A Friendly, Beginners Guide to Keeping Backyard Chickens

A complete, beginner-friendly, guide on keeping chickens, covering topics including making or buying a coop, where to buy chickens, what to feed your chickens, the benefits of keeping chickens, and the day-to-day responsibilities involved. If you want to learn a complete guide to keeping chickens for beginners, then read on.

Why Chickens?

Let us start with the obvious, what a delight to be able to provide your family and friends with a constant supply of delicious, fresh eggs. Chickens can be friendly animals and a great addition to your family. However, don’t underestimate the work involved in keeping them. Like other animals they require a great deal of commitment and care.

Backyard chickens: the commitment involved.

Below is a breakdown of daily to yearly responsibilities required to look after your backyard chickens. It is important that you have time to look after them properly.

Daily Tasks

• Supply fresh food and water.
• Quick check of wellbeing and health of chickens looking out for any injuries or any chickens not seeming themselves.
• The all important egg collection.
• Let them out in the morning into their run or to roam.
• Secure them in their coop at night after they have gone in to roost, protecting them from weather and predators.
• Give them a daily treat.

Weekly Tasks

• Clean out the coop.
• Clean out the feed hoppers.
• Supply fresh greens twice a week.
• Check and top up grit hoppers.
• Give your chickens a thorough check over. Paying extra attention to their feathers, checking for lice and their weight.

Yearly Tasks

• Check if they need wormed at least twice a year.
• Check your coop and run regularly for any damage from predators or weather.

Breed types, flock sizes and lifespan

The who’s who of chickens?

• Hens – female chickens that lay eggs.
• Rooster – adult male chickens that crow.
• Cockerel - adolescent male chicken.
• Pullet – adolescent female chicken who cannot yet lay eggs.
• Chicks - baby chickens both male and female.

What are the best backyard chicken breeds?

The breed of chicken depends on a few things and it is important to identify what your expectations are…eggs? To look nice? Chicks? Family friendly pets? Believe it or not there are hundreds of breeds of chickens, broken down into three main groups.

1. Large Fowl – larger breeds, not as skittish and are good egg producers, they do need more space and feeding!
2. Bantams – smaller versions of regular breeds, and therefore ideal for backyard chickens due to their smaller size. They are however a bit more flighty, lighter and can fly further.
3. Hybrids – are great egg producers given their breeds have been purposely crossed for that purpose. They are not recommended for chicks as their breeding will start to get muddled.

Best chickens for beginners in the UK - recommended breeds for beginners:

• Hybrids – can lay over 300 eggs annually and are good foragers and friendly additions. Goldline hybrid, Nera hybrid, Amber hybrid are all good options.
• Rhode Island Red – a popular choice for a backyard chicken, laying around 250 medium brown eggs per year, doesn’t fly very well so suited to a free-range environment.
• Sussex – a very gentle and friendly breed producing around 250 eggs a year, also available as bantams if you have a small garden.
• Plymouth Rock – like the Sussex, these birds can be easily tamed but are larger chickens.
• Barnevelder – great backyard chickens, who can’t fly and are suited to a garden pen, producing around 200 eggs per year, again they are a larger bird.

Top Tip: Most breeds get along so mixing breeds in one coop doesn’t tend to cause problems but remember to look for potential signs of friction.

Are cockerels/roosters necessary?

• Cockerels are not recommended for beginners; they are noisy and not the friendliest. If you do intend on hatching and would like a cockerel do not get two as they tend to fight.
• You do not require a cockerel or rooster for eggs, your talented hens will lay these all by themselves.

How many chickens should I get?

• It is recommended that beginners start with two or three hens. This will allow you to get used to the routine without being overwhelmed looking after a big flock.
• When deciding how many to get be mindful of the space you have in your garden and the type of coop and run you will be able to accommodate.
• An only chicken is a lonely chicken; they are sociable animals and prefer company.

How long do chickens live for?

• Chickens live on average for around 6 to 8 years.
• It is important to know that they produce the most eggs in their first year and this drastically reduces after they are 3 years old.

Where to get chickens in the UK for my garden?

