Looks the goods. We've had chooks in suburban sydney for ages. They really are easy, and when you go away the neighbours look after them with the promise of keeping the eggs. We have a big feeder and a waterer that will last two weeks, so it's really just egg collection that's the issues. What are you planning on getting? We had 4 ISA Browns. That's 4 eggs a day for 300 days of the year. Thats a lot of eggs to get through. We've now got Australops, not as many eggs thankfully!
Our pen is 2.5x5m. 6 uprights and a roof, all covered in mesh. We put a $200 ebay hen house inside that and a sun shelter made from left over colourbond fencing. Every so often we let them out, but they cause havoc with the garden beds?
If you have an orchard, let them roam in that. Citrus loves the chook poo. Some natives not so much.
Make sure you include shell grit as well as food and water, don't feed them potato skins, other than that they're pretty easy.
I know one guy who has his chook house in the middle of his veggie patch. Veggie patch is divided into 4 areas. Chook pen has 4 doors, one onto each area. The chooks roam in one whilst he farms the other 3. Then every year he rotates clockwise. Gets great veggies.
