@Maggie8K On the whole chickens & ducks are a delight and easy to look after. They all have their own characters and quirks. In exchange for delicious fresh eggs all they need is to be let out in the morning, eggs collected, top up feed and water and shut them up at dusk to keep them safe from predators. This does mean that you have to be around at dusk. Self-timing pop holes can help but you still need to check that it opened OK in the morning & all hens were in before it closed at dusk.
The amount of poo-picking and cleaning out of the hen house will vary according to whether they are in a run all day or free-range etc.
Bio-security restrictions due to avian flu can have an impact if you are sitting any birds in the UK. For the last 3 years we have had (F)lockdown over winter and spring. Avian flu is a notifiable disease – do you know what to look for & to whom it should be reported? If restrictions start whilst you are chicken sitting you need to ensure that there are procedures ready to put in place. For instance, if the birds are used to free-ranging how will they be contained in an area where no wild birds have access? Is there provision for cleaning & disinfecting footwear before & after entering the chicken’s area? If chickens are not used to being contained how can you enrich their environment – logs to peck and for perching, straw to scratch around in, veg hung up to peck at etc. These type of issues could arise throughout the UK but England, Wales & Scotland do not have the same rules!
I mentioned hanging up veg but you must be aware that chickens in the UK cannot be fed anything that has come from a kitchen (even if it is a vegetarian one). If you pick a cabbage from the garden it is fine to feed it to hens but if you take it into a kitchen to, eg, cut off the outer leaves then it cannot be fed to your animals. No scraps, bread etc can be fed to animals. This restriction was brought in following the Foot & Mouth outbreak in order to avoid cross-contamination between species.
Avian flu restrictions and rules regarding what you can feed birds apply in the UK whether you have two hens in a coop, 20 hens free ranging or are a commercial business.
I hope these rules & regulations do not put you off looking after hens – talk to the owners, be happy they know how the regulations could impact their animals and your hen sitting and finally enjoy the birds being pleased to see you and proudly clucking when they lay you another egg.
@Margaret, thanks much for taking time to share all of that useful info.
When it comes to sanitizing footwear, does it involve soaking the bottom of your shoes in disinfectant and scrubbing the rest? (I ask, because I’ve done that before entering caves, for instance, to avoid spreading other stuff to bats.) If so, and if I do a sit with chickens, I could bring my rubber shoes, in case.
I’ve read a little bit about avian flu on birdwatching groups, which include folks who normally feed birds, but will stop and take precautions when outbreaks are reported. I’ll pay closer attention and see what I can learn.
Bringing rubber shoes for a sit with chickens seems like a smart move.
It’s always better to be safe than sorry! Also, it’s great that you’re staying informed about avian flu and taking precautions when needed. Learning more about it can definitely help in keeping our feathered friends healthy. If you’re interested in learning more about what chickens can eat, this article might provide some useful information Unraveling the Diet of Chickens: Can They Eat Grapes, Tomatoes, and Bananas?.
Welcome back @andrealovesanimals are we all settled again now? 
I have sat in many places with chickens (chooks we call them) and agree with what @Crookie has said. At least in Oz that is exactly how we would look after chickens, very easy and straightforward.
My son had two as pets when little as we couldn’t have a dog and they were THE best pets and we got a constant supply of fresh eggs. Definitely the most important thing is to make sure they are locked in their home by dusk to avoid attacks by predators which can sometimes be dogs. Let out early, fresh feed and water, daily pickover of poop and lock up at dusk aaaaand repeat every day
@ziggy
That was an old post, but thanks for still remembering me.
(It’s May now, so no coffees 
)
@andrealovesanimals - Woops! Somebody jumped in a few days back and I didn’t realise it was a golden oldie Haha yep you got through April so no coffee, back to the headbanging now 
“My” five chickens here had only one egg today, only two yesterday, when there used to be five or six. So I messaged the HO, and explored possible causes. It turned out that the automatic watering system had run out of water.
Poor things, they were thirsty! They immediately went back in the coop when I had put a bowl with water there. I hope they will recover soon.
@pietkuip I am so glad you worked out that there was something wrong and quickly fixed it. Auto watering systems are great when they are working but can be deadly if not checked which is why on farms we always checked the water troughs every 2nd day. Not just for the animals sake but also could be wasting precious water if there was a problem.
Yes, I am relieved too. I had been told that the chickens were really easy, that I did not need to anything except collecting the eggs, so I hardly looked at the water or the feeder, did not even really know what to look for.
Now this morning they had kicked over the water bowl that I put in the coop last night. So I found a wider one. Not a real drinking bowl, just something I could find in the shed that looked suitable. The HO will return tomorrow afternoon.