Keeping Chickens In A Garden: A Complete Guide for City Folk

It's not as hard as you think to start keeping chickens in a garden – even if you live in the city. I've been keeping chickens in my garden here in the UK for over 3 years now and it's been one of the best things I ever did.

“I don't have the space,” “the neighbours will complain,” “they'll be too noisy,” are just a few of the reasons I kept putting it off.

Eventually, my desire to build a more self sufficient food source outgrew my fear of upsetting the neighbours and I've never looked back.

Honestly, at this juncture in time, when the world is filled with people who seem to enjoy sleepwalking into a dystopian disaster, you shouldn't hold yourself back because of what you think other people think!

Perhaps this realisation was my subconscious (or some higher self) priming me for the years ahead.

Maybe that's why you're here too? Because you know you need to put your family's needs first in all things.

Keeping chickens in your garden is one way you can do that. It can help you take some responsibility back and reap the immeasurable reward of tending for and keeping animals in a wholly mutually beneficial relationship.

In this guide, I'll share with you everything you need to know about keeping chickens in a garden and hopefully, by the end of it, you will have the confidence, knowledge and contacts to do it for yourself.

It is not as hard as you think.

The Value Of Keeping Chickens In A Garden

Keeping chickens for me isn't just about the eggs. Don't get me wrong, that's exactly how it started but, as time went on, I reconnected with something inside of me that I didn't even realise was there.

Keeping chickens has somehow helped me return to a more meaningful way of life that pays respect to (and finds peace in) the simple joy of living. A simple joy which seems to have been stolen from us in our busy, modern world.

It seems that part of reclaiming that joy has been remembering (on a deep, soulful level) what it feels like to live and work alongside animals, where both animal and human get some benefit from the relationship.

It has been eye-opening. And I appreciate that's not very ‘tangible,' so let me break it down into less esoteric bullet points:

Benefits of Keeping Chickens

1. The obvious one first: chickens lay fresh, beautiful, delicious eggs.
2. Chicken manure activates compost.
3. They eat some garden pests.
4. They connect you and remind you of the harmonious relationship between man and nature.
5. Depending on how you manage them and pen them, can be a huge benefit to the fertility of your garden.
6. Give the children something to be responsible for.

Now, it wouldn't really be fair of me to share all the benefits with you and not tell you about the downsides too; so here's some of them to balance your view.

‘Downsides' of Keeping Chickens

1. You have to get up early to let them out.
2. They eat a lot.
3. They poop a lot.
4. They will eat your veg garden if you let them.
5. They need caring and looking after.
6. You can't just go on holiday and leave them.

Admittedly, the downsides for me aren't really that bad or troublesome. The only one, perhaps, that is a bit of an actual hindrance is the need to find someone who can look after your chickens if you decide to go away for a week.

Do I Need Permission To Keep Chickens In A Garden?

Generally speaking, if you're in the UK then no, you don't need any special permission. If you're in the US, then the laws differ from state to state.

Omlet have a whole section of their site that will help you find out about your state laws for backyard chickens if you're in the US.

As for the UK, regulations for keeping chickens in a garden only kick in when you go commercial or keep more than 50 chickens. At that point, you are supposed to register your flock with DEFRA.

You can voluntarily register with fewer than 50 birds if you want to but really, why would you encourage government overreach into your affairs?

How Much Space Do Chickens Need?

I was told when I bought my chickens that each chicken should have at least 1 square metre of space to scratch and peck at. Anne Perdeaux, author of A Family Guide to Keeping Chickens and writer over at Poultry Keeper, recommends 1 square metre as a minimum with 2 square metres preferred.

When I bought my coop, I was only planning on keeping 2 chickens so that's why I opted for the Eglu Go Up coop with a 2 metre run.

As it happens, I enjoyed keeping chickens in my garden so much that a few months after getting the first 2, I bought another 2 and opened up the garden to let them free range.

The coop and run size is important because you don't want to overcrowd them but since I opened the entire garden up for them, it doesn't really matter in my situation.

Free Range Chickens In The Garden Is Nerve-wracking

Letting my chickens free range in the garden was a bit nerve wracking in the beginning, I'll admit. I didn't know (even though I'd read about it) if they would fly over the fence or sneak under the gate.

I was a nervous wreck that first week but I quickly learned that they didn't seem to want to travel too far away from their food!

