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I intend to start keeping hens in the very near future, not yet decided whether to purchase POL or ex-battery. Thinking of having between 4 and 6 for now.

Can anyone advise me on what size house and run I would need for this many? My husband will build the run; is there anything we should be aware of when choosing the materials i.e. what has been used to treat the wood we buy?

Are there any diseases I will need to have the girls innoculated for and how often? Many of the books I have read about keeping hens list problems and diseases but do not mention prevention.

Any advice you can offer me will be thankfully received.

Hi Swebby,
Us too! Chicken house being built as we speak! Hopefully will locate some wyandottes in the next couple of weeks and have yet more to look after!
Anyway good luck and i came across this site which i found very interesting, it also has a forum, good read if nothing else!
Chicken Keeping

Let me know how you get on. I will post photos and info when we get ours!

Sandra

Firstly get a book (Katie Thear - google/Ebay)!
If you get ex batts they will already be innoculated against most things. But there is a waiting list, get yourself on it asap www.Hens4Homes.co.uk | We supply all your chickens needs, you can always say no!
Ex batts are supposed to be more trouble than 'normal' birds but I have not found that to be the case! Lices, red mite and worms are the most common and you can get powders for all of these.
You can also get a mix of ex batts and 'normal' hens if you fancy blue eggs too
If you have a look on Ebay/http://www.freewebs.com/happy_hens/ or any googled site you should get an idea of how big the house/run needs to be, bear in mind that it can be much larger and this is probably better for your hens if it is. I think the main bit of advice I would have is that hens aren't too fussy and (ex batts) anythings better than dogfood!

Welcome to the vine swebby! Ex battery hens should have been inocculated and POL bought from a recognised breeder will be!

I am a recent convert to chook keeping myself and just used a shed with a pophole cut in it! My shed is about 5 foot square with two windows and is ample big enough for my 10 chooks. Even the smallest shed will easily house up to six chooks I would think.

If you are buying a purpose made chicken coop just be guided by the manufacturer who should state how many hens it is designed for!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

There's loads of people on here who will advise you on housing, runs etc, but as far as innoculations, all battery hens are already treated, so ex-battery shouldn't give you any problems. They're also already laying eggs, are very friendly and easy to care for, and you'd be "doing your bit" to give some of these girls their freedom (not that I'm biased or anything My 9 will tell you that)

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Always look on the bright side of life
View my blog - http://chooksandveggies.blogspot.com/ updated November 1st 2008

Thanks for the advice. Already had a quick look at the websites, they will be very useful! I will keep you updated with our progress. TTFN

I can't recommend ex- batts enough.. I've had mine since the end of may and they're an absolute joy I've never kept normal hens (well apart from helping care for the school hens about 20 years ago) so I can't say if they're any more difficult, but they're definatly not 'spent' I have 3 hens and most weeks I have several days with 3 eggs (fortunatly, their reputation has spread and I have lots of people wanting to take them off me..) and they have lovely personailties, it's been great seeing them discover how to be proper hens for more battery hen info try this site ex-battery-hens : Ex-Battery Hens

Be aware of "notifiable diseases" and their symptoms. The main ones being avian flu and Newcastle disease. If either is discovered then DEFRA has to be informed. Any unexpected death of a chicken should always be checked out (find a vet that specialises, farm vet usually). Although DEFRA registration is not needed for less than 50 birds, it can be advisable for Avian Flu (esp H5N1) outbreak notification. Find out where your local DEFRA animal health office is, just in case. (Your first point of call if a notifiable disease has been found. If a disease is "notifiable" it has to be reported by law, not doing so can lead to hefty fines and prison)

These are the things that many home chicken keepers don't think of. Learn the signs of the riskier diseases as well as the more common. Some diseases, like some strains of Avian Flu or Newcastle Disease, once in the area are not controllable,

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http://www.freewebs.com/notesfromtheplot/ **updated**