Why three hens is the right starting point

Three is the sweet spot for a town garden. It is enough birds for proper company — hens are flock animals and a single bird is a miserable one — but few enough that a 3m x 2m run does not swallow your whole lawn. If you lose one hen, you still have a pair rather than a lonely individual, which buys you time to decide what to do next.

Three hens also match real household demand. A good hybrid will lay somewhere between 250 and 300 eggs in her first year, so three birds give you roughly two eggs a day through spring and summer. That is generous without tipping into a glut you cannot give away. And if you decide after a year that chicken keeping is not for you, rehoming three hens is far simpler than rehoming eight.

The coop and run: getting the basics right

Ignore the tiny coops sold as "suitable for three hens". A useful rule is at least 0.3 square metres of floor space per bird inside the house, plus a nest box, plus a perch allowing 20–25cm per hen. Three hens therefore need a house of around 1 square metre internally — noticeably bigger than most budget ark coops.

For the run, aim for a minimum of 1 square metre per bird, so around 3 square metres for your flock. In a small garden that usually means a permanent walk-in run rather than a movable one. Woodchip over a hard base is the most practical flooring: it drains, composts well and is far less smelly than straw or bark.

Two details matter more than anything else:

• Fox-proofing. Urban foxes are bold and will visit in daylight. Use welded mesh rather than chicken wire, bury or apron the base by 40cm, and put a roof over the run. Fit proper bolts or carabiner clips — foxes can nudge open simple sliding latches.
• A covered section. If an avian influenza housing order is introduced, your hens may have to be kept under cover for weeks. Building a roofed area now saves a frantic scramble later.

Choosing your hens

Buy point-of-lay pullets at around 18–22 weeks from a reputable breeder or smallholder. Hybrids such as Bluebells, Speckledys or Warrens are the practical choice for beginners: hardy, calm and reliable layers. Pure breeds are lovely but often lay fewer eggs and can be more broody.

Ex-commercial hens are rewarding to rescue but arrive feather-bare and need a gentler start, so they are better as a second flock than a first. Whatever you choose, buy all three at once and from the same source — introducing new birds later is a slow, sometimes fractious process.

Do not keep a cockerel in a town garden. He will crow from 4am, your neighbours will not forgive you, and many tenancies and deeds forbid it outright.

Keeping the neighbours on side

Most objections come down to four things: noise, smell, flies and rats. All are manageable.

• Noise. The loud "egg song" a hen sings after laying is brief and daytime, and usually passes unnoticed. Persistent squawking means something is wrong — a broody hen, a bully, or a predator prowling.
• Smell. A dry coop does not smell. Damp, overcrowded bedding does. Use woodchip, not straw, and clean droppings regularly.
• Rats. Spilled feed is the real culprit. Take feeders in overnight, keep pellets in a metal bin, and consider a treadle feeder that only opens when a hen stands on it.
• Flies. Keep the run dry and turn the woodchip over weekly.

Having said all that, do the boring checks first: read your lease, tenancy or deeds, and ask your council about local rules. You must also register your flock with the Animal and Plant Health Agency — the rules now cover even very small flocks, so confirm the current requirements before your hens arrive.

Your daily and weekly routine

Budgets ten minutes in the morning and ten in the evening.

• Morning: unbolt the pop hole, refill the drinker, top up the feeder and check all three hens are up and bright.
• Evening: collect eggs, scatter a handful of mixed corn, then shut the hens in and count them. Locking a hen out is the most common beginner mistake and the fastest way to lose one.
• Weekly: scrub the drinker, remove droppings from under the perch, check every crevice and perch end for red mite, and turn the run floor.
• Monthly: full clean of the house, fresh nest box bedding, and a quick look at feet, vents and combs.

Feed layers' pellets at roughly 120g per hen per day, with oyster shell and mixed grit available at all times. Keep treats to a minimum — a little cabbage hung from the roof keeps them busy for hours.

Expanding when you are ready

Give it a full year before you add birds. That cycle teaches you moulting, the winter slowdown in laying, mud management and the day-to-day rhythm of the flock. When you can predict your hens' behaviour, add two more — and build the extra run space before they arrive, not after. Most town gardens can comfortably hold four or five hens. Three is simply where the good habits begin.