can i keep chickens?

As to your council, not sure... If you own your own home, perhaps check the deeds, it's sometimes stated in there.

I would go for 1 of the 2 sites at the back of the garden, as in summer, you do get some flies too(which I was not expecting), but if you keep clean you can keep to a minimum. I'd go for the place which has some hard surface as chooks get rid of all the grass and in winter, it turns into a mud bath, so hard surfaces are a help

The paved area sounds best to me too. Mine spend a lot of their time in the area around the coop so the lawn would get the main scratching if you put it there. They're so much more fun than you could guess..go for it.
According to Bramble Poultry everyone has the right to keep chickens in their garden, if you're lucky one of them will drop past and qoute the relevent regs for you. Or PM them.

It's somewhere in the Allotment Act. Apparently, even if your deeds have a covenant on them, this over-rides it. But only for girls, not cockerals
I'd go for half on the paved area, and half under the tree if you can, maybe with the coop on the paved bit so you can get to it to clean out with no mud

I'd put it whereever's easiest for you to maintain. Our girls spend most of their time either at the bottom of the garden near the wood pile (full of bugs so their equivalent of a chook's buffet car) or lined up in front of the patio doors yelling for us to come out and produce treats.

You'll need to check on them once a day to top up food and water and collect eggs, so go for somewhere that's not a mission to get to, especially if you work. At this time of year I only see my girls in the morning, they're in bed when it's dark, and I've got a window of about half an hour between the pop hole opening and me leaving in the morning.

Good on you for getting rescues, I can't recommend them highly enough. Let us know how you get on

when i first saw this thread, i thought "oh my god what a question to ask at a chook a holics anonymous" meeting. but reading on, its a very sensible statement!

you have put a lot of thought into the subject.

i will respond to each question in turn.

firstly, are you a private home owner or a tenant? if private owner, then do check your deeds but they can be over ridden with the alotment act 1950. However, if you are a council tennant just submit a tenancy variation to the council. they can not reasonably refuse you permission under the act (quoted below). If a private tenant, he too can't reject your request, but tread carefully with them as they may find other ways of getting you out of their house. Negotiation is the trick with private landlords.

"12 Abolition of contractual restrictions on keeping hens and rabbits

(1)Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in any lease or tenancy or in any covenant, contract or undertaking relating to the use to be made of any land, it shall be lawful for the occupier of any land to keep, otherwise than by way of trade or business, hens or rabbits in any place on the land and to erect or place and maintain such buildings or structures on the land as reasonably necessary for that purpose:

Provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorise any hens or rabbits to be kept in such a place or in such a manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance or affect the operation of any enactment.

quoted from Allotments Act 1950 (c.31) - The Allotments Act 1950 in its entirety, from the governments own website.

note that the act makes provision for hens and rabbits, NOT COCKERELS. so, now you should be able to keep them.

i personally would choose the pavd surface, covered with straw to help collect the "manure". make the run large enough to stand up in as it makes cleaning easier. From someone who has spent most of this winter so far with muddy pens because of the rain, i am sorely tempted to slab them in the spring myself.

Jennie is going to keep her new pair of chooks on the back patio for this very reason, that and security as they need to be kept an eye on for their own good.

as long as you have a method of providing some shade (brushwood screening is good for this and cheap from wilkinsons) and an area to keep them dry which could be a sheet of plastic roofing over part of the run at least then they will be happy. Allow them to free range during the day when you are around and they should be happy.

provide a dry, draught free environment and the chooks will be happy.

happy chook keeping, keep us posted on how you get on

regards

Mike

Hi miffy, I started with 6 ex-batts last year and have loved every minute I have spent with them. I don't have an overly large garden and the only regret I have is letting them have the lawn as there's no grass left, only mud. I never realised just how much scratching about those little feet would do. My deeds say no poultry but was told this would no longer apply as house was built in 1926. My neighbours only concerns were that I didn't keep cockerels and there isn't really much noise from just a few hens. Although some do like to announce they've laid an egg! Smell can be kept down by regular cleaning and I use Hemcore in the run which absorbs wet and smell. I have fly traps around the garden and also metal bait station along each fence to keep the rodents down. Go for it . Good luck.

Thank you all for your kind words, encouragement and excellent advice.
I will get out in the garden and measure up and see what is the best potential place for the girls based on all your advice.
I will definitely let you know how i get on over the next few months, thank you.