• Breeders – can be expensive but supply good quality and healthy birds.
• Online
• Poultry Shows

Checklist before committing:

1. Do you have enough time? – see our list of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks
2. Do you have enough space? – there are many breeds of chicken, coops and runs that allow you to keep a small flock in a small garden, but this may require a bit more maintenance.
3. What are your long-term plans? – do you have someone who can help you look after your flock if you go on holiday? Do you have any future plans that might affect them?
4. What will your neighbours say? – we recommend being mindful of your neighbours, certain breeds and most definitely cockerels can be noisy.
5. Check for any restrictions – Chickens are livestock and if you have under 50 you do not have to register them with DEFRA. You should check your title deeds, tenant agreement and local council by-laws ensuring there is nothing preventing you from keeping livestock.

Caring For Your Chickens

What do chickens eat?

• Chickens require a good protein source for feathers and eggs (eggs have a high protein content).
• It is easy to get good quality chicken feed from a pet or farm shop. They will have information on the packaging as to what age and breed their feed is appropriate for.
• If required, you can look into additional supplements and vitamins.
• Mixed Corn should be given as a treat, it has a high fat content and should be given sparingly.
• Greens and fruit can be given a couple of times a week as a treat. Greens such as grass cuttings, weeds and cabbage leaves are ideal.
• Chickens don’t have teeth and instead use a muscular organ called the gizzard to grind down their feed. To aid this process chickens should consume grit to line the gizzard. Flint/insoluble grit is cheap and can be sourced from pet and farm shops. Oyster-shell/soluble grit helps provide calcium which contributes to the production of strong eggs. Given the nutrients now found in chicken feed it is not so important to provide this but it can be mixed in with insoluble grit. Soluble grit can be made from baking eggshells in the oven and smashing them up. Grit should be sprinkled around their run/free range area for them to forage or kept in a grit hopper.
• NO HOUSEHOLD SCRAPS – your chicks will get everything they need from their feed, treats and grit. They don’t need anything with high fat content or that doesn’t provide them with any nutritional value.

What do chickens drink?

• Your chickens will drink cool fresh water from a water container
• Apple cider vinegar is recommended as an addition to their water every day for one week per month (20ml for every litre). It acts as a little antiseptic and helps reduce stress, kills germs and provides vitamins and minerals.

Chicken Health

A few signs that might indicate your chicken is not feeling top dollar:

• Lack of appetite
• Sniffles, wheezing and coughing
• Runny eyes
• Weight loss
• Feathers not looking clean and full
• Not wanting to leave the coop
• Sleepy and lack of alertness

Things to look out for your chicken care UK:

• Mites and Lice – if you suspect your chickens might have these sprinkle some diatom powder.
• Worms – You should check your chickens for worms at least twice a year by sending off a sample of their droppings and treating if required. To reduce the chances of your chickens picking up worms you can use a herbal product like Verm-x to be given to them for three days in a row every month.
• Stress – identify and minimise factors that might cause your chickens any stress.

Keeping your chickens safe

Red mite danger in backyard chickens

• Red mite gathers in the cracks of your coops.
• They start off small and grey and swell up into a red colour after feeding on your chickens.
• You should check constantly for them.
• They are most active in the summer and at night.
• To check for them: treat cracks in their coop during the day with Poultry Shield. This will make them flee out from hiding. Alternatively, at night when they are most active take a white piece of kitchen roll and wipe under the perch, streaks of blood will be visible if they are present.
• If you find yourself overrun with red mite a full deep clean of the coop will be required with regular weekly deep cleans for the following weeks.
• Regular cleaning, using product like poultry shield will help prevent an infestation.
• You can also use diatom on spots you know will be prone to red mite.

What predators are there for backyard chickens in the UK?

• Foxes and badgers are the main culprits along with some house cats.
• Rats and mice are also bad for spreading disease into your flock, they also eat your feed supplies and fresh eggs and nibble away at your wiring.
• Keep your coop and run as secure as possible to minimise any possibility of a predator getting in.

Coops, Runs, Free Range & Feeders

What type of coop for backyard chickens in the UK?

Plastic Coop:

• plastic coops are not the biggest, so you need to decide how you will let them roam through the day.
• They are easy to move so you can provide fresh ground and tend to come with mesh fencing around them to protect from predators.
• Importantly they are easy to clean.

