The hen house is your most important item. The size of it depends upon how many you would to keep. They come in all shapes and sizes from a little ark for 2-3 hens, all the way up to a wooden unit that holds 30+. Whatever size you get, make sure it is big enough so that your chickens have plenty of room to move around and feel comfortable. The costs can vary greatly also, in many cases in my opinion they are all very pricey. Afterall you basically need a a strong and secure home, with a run that is pest proof. The cheapest shop bought chicken houses are around £50, this can then go right up to the luxury style homes at £500. If your other half is handy at DIY, you can make the same thing for a fraction of the price. If you have an old shed, covert this and attach a run to the side.

The run is on the front of the chicken house and is made from chicken wire and 6ft wooden posts. The run is about 12ft x 100ft, they are spoilt for space. Choose your run site well, as the chickens will soon have it stripped bare in a few months. Our's is situated amongst some fruit trees and goes the length of the orchard, this gives the chickens some shade in the summer time. The post were easy enough to get in and if you have planned it right the wire should go up well too. Be careful though, wire fencing is very expensive from the stores, its about £90 for 50 metres, you can get it a lot cheaper on ebay. I have one layer of fencing going around the bottom half and then a second layer going around the top half, creating a fence about 5.5ft tall.