What Do You Need to Start Keeping Chickens

If you're thinking of getting chickens for the first time in the new year, it's easy to be bamboozled by the bewildering array of information and equipment on offer. Hugh and Fiona Osborne explain the basics.

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STARTING OUT CAN BE OVERWHELMING

Soon Christmas will be upon us and gifts to support expanding the smallholding or getting some backyard chickens for the first time may be something you're thinking about, but there are so many choices. When we started chicken keeping, we were very lucky. Hugh has an insatiable appetite to learn and always extensively researches every subject before we start out. If I (Fiona) am honest, it's a trait that I am very, very grateful for as it takes away all of the pressure from me to make sure that we have all of our ducks in a row.

If you're not lucky enough to have a Hugh in your life, social media can lead you to believe that you can either keep chickens for almost no cost, or that it will take the majority of your savings to fund them. We'd like to share with you what are really the choices that you need to make so that you can get ready to care for some chickens.

THE BASICS

We don’t want to make this sound in any way complicated. Chickens have some very simple needs, which are the same as any animal that you bring into your property. They need:

• Appropriate Housing

• Bedding material for the housing

• Something to eat from, i.e. a feeder

• Something to drink from, i.e. a drinker

• Appropriate food

We'll look at each of these and the choices that are available to you so you can choose the right combinations for you, BUT before any of these, you'll need to decide how many chickens you want to have.

HOUSING