The kids would like a pet. You’ve considered dogs but they bark loudly, mess up the lounge and poop in places you don’t want them to. You consider a cat but they catch native animals and aren’t environmentally friendly. Have you considered chickens?

There’s so many reasons why keeping chickens is such a great hobby, and why chickens make such wonderful pets. You’ll never hear a chicken barking, and although a rooster crows there is absolutely no need for you to get a rooster. And kids love having chickens, I know my kids spend hours playing with the chickens.

And on top of that you have an added bonus. Eggs.

Lots of people never think about getting chickens as a pet when it comes to choosing a pet for the kids. As long as your council allows you to keep chickens it’s well worth considering. But there are some things to think about before you rush out and buy your hens. You need a good chicken house to house your chickens.

Chicken houses need not be big if you only have 3 or 4 hens. It will need a good sheltered nesting area where they can lay their eggs as well as perches for them to sleep on at night.

It’s not hard to build yourself a henhouse. It’s basically just treated timber (for outdoor use) and some wire mesh, and some materials to cover in part of the henhouse so they have some shelter at night. Usually don’t need a floor as it sits on the ground.

And a small henhouse for 3 or 4 hens, if you add wheels one end and handles the other, can be moved around the garden so that the chicken droppings can fertilise the lawn in different spots from time to time. And there’s no reason chickens can’t free range around the garden during the day.

Building a chicken coop is the perfect handyman project. Get together with the kids one afternoon, after finding a simple set of plans on the Internet, and start building your own chicken house. It shouldn’t be expensive or difficult to do and it’s a great way to spend some quality time with the kids.

So grab that hammer and nails, go round up the kids and spend the weekend having some quality time building a chicken house. Buy your hens and you’ve got the perfect solution to finding a pet that will keep the kids happy and the fridge stocked with eggs.

Then all you need to do is learn how to make omelettes and you’re happy as well As the kids.