Not a vast amount!

You don’t actually need that many things to keep chickens successfully. They will need shelter, food and water and space to explore and scratch! The biggest purchase is shelter..
Shelter You’ll need some form of poultry housing is for the chooks to roost at night, lay eggs in privacy, have shelter from the elements and protection from predators.
It’ll need to be big enough for the amount of chickens you have, well ventilated and easy to clean.
It will need a roosting bar for them to stand on to sleep and because hens like to lay in dark secret places, you will need a nest box in the house too.

There are three basic types -ark, coop or eglu…

Ark/A frame

An a-frame is a very simple to make triangular shaped coop, suitable for a few chickens. Designs often include an enclosed run, so they are cheap and light. The main disadvantage is that the triangular shape limits the interior space

Coop

A standard coop and run is a great way to start out. This would be my preference as there is much more inside space for hens than you would get with an A-frame. There are lots of great designs on the market – some with integral run and some where you can attach a run.
Look for these features when choosing a coop…

• A shuttable pop-hole for the chickens to enter by.
• Separate nesting area for your hens to lay in peace.
• A perch.
• A removable tray to make cleaning easier – or check that you can get to everywhere when the lid is open.

Advantages:Bigger, still easy and cheap to build or buy. Gives the chooks somewhere to perch

Disadvantages: Heavy to move around if you want to move it and the run around the garden

Eglu

An eglu is a popular way to start keeping chickens.

Advantages:Cool and trendy

Disadvantages:Expensive. But cool. Will only take two chickens – you will get addicted and want more than 2!

The advantages and disadvantages of each type are discussed on the housing page

Bedding

You will need something to put on the floor of the coop and in the nesting box, that is safe, absorbent and easy to replace. I put a layer of newspaper down first to make it easy to clean. Traditionally people used straw, but it gets messy quickly. Dust-extracted sawdust is much more popular and easy to get from pet-stores. I favour a horse bedding product like hemcore (which is made from the stalks of the hemp plant) or rapasorb (which is made similarly from the rape plant stalks) inside my coop, about 2inches deep, which needs to be changed regularly as it gets covered in poop. That all goes on the compost heap! I do a full change and clean of the coop every week. Hempcore and rapasorb compost quickly (much quicker than straw or sawdust), especially with that chicken manure – you will need a big compost heap or let the local allotment know – they will snatch your hand off for bags of chicken bedding to compost!

Run

An area for them to run and peck in, which needs to be protected
I own a coop with built in too small run underneath. I bought an attachable run with it to start off and then built a much bigger chicken area in my garden.
Most of us allow our chickens to free range, certainly when we are around. Electric fencing solutions are available for those with big plots to keep the foxes out.

The run is covered with a thick layer of wood chippings which a local tree surgeon delivers free (Make sure it is not the day he spent chopping Leylandii! – too much green not enough wood) A run needs to be made with 19 or 21 gauge wire mesh, not chicken wire which is not fox-proof.

Ark’s often have a built in run. Move the whole thing around your lawn to save the grass and keep the lot ferilised!

Eglu’s come with an attachable run – again move it around or put it on a bed of wood chippings on hard standing. Make sure that is well drained and not at the bottom of the garden which turns into a guagmire!

Drinker

To get daily fresh water

You’ll need a good sized drinker – I hang mine from a hanging basket bracket, so it doesn’t get kicked over or muddy. My preference is for plastic for the drinker, so I can use Apple Cider Vinegar in the water every now and again.

Feeder

To hold the feed

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I prefer a galvanised feeder – mine is a bowl with a wire frame over it, so it doesn’t get kicked over or pooped in!

Feed

As chicks they need chick crumbs. Then they go on to growers mash/pellets. At around 16-18 weeks, give them layers pellets or mash. Look at the feeding page for more detail on what to give your chickens, including treats

Cleaning materials

Dustpan and brush, poultry friendly disinfectant, like “Poultry Shield” – which is very good at killing the dreaded Red Mite.
Jeyes is not chook friendly!

Chickens

Can’t forget them! You can choose hybrids who tend to be friendly and lay lots of eggs, pure breeds which are prettier or table birds which get big for eating. Check out the breed pages for what type to go for.

First Aid kit

A few bits and pieces to keep them healthy Look at the health section for more information

Vermx is an organic way of controlling parasites like worms. Being 100% natural herbal formula there is no egg withdrawal period – Verm-X liquid is easy to use by adding to your bird’s drinking water. Verm-X has the advantage that there is no egg or bird withdrawal period. Verm-X is ideal those who wish to explore the natural way of controlling parasites. Verm-X is extremely palatable and has no known resistance.

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