As a rule of thumb, and having seen first hand how much scratching they can do and what fate befalls grass they scratch, I would say that the total space of 1 sq metre per chicken was good advice. You should stick to that at a minimum.

How Noisy Are Chickens?

Chickens aren't that noisy at all. They are surprisingly quiet, in fact, and the only time you will hear your laying hens is when there is a predator nearby or when they've just finished laying an egg.

It is said that even at their loudest, laying hens only make about 60db of noise. That's about the same as a normal conversation between people.

Roosters, on the other hand, (or Cockerels if they're under a year old) are the male chickens and they do make a noise.

You don't need to keep a Rooster in your garden though if all you want are eggs to eat. It is only if you're planning on hatching your own chicks that you'll need a Rooster so, for most people, chickens aren't noisy at all.

Just make sure you get laying hens and not roosters when you buy your chickens 🙈

The Best Chicken Coop For Keeping Chickens In A Garden

Regardless of whether you're keeping chickens in a garden or not, a good chicken coop needs to be solid, waterproof, draught-proof, well ventilated and sheltered with perches and nest boxes inside.

I spent a long time searching for the right chicken coop. I even considered making my own out of wood.

Should You Make Your Own Chicken Coop Out Of Wood?

As I was only planning on keeping 2 chickens in the beginning, I didn't need anything large (and I didn't have a huge garden). Having had wooden-built structures before like sheds, offices, wood racks etc, I knew if I didn't keep up with the maintenance I would be in for a world of pain.

In the course of my research, I read about how some self-built wooden coops attract pests (mice) and insects (mites). I also read about how important it was to keep the coop clean if you wanted healthy chickens.

This really put me off the idea of building my own chicken coop.

Finding The Right Chicken Coop

Having made the decision not to go DIY for this project, my attention turned towards pre-built chicken coops.

I should say here that as a fan of Joel Salatin's work, especially the concepts he talked about in his book Pastured Poultry Profits, whereby chickens are ‘moved' every week to another part of the field (ala garden), I already had it in my head that I wanted a coop on wheels.

I didn't really find many wooden chicken coops with wheels, and all the problems associated with wooden coops that I mentioned above were still playing in the back of my head.

That's when I stumbled across the Omlet Eglu Go Up, one of the Omlet Eglu Chicken Coops.

Introducing The Omlet Eglu Go Up

I'd never heard of the Omlet Eglu Go Up before but when I saw it, I was immediately and suitably impressed!

It offered a sturdy, hard plastic build, ventilation, security, nesting box all in one compact coop measuring only 1.5 metres wide with an attached run 2 metres long.

And it was really easy to clean! A big bonus. Watch the video above where I show you exactly how easy it is to clean.

It also had wheels which, when I bought it, I planned to use to lift up the coop and move it week by week to different parts of my garden.

In the end, I never actually did this because I built a dedicated chicken coop hideaway in my garden instead. The wheels are still handy for moving the coop when stuff starts growing around it though.

I have to say, I think having such a good coop has made keeping chickens in a garden so much easier so I speak honestly when I say if you're thinking of keeping less than 4 chickens in a small garden, you won't go wrong with the Eglu Go Up.

I've had my Go Up for over 2 years now and I wrote an Omlet Eglu Go Up Review after 2 years if you'd like to see how it fared.

How Much Time Does It Take To Look After Chickens?

I spend about 15 minutes each day looking after my chickens, with an extra 15 minutes every 4th or 5th day when I clean the coop.

By ‘looking after', I mean that all I do is take the food out for them and open the coop door when the sun comes up in the morning.

I bring the food inside overnight to discourage any pests from eating it.

I do the same at the end of the day, when the sun goes down and after the chickens are in their coop. I close the coop door and bring the food in overnight.

Every 4th or 5th day, I'll do a full coop clean and put fresh bedding in the coop for the chickens. That takes about 15 minutes in total.

And that's it, really.

What Should You Feed Chickens?

I've heard from friends who have a bit more land and a few more chickens than I do that chickens are capable of living out in the ‘wild' on their own.

They are omnivores, afterall, and eat pretty much anything; from grass and grains to bugs, slugs and snails. I'm almost ashamed to admit this but I've even seen my chickens eat a frog!

However, as a backyard chicken keeper, you're most likely interested in what to feed your chickens to help them lay more eggs.

