices, not forgetting the perch ends. 

7) Feeding - use layers pellets and give a small treat at about tea time such as mixed corn.    If you have dark green veg leaves they are very good.  Make sure you hens have some access to greens.  Have grit and crushed oyster shell in separate containers available at all times.  Have a good drinker with fresh water daily available.  Food and drink should be kept outside the coop in the enclosure.  The food should be under some kind of shelter so it does not get wet and remove it to somewhere rat-proof at night.

8)Bullying - There is always a certain amount of jostling for position until the pecking order is established.  This doesn't usually draw blood but it is a good idea to have purple spray (yes it is called that though it is actually gentian violet) ready in case there are any raw red patches or blood.  The spray disguises the colour so that hens don't peck at it.

9) Identify a local chicken friendly vet.  Not all vets are and some will even refuse to treat chickens.  Keep the contact ready just in case.

10)Get a comfortable seat or bench to sit on so you can watch your hens.  You will find that they can become addictive!

Good luck and keep us posted.  By the way when you get your hens we love to see pictures on this forum 

Hi, I have had chickens for a year this month, I recommend you read a lot before you buy, but saying that don't be afraid to take the leap and get your hens when you have a grasp on the needs of the animals.

The coop is important, it must be big enough for the amount of birds you have. I made my own by looking at google image for inspiration. Important factors are size, shelter, and ventilation. It might seem a contradiction that chickens need good ventilation but hate draught's if you get it wrong the chickens will not be happy. adjustable ventilation is a plus, and the angle you situate the coop away from the wind is equally important. Raised coops on stilts are good protection from rats, and the winter cold, and also makes use of space as my chickens love to shelter from the hot summer sun underneath. I lost one chicken to what I now think was heat stroke!

I added a plastic roof which I read lets in light and reducing red mite but I am not sure if this is true.  I have a large heavy coop and run which does not move, some people prefer to move a smaller coop from area to area. This helps prevent a build up of nasties in the soil and you do not have to clean the run, just move it! always think...is this coop easy to clean? if it is not, do not buy it!!! you will soon find a cleaning routine to suit the coop and amount of birds you have. I give quick clean out of bedding and poo once a week, and a deeper clean every few months. 

I suggest you attach a  fox proof run to the coop for the reason that you can leave the coop door open during the night and the hens can let themselves out in the morning, giving them and you some freedom. otherwise they will wake you up and tell you off for not letting them out! when you get up you can let them out into the rest of the garden if you like. chickens also eat slugs, snails, bugs beetles and grass, but also plants and flowers. They enjoy digging up bulbs, they love bananas, unguarded sandwiches and have an appetite for destruction of neat gardens. Most people suggest you limit kitchen waste treats (but cabbage is good and helps keep them occupied and can be hung from a string) give them recommended feed and corn mix as a treat, you also slip them medication against internal parasites once a month.  A fresh supply of water is vital.

the advice already given is sound. with more knowledge you can prevent problems later on but when things go wrong it is up to you observation skills to notice the signs and seek advice. check feet for scale problems, under the wings for lice, and their bums to make sure they are clean. above all keep them stress free, stressed birds get sick more often and sickness can spread. One last thought, think to yourself, if I have to isolate a sick hen, where can I do this. You may also want to isolate broody hens ( all they want to do is sit on the eggs all day, and this does not always go down well with the other hens)

Best of luck,

they also don't lay that many eggs because they keep going broody 
You can get bantam versions of a lot of large fowls (these are just banties whose eggs will be about 2/3rds the size of large fowls eggs) rather than true banties whose eggs can be less than half the size. Think about welsummers, leghorns, appenzellers etc. They are as productive as their bigger counterparts. Any hen can be noisy and being smaller doesn't mean they will be less so but again if they are not free ranginging they will need at least 2 square metres of clear run space per bird plus room for their feeders, drinkers and coop.