Our Back Garden Chickens UK - Keeping Back Yard Hens

[@angelamcnicholas8113]

Love your matter of fact approach - thank you for sharing !

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

You’re welcome ☺️ 🐓

[@raybede]

I love the fact that your Chicken keeping manual is a Haynes manual. I used to service my early cars with the help of a Haynes!! We've found keeping hens so wonderful.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Haynes produce some good manuals but will always be famous for the essential car manuals.

[@rustynuts4426]

And what a wonderful wife, so rare these days! Blessings to you both

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you

[@izzywizzy2361]

Fantastic supply of fresh eggs just outside your back door!

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We love fresh eggs and so do our neighbours!

[@kirubafromuk3433]

Wow,fresh eggs, Beautiful chicken (Hens), Thanks for sharing.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you, they are great to have around

[@sarahsiskin6780]

I’m falling in love w your channel. Cheers from America!

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you and welcome to our channel from America.

[@carolynlindsay5338]

Hi, What time roughly do the chicken waken and go outdoors in the morning and what time do they go off to bed please?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

It depends on the time of year / they wake up when the sun rises and go to bed when it goes down / you do get used to the pattern depending on the time of year

[@kokocassells9078]

Great Video⚡️ Thankyou so much x

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

You’re welcome

[@NIG-yk9nm]

Hi, great information shared - one question please if you don’t mind: are you getting noise complaints from the neighbours, as this is something putting me off.thanks

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

No our neighbours have always been fine but we haven’t had a Cockrel only hens and we get on with our neighbours well too anyway / they enjoy the eggs 🥚

[@emwarner6650]

Hi there can you tell me how often you use the powder in the coop please ?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Once a month and this is the one we use amzn.to/3osypbA

[@jbaileymusic]

Really helpful. Thankyou✌️👊🐔🐣🐤🐥🍗

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Glad it was useful

[@edres7563]

I have a 1.8m x 1.8m space in my garden next to a north facing garden fence where it is shady in the winter, but does get some sunlight in the summer. I would like to keep chickens for eggs and possibility meat. How many chickens do you think I could keep in that space?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

2 or 3 would be ok / they would have more room than battery chickens for sure 🐓

[@bathanmark]

I live in the UK, I wanted to start this but Im not sure about the noise they can create that may disturb the neighbor?? I got like a 10ft x 5ft front garden then a neighbor wall or fence.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Hens are much quieter / It’s cockerels that make more noise / my neighbours have never minded and quite liked the sounds and eggs 🥚/ you could always ask them although I never did and it was fine

[@barnsleytresurehunter]

Nice you done well

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you!

[@Damian808]

Is the regular birdlife affected by having hens?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We haven’t found that to be the case it’s the same as before

[@karenwhyte74]

Hi there are your neighbours ok with the noises the chickens make? Thanks

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Yes they are fine / we have a good community where we live and we don’t have a cockerel/ there are a few people in our area that have them so it’s not that unusual/ hen birds aren’t as noisy anyway / our neighbours think it’s great we lead the good life

[@schrodingerscat1863]

When I used to keep chickens I found that neighbours are not a problem if they get a few free eggs now and then. 👍 Laying hens lay a lot of eggs so having extras that you don't need can be a problem even with only a few birds especially in spring and summer when they lay pretty much every day.

[@proplockfistanterlis]

Another great video :) I am in the process of trying to persuade my wife in letting me get some chickens, would you be able to provide a link where you get your feed from please ?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We love having hens and an abundance of eggs. We pick up our feed from two local equestrian shops. Let us know if you are local to us in North Kent and I can send you there numbers but they only deliver local.

[@proplockfistanterlis]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife I live in Chatham, Kent

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We use www.brambledown.co.uk as they are a 2 minute drive from us or www.gillettcook.co.uk if we are in the Faversham area.

[@sajinayunaitheen2727]

Good work keep it up My question is how do you manage the cool climate for the hens I think the winter would be bad for the hens to live

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Hens are amazing at producing their own heat. They just eat more food and lay less eggs in the winter.

