Keeping chickens

For many people in the country, keeping chickens is sustainable living at its most enjoyable.

There is, in truth, little economic benefit to keeping small numbers of poultry – but the sight and sound of chickens racing around the garden is satisfaction enough for most.

With the added benefit of delicious fresh eggs each morning, plus the opportunity to enhance the chickens’ quality of life, the appeal is easy to understand. They’ll even act as organic pest control, helping to rid your garden of flies and slugs.

Rules and regulations

Keeping chickens on your land is surprisingly straightforward, and provided you have less than 50 chickens there is no need to register them with any authority.

More than 50 chickens are considered to be a commercial venture however, and must be registered on the GB Poultry Register – an initiative set up by DEFRA in 2005.

There no nationwide restrictions to prevent you from keeping poultry, but some individual properties do have covenants which provide an obstacle. You’ll need to check the deeds of your property to find out if this applies to you.

Consult with your local council too, as they could have passed a by-law preventing anyone in your area from keeping livestock at their property.

Counting your chickens

You can reasonably expect your hens to lay anywhere between 200 and 250 eggs per year, though be aware that the rate of laying dips slightly during Winter.

Keeping chickens means you’ll never be out of eggs – and with control over the chickens’ diet, you can help ensure quality as well as quantity.

Top tips

The Poultry Pages - Economics of keeping chickens at home
Omlet - A wealth of useful information
Poultry Keeper - Keeping chickens - Further articles about keeping chickens from the Poutry Keeper web site