What Should You Feed Your Chickens If You Want More Eggs?

Eggs are mostly made up of protein so it should be no surprise that if you want more eggs, you should make sure you feed your chickens more protein.

It is widely recommended that a high protein diet of 90% protein should be given to get the most eggs.

I use commercially available organic Layers' Pellets for the majority of my chickens' diet. This guarantees I get the 90% of protein they need into them.

I usually buy 3 or 4 bags at a time because during lockdown, there was a 3 or 4 month period where everything was hard to get hold of. I can only see this trend getting worse.

In the winter, I supplement their layers pellets with corn (actually, I give them corn as a treat during summer too).

4 chickens seem to go through a 20kg bag in about 6-7 weeks.

The bags cost around £18 so it's not that expensive at the moment although I do expect this will increase along with everything else from early 2022 onwards.

How Many Eggs Do Chickens Lay?

The volume of eggs chickens lay depends greatly on a number of factors including: breed, season, age, diet and the general health of your chickens.

Assuming a good, healthy, protein rich diet, daily fresh drinking water and plenty of space to free range, a hybrid chicken (that is a chicken bred from a mix of pure bloods for their laying qualities), like a Gingernut Ranger for example, can be expected to lay over 300 eggs per year for the first couple of years.

If egg production is the key factor in keeping chickens in your garden, you should buy your chickens from a reliable source and get as much information about the breed as possible before purchasing.

I keep 2 Gingernut Rangers, 1 Blue Haze and 1 Pied Suffolk.

How Many Chickens Should You Buy?

You should buy a minimum of two chickens if you want to keep chickens in a garden. Never buy one on it's own. Chickens need company to be healthy.

We wrote a guide about how many chickens you need to be self sufficient for more specific detail.

The number of chickens you buy will depend on the space you have available and the size of your coop, as well as your budget (for buying food) and how many eggs you want to get.

A quick reference summary:

• Each chicken needs 1 sq metre of space
• 2 chickens cost around £15 every 5 weeks to feed with layers' pellets
• A single hybrid chicken breed like a Gingernut Ranger should lay more than 300 eggs a year for the first 2 years.

Will Chickens Ruin My Garden?

Yes! Chickens will ruin your garden if you let them. They bring a lot of benefits to your garden too but if you don't manage them properly, they will pick, peck and pull at everything you have planted.

In order to prevent them from destroying your beloved veg patch or flower bed, you will need to either:

1. Keep your chickens in their run
2. Fence off the area you don't want them to destroy

With the Eglu Go Up Coop I use, you have the option to move the coop around your garden because it comes with retractable wheels making it easy to move about. We wrote a more detailed review about the Omlet Eglu Go Up over here.

You can thus move your chickens to a different spot every few days so they don't completely destroy one patch of garden.

If you're going to free range, make sure you fence off any parts of your garden you don't want the chickens to destroy.

Will Chickens Attract Pests & Predators?

If management and control is not tended to, keeping chickens in a garden could attract unwanted pests and even predators.

The most common type of pest you'll likely find around your chickens are mice.

I've also read about rats, voles and foxes being attracted to chicken coops in gardens too.

In almost all of these cases, the key method of prevention is keeping a clean and tidy garden and coop.

For practical purposes, that means:

• No piles of bricks
• No log piles
• No heavy shrub growth
• No raised sheds or decking
• No food left out overnight
• Careful management of any compost bins

If you tend to all of this, then the chances of attracting unwanted pests are kept to a minimum and should be easy to spot early should any try to move in.

Early prevention is the best deterrant.

Where To Buy Chickens

You can buy chickens from local suppliers close to you. Obviously, this varies from location to location but a quick search on a privacy-centric search engine like Brave or Presearch should find your nearest supplier.

In addition to that, in the UK atleast, you can also buy ex-battery hens (still laying) from the British Hen Welfare Trust.

Omlet also have a buyer/seller's directory on their website you can view to try and find the chickens you want.

Recap: How To Get Started Keeping Chickens In A Garden

1. You'll need a good, solid chicken coop (buy an Eglu Go Up if you can).
2. You need your feed ready to feed them (grab some organic layers' pellets)
3. You need your chickens. There should be plenty of breeds available to buy in the spring and hopefully you live close enough to a local supplier who can deliver them for you.

Most importantly, just get started!

You won't regret it.