[@sajinayunaitheen2727]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife thats nice to here Im from sri lanka I have four hens and 7 chickens I love to keep a hen farm

[@kathrynjajich6705]

Curious if your yolks are yellow or orange?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

It varies all depends how many greens I give them

[@kathrynjajich6705]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife thank you!! Greens it will be then!!

[@Lee-zg6hj]

Really appreciate the advice you're sharing in these videos. Im looking to build a coop and run for chickens to spend the majority of their time in (as well as some garden time). Question I have is about cleaning out your run. Do you need to muck it out regularly at the same time as the coop. Or are you able to continually turn it over like some form of the deep litter method seen as its outside and open to the elements? Im unsure of the best approach to take in terms of maintenance / hen happiness, so thought id see how its working out for you before I start building!

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

The run just naturally composts down so when it builds up we remove and put on our garden as fertiliser

[@echampion]

how did you make that coop

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

My husband created it himself to easily fit 6 birds on perches and the wood was from sheets at the bottom of pallets from a local industrial unit that would otherwise have thrown them away / he didn’t have anything to work from / he just created it himself

[@AkSanTari]

Interested in having 4-5 chickens too in my garden and have a similar setup as yourself... what's the monthly cost of maintaining them? (food, bedding or any other stuff they need)?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

It really doesn’t cost that much a big bag of feed is about £12 here and lasts about 2 months and when it’s wet I buy a big bale of straw which is about £5 every few months. We use shredded paper for the nest boxes which we shred ourselves so it’s free. So I say less than £10 per month. The only other things we find essential is diatomaceous earth to dust the chicken house/nest box and on the shredded paper with when we clean it out to keep bugs away which lasts for ages and flubenvet feed to prevent worms which you substitute as per the instructions on the packet for their normal feed / we find a bag does 2 doses and only generally used it during the wetter months as that’s when they were more likely to need it or if they seem out of condition which is a sign of worms / here’s the links for the last two if you’re interested amzn.to/3osypbA and amzn.to/3go4EZE

[@AkSanTari]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife thanks for the info

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

You’re welcome

[@davidharley6825]

I’m keen to get 3/4 chickens. Are there any types you would recommend? Emphasis on lots of eggs and minimal noise. Also, I’m a bit worried about winter. Do you need to do anything for them at low temps? Thanks in advance.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Hens are quieter than cockerels and obviously only hens lay eggs. They are fine in cold weather. I usually go for hybrid chickens as they lay more eggs. I don’t have a specific favourite. I have a chap local to me that sells chickens so I usually trust his judgement. Lohmann Brown is one type I’ve found quite reliable. However the last lot I got he wasn’t able to get them so I got a mixture and they’ve all been great

[@schrodingerscat1863]

If you want peace and quiet only get hens, roosters make a hell of a lot of noise. 3 or 4 hens is a good starting point as they need minimal effort to look after after setting them up initially. Biggest problem is covered well in this video, that being predators.

[@krell2130]

Great video, thanks! How much do you think it costs to keep 5 chickens, once set-up? Any estimation would be welcome, thanks.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Good question. A bag of feed costs £9 and it lasts about 5 or 6 weeks. The diatomaceous earth powder lasts years if you buy a 5kg bag. They love some corn as a treat and uncooked kitchen scraps too.

[@krell2130]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife Great, thank you. So, roughly around £50 per chicken, per year (maybe just over). During which months do they not lay eggs?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We have hybrid egg layers normally and they tend to each lay around 330 eggs each per year. Their egg laying reduces in their 3rd winter and if they are unhappy or stressed.

[@krell2130]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife Wow, 330 per year each, that's a lot of eggs! Thanks for the insight.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

If you get egg layers they will not have much meat on them but they will lay plenty of eggs. The amount they lay decreases as they get older.

[@rayyg2508]

Any issues with neighbours and do you need a license or permission to keep them

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We don’t have a cockerel so no issues with the neighbours. You don’t need a license in the UK for small flocks but you do need to know the regulations especially bird flu is around.

