Actually what comes first is a safe and healthy enclosure to keep the chickens so you can collect the eggs!!!

We currently have four lovely (but bloody minded) chickens, two ISA Browns and two Barnevelders, in residence. Check with your local council for regulations governing the keeping of chickens before you start. Also, we found out through experience, that not all chickens are the same, so you might want to do some research as to which breed will best suit your needs.

Creating a residence for them is not as difficult as you might think. It may be possible to convert the cubbyhouse that is no longer used or to make/buy a fixed or mobile chicken coop. We used a corner of the backyard so that two sides of the yard were already there and covered it all with chicken wire. It is important that your chicken area is safe from predators. You may not be aware (we learned the hard way!) that many birds will also like your chook food and flock to your yard. The smaller varieties like blackbirds, starlings and indian mynas can fit through normal gauge chicken wire.

Chickens also need space to scratch in the dirt, (they are great crater makers - so watch out for the garden beds, they also seem to eat just about anything!), they need food on tap and they enjoy a dust bath. Nutritionally, chickens need grains, protein, lots of greens and of course clean water. We buy a good layer pellet and add some grains and sunflower seeds. They also get the leftovers and peelings etc. We grow lots of lettuce, chard, nasturtiums, kale for them (as well as us), but still need to supplement with the outer lettuce leaves free from shops.

For more detailed information hopefully you will find the following e-books helpful.