Eco Coop:

• Great for the environment as they are constructed from recycled materials.
• Easy to clean.
• Protect from predators.
• Option to purchase a run to put around your eco coop.

Wooden Coop:

• Most traditional and popular coops.
• More difficult to keep clean and prone to red mite.
• Require a bit more upkeep than the other coops, the wood must be treated.

Top Tips: You get what you pay for in terms of quality, protection, and longevity. Whilst the plastic and eco coops may be more practical in terms of keeping clean and easier upkeep, they will not last as long as wooden coops and are more susceptible to predators.

What size of coop is required?

• Most manufacturers of coops will give guidance on how many chickens their coops will comfortably house.
• Remember to take into consideration the size of the breed you intend to get and if you plan to add to your flock in future.
• If you have limited space and plan on having a small coop with no run it is good to let them out for a few hours a day, this reduces boredom and the potential negative effects of this e.g. stress, egg eating, feather picking and fighting.
• If you plan to let your chickens out to roam, they can make a bit of mess and can destroy your garden plants as they forage.

What coop features to consider?

• Coops need to be dry, warm, and well ventilated at both a high and low level.
• Do not put perches near ventilation spots or drafts.
• Metal parts should be galvanised to prevent rusting.
• Easy access into your coop so you can clean it easily.
• Removable parts are helpful for cleaning – perches, dropping boards and nest boxes.
• Avoid felt tiles on the roof as they are susceptible to red mite.
• Roosting perches – where your chickens will sleep. These should be at a variation of heights (0.5 metres – 1 metre high) and thus…the pecking order. The higher up the roost, the higher up the pecking order.
• Perches should be higher than nesting boxes to discourage your chickens using them to roost. If your chickens start roosting in their nest boxes, it will get quite messy with soil and they can break and eat their eggs

Top Tip: Chicken droppings release ammonia which can increase their chance of disease. This ammonia needs to be removed from the coop by good ventilation. It rises and therefore top ventilation is important to remove this. On extremely windy nights it is ok to close the ventilation windows.

An easy way to make your own coop

• An easy way to make your own coop at home is to transform your garden shed.
• You will need nest boxes (plastic ones are easy to keep clean) and perches above the nest boxes.
• Just remember they should be ventilated but draft free.
• The Happy Chicken Coop have great DIY coop options. You can filter it by your intended number of chickens, budget, and DIY capabilities.

Will I need a chicken run?

• Chickens need to be allowed to roam to some extent, it is good for their well-being. If you are not planning on letting them free range, then you should investigate a chicken run.
• You can purchase runs that can be fitted onto your coop, these tend to be small and take up little space. You can also get detached runs which allow you to move them around onto different spots in your garden if you have space.
• Chicken runs need to be secure and sturdy. If you plan on building a chicken run top tips to consider: high quality wire, reinforce weak and vulnerable areas, check them regularly for potential predator access spots, mesh should be small and buried at least 7 inches under the ground (some predators can dig under) and it should be at least 6ft high or with a roof.
• When your chickens are out of the coop and in their run or roaming free make sure they have adequate shelter to shield from weather and shade from sun.

Bedding & Nest Boxes

• Wood Shavings - is a great bedding for chickens, it keeps warmth in the coop, absorbs moisture, helps reduce smell and ammonia from the air. Sawdust should not be used as it can add to respiratory problems.
• Straw - Not as absorbent as sawdust and therefore will need changed more frequently. Straw is better used in nest boxes than for bedding.

Feed, Grit Hoppers and Water containers

Feeding Hopper

• Can be kept in the coop.
• Important to keep it protected from weather…and other food thieves!

Water container

• should be stored outside the coop so as not to add to the humidity.
• Kept in a shaded cool area, you don’t want your chicks drinking warm/hot water.
• Galvanised containers are good in frost and long lasting, however you cannot add apple cider vinegar to them as they corrode, and you also have no visibility as to how much water is left.
• Plastic containers are ok with apple cider vinegar and provide visibility on how much water is left. They are, however, more prone to breaking and cracking.

Grit Hopper

• If you don’t plan on scattering grit for your chickens to forage you can use a grit hopper.

We hope you have found this post useful in deciding whether you are ready to welcome a modest flock to your backyard coop. Although there is work involved there is much fun, satisfaction and of course a delightful supply of eggs to be had.