[@jdoedelyewing6711]

I am considering of keeping chickens for eggs as well but I don't know what the Law say about that I don't want to buy them and after I'm having to send them away because of complaints from neighbours.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

My neighbours were fine but you can always speak to them / in the uk 🇬🇧 we can keep chickens and can have so many but they now need to be registered / all depending where you live check / in the uk it’s the DEFRA website

[@stefankeyesgaming8286]

brilliant video. recently we have decided to buy an incubator to try hatch our own chicks. just wanted to know about how noisy they may be for neighbors and if they quieted down come night time?. always wanted to keep chicks. i do have some experience from childhood on my uncles farm but not full experience like over nights ect. many thanks, Stefan

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We hatched chicks a few years ago in a borrowed incubator. It is a fantastic thing to do and they are so cute when they are small. Just be prepared for what you are going to do with the boys. We ate ours when they were getting big enough but not everyone will do this. As for the noise, we find them ok. Our neighbours know we have them but the supply of cheap eggs keeps them happy. They make no noise after dark as they are on their perches and occasionally squabble for positions in there but no noise otherwise after dark. We only have girls for the eggs and no boys. It would be the boys making the most noise at first light and various times during the day. For this reason we only have girls and will wait until we live in a more rural location before keeping cockerels too. Good luck with yours and let us know how you get on!

[@stefankeyesgaming8286]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife thanks very much for the reply. Yes i've been debating myself on what I will do if some boys hatch. I'm too soft hearted so I may try a crowing collar to be able to keep them. If not I may try contact some poultry farms if they want boys for breeding. We are on day 9 of incubation and 5 out of the 6 eggs are looking very good when candling. It is a exciting time which makes the wait feel like a eternity lol. We are also incubating 6 duck eggs.. I know ducks can be very noisy. started watching a few of your vids and you have me hooked. Loving the content. makes me wish i had some more land!! Your vids have gave me a few good ideas as to what i can try in our garden! Thanks again!

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Awesome, good luck with the hatchlings! Maybe get someone to prepare the boys for the oven for you? If you eat meat it will be the best looked after and tastiest meat you have ever eaten. We incubated 12 eggs, 11 hatched and 9 were boys. Very unlucky but with my brother in laws help the boys had a good life and fed us all well.

[@stefankeyesgaming8286]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife Thats a good idea. I can speak to local butchers to see if there is anything they do. There's a nice a farm, shop near by that use only their own animal products in their shop. So that can be another option to see if they can do some for us. Some bad news on the other hand, The duck eggs I bought as "Fertile" never shown any signs on life by day 10 so had to pull all 6! All where yolkers, And one of the chick eggs had died by day 10 as well. But on the upside 4 chicks are looking very good. can see lots of movement inside the eggs already today and today is day 11 I think (losing track a bit lol) So fingers crossed the remaining 4 stay successful and hatch!

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Shame about the duck eggs. Good luck with the chicks. We used a tub with a heat lamp over it when they hatched. They are great fun when they arrive.

[@SJ_Vibezz]

Do the chickens make a lot of noise in the day and at night? Wondering how the neighbours are with it? I really want chickens! 🥺

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Our hens make noise but as long as they are happy it’s never excessive. Our neighbours are fine with it but if we got a cockerel that would change as they are too much for a built up area.

[@EmilyC04]

Hi Just found your channel. Such a great video. We are about to adopt 3 chickens next week. Do you have any other pets? We have a couple of cats and a dog so wondering how to introduce them as I'd like them to be free range during the day.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

We have a cat 🐈 who is very curious / our chickens are in a separate area so don’t mix with her

[@hazmat5749]

I would imagine 99% of cats would leave chickens well alone, having said that there's always one.. so introduce them gradually.

