Before the Hens Arrive: Coop, Run and Space

Chickens are the gateway livestock of the smallholding. They take up little room, reward you daily, and turn kitchen scraps and garden weeds into something worth frying. But the pleasure of collecting warm eggs begins with getting the housing right, and that means thinking about foxes before you think about breeds.

Aim for a coop with around 25cm of perch space per bird and one nest box for every four to five hens. Ventilation matters more than warmth: a stuffy coop breeds respiratory trouble, so make sure there are high-level vents that let damp air escape without creating a draught at perch height. The pop hole should be closable, and an automatic door is a genuine luxury for anyone who is out at dusk.

The run needs to be fox-proof rather than merely fox-resistant. Use welded mesh rather than flimsy chicken wire, with holes no bigger than 25mm, and bury a 30cm skirt of mesh outward at ground level to stop anything digging in. Add a roof or a mesh lid — foxes climb, and so do the local buzzards if you keep bantams. Allow at least 1 square metre of run per bird if they cannot free range, and nearer 2 if they will be confined through the winter.

Choosing Layers for a Steady Supply

If eggs are the goal, hybrids are hard to beat. Modern laying hybrids come into lay at around 18 to 22 weeks and will give you 280 to 320 eggs in their first year, often through the winter when pure breeds slow down or stop altogether. A trio of hybrids will keep a household in eggs comfortably.

Pure breeds are the better choice if you want birds that will live longer, forage harder and go broody. Look at Sussex, Rhode Island Red, Marans, Wyandotte and Orpington. Heritage types lay fewer eggs but keep going for years rather than burning out in two seasons.

• Start with point-of-lay pullets (16 to 18 weeks) if you want eggs quickly and few surprises.
• Buy in small numbers — three to four hens is plenty to begin, and easier to house well.
• Check local rules — some tenancy agreements and allotment sites restrict livestock, and flocks of 50 birds or more must be registered.
• Quarantine new birds for two weeks away from the existing flock.

Daily Feed, Water and Routine

A hen eats roughly 120g of feed a day. Feed a good-quality layers pellet or mash with 16 to 17 per cent protein as the staple, offered in a hanging feeder so it stays clean and dry. Keep the feeder at about the height of the birds' backs to reduce spillage and stop wild birds helping themselves.

Mixed corn is a treat, not a diet. A small handful scattered in the late afternoon gives the birds something to scratch for and helps them settle. Too much corn makes them fat and reduces laying. Kitchen scraps are fine in moderation — vegetable peelings, cooked rice, stale bread — but never anything mouldy, salty or from the meat plate in a way that attracts rats.

Always provide:

• Clean water in a drinker raised off the ground, refreshed daily. Hens drink up to half a litre each in hot weather.
• Mixed poultry grit in a small hopper, for digestion.
• Oyster shell offered separately, so hens can top up calcium as they need it.

A quick morning routine — let out, feed, check water, count heads — takes five minutes and catches problems early.

Bedding, Cleaning and the Red Mite Battle

Use dust-extracted wood shavings or hemp bedding in the coop and nest boxes. Hemp is more absorbent and composts beautifully, which matters when everything ends up on the heap. Avoid straw in nest boxes: it harbours mites and is less absorbent.

Do a daily poop pick with a slotted scoop, top up bedding weekly, and give the coop a full clean every four to six weeks. In summer, red mite can multiply in a fortnight. Learn to recognise them — grey-brown specks that turn red when squashed, hiding in the cracks around perches — and treat the coop thoroughly with a suitable poultry-safe product, repeating after seven days to catch newly hatched mites. Diatomaceous earth in the bedding helps as a deterrent.

Used bedding, droppings and coop cleanings all go on the compost heap. Hens are excellent at converting waste into next year's fertiliser.

Health Checks and Common Complaints

Handle your birds weekly, ideally on the perch at night or with a torch, and run through a simple check: bright eyes, clean vent, smooth scales on the legs, no wheezing, and a full crop at night that is empty by morning.

• Scaly leg mite — raised, crusty scales on the legs. Treat with an oil-based preparation.
• Red mite — anaemia, pale combs, reluctance to roost. Treat the housing, not just the birds.
• Worms — pale yolks, dull feathers, poor laying. Worm twice yearly with a licensed poultry wormer and observe the egg withdrawal period.
• Soft-shelled or shell-less eggs — usually a calcium or stress issue; check your oyster shell supply.

Isolate any bird that looks unwell, keep a basic first-aid kit in the feed shed, and do not hesitate to call a poultry-friendly vet rather than guessing.

Eggs, Seasons and the Smallholding Year

Collect eggs daily, ideally twice in warm weather, and store them pointy end down in a cool place — unwashed, they will keep for weeks. Expect a natural dip in laying as daylight falls below around 14 hours. Some keepers add a low-wattage light in the coop through winter; others prefer to let the flock rest and accept fewer eggs between November and February.

Your hens will moult, usually in late summer, and laying will pause while they regrow feathers. Feed a little extra protein and be patient. By the following spring you will have a flock that knows your footsteps, a steady supply of eggs, and a compost heap that has never looked better.