Cottage Garden

Back-garden farming: Rearing chickens

Hens eat garden weeds, provide fresh eggs and are very family-friendly.

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Here's how to keep hens:

Hens need grass and must have grain when they are laying. Some of this can come from wheat straw.
You will need a chicken house with nesting boxes accessible from outside and a wire mesh run. Look on
Freecycle.org or in the local press for secondhand ones.

Chickens are happy to wander picking up scraps but do need to be fenced in at night against foxes.
You'll need half a dozen birds for a good supply of eggs. Hens can be bought as day-old chicks, eight-
week pullets or at point-of-lay (18+ weeks), which is the most practical choice.

Rats can be a problem with rearing chickens, stealing eggs and living in the hen house. Look out
when cleaning the coop.