[@skibjav3060]

I don't think your next door are so happy at Sunday morning 5 am when the chickens do cocadodaldo

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Very lucky they love them

[@Sco16161]

I’m a beginner and have a small ish garden. How many chickens would you recommend and should I get hens or roosters ? Or both? Thanks and great video

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

If you have a small garden then you probably have neighbours. I would stick to hens and expect new hens to lay up to 300 eggs a year each. Give them space and they prefer not to be alone so 2 or 3 would be a good start.

[@cucucnu]

What is needed to get chickens in the garden in Uk?? Any kind of licence? What about neighbours complaining?? Is my biggest fear as my neighbours are horrible 😣

[@mervynportis5788]

Don't need no licence.. there very easy to care for also as you to provide them with few things water. Food. Somewhere safe away from Mr fox. There very quiet but if you want a rooster witch I would not recommend for first time keeper..

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

You only need a license if you have more than 50 and as long as you have hens they aren’t that noisy / worth trying to make an effort with neighbours naturally for your own benefit if you can / free eggs occasionally may win them over / if you think that’s impossible then you’ll just have to accept they may moan but what we found was our neighbour actually enjoyed their therapeutic sounds so you may be surprised / just do it you only get one life / biggest thing is make sure they are secure from Mr Fox 🦊 and good luck getting hens 🐓

[@jamesx2703]

Omg the chickens don't stop making noise 🤣

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

They are expecting treats when they see us in the garden.

[@Syksiu]

@@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife so they are loud all day?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

If we give them a treat they soon quieten down. Fresh grass or weeds are best.

[@susannemarieschuster3974]

Hardware cloth instead of chicken wire

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you

[@zerostalkertolerance]

My neighbours told me chickens arent suitable for a residentail area, even with a good size garden. That they smell terrible, high maintenance and expensive to keep. Plus chickens attract rats. They suggested I buy a fishtank.What do you think?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Fish 🐠 don’t lay eggs 🥚 they aren’t high maintenance. They do smell a bit as does any animal and you do need to be aware of rats 🐀 but all those things are manageable and worth the benefits of organic eggs 🥚 and they are very therapeutic/ it’s all down to choice like most things in life

[@will9603]

Do you have a rat/mouse problem because of them?

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Good question, some people do. We have a neighbour who occasionally has a rat problem from his bird feeders being overfilled. We have only had rats when we were over feeding with a mixed seed. The seeds the hens refused to eat were being stored under the hen house by rats. As long as you don’t leave feed around overnight and keep containers secure then rats will have nothing to eat. We do have a bait station hidden and occasionally put fresh bait in it but wouldn’t say we have a problem.

[@ladybee4564]

Sorry but don’t think your run is not big enough if in there the majority of the time. Have seen firsthand foxes and badgers sadly bite through chicken wire - if you can change to 19g weld mesh . The haynes book is excellent.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you, thankfully the foxes can’t get through this and badgers will not enter our garden as we are in a housing estate.

[@ladybee4564]

You need 3g weldmesh. Have seen foxes rip through chicken wire, you will have foxes but not had the visual yet. I agree, run far too small, ideally they should be free ranged for at least 30 mins per day to stretch their legs and eat different nutrients. Your eggs will benefit. Have a look at flyte of fancy for their run bark and food mixes. Hang some leaves of chard up. They love it, stretch their neck up and a good boredom buster. Haynes manual is a great starting point.

[@Bearcub599]

💛🧡🩷

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you 🙏 for watching

[@arronbwabw504]

Apparently it is illegal in the UK to feed chickens kitchen waste, unless it is a totally vegan household.

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

I’m not sure if it’s illegal but it’s certainly advisable not to feed kitchen scraps to poultry or any other farmed animals. This includes vegan or vegetarian kitchens as there is a risk of cross contamination. You will find that your chickens are very happy with weeds or grass clippings. They also do a great job of recycling vegetables or plants that have not gone through the kitchen.

[@jeffjoezef]

This is so cool ! I want one of my own and I wanna learn all about it. I have a lot of questions, how can I contact you? Maybe email? Please oh please do let me know !

[@ThatsWhatWeCallTheGoodLife]

Thank you. There are links to our social media on the site.