Want a hobby that actually rewards your time in eggs, manure for your compost bin, and affection?

Man has been domesticating chickens since the dawn of time. And with a hens population of more than 24 billion in 2003, (as recorded in some sources) there are now more hens in the world than any other bird.

People have through the ages been chicken keepers primarily as a source of food, with both their meat and their eggs being consumed.

There has been a surge of interest in chicken keeping, caused by celebrity cooks bringing to attention the plight of battery reared hens, increased cost at the shops and the reported credit crunch.

The idea of having hens in your yard and the idea of having fresh eggs from your own chucks, doesn't single you out or causes as many 'home farm' type comments as it did in the past, of being a modern day Tom & Barbara Good - from the 1970s sitcom The Good Life television series!

In fact there's something 'modern' in these days of consumer excess in coming back to a more 'self sufficient' lifestyle.

Many people are growing their own veg - either in their back yards or on allotments. Many people are becoming concerned about what the food they eat actually contains and the buy organic movement seems to be gaining ground every year - forcing supermarkets to provide a more wider range of organic produce.

Keeping chickens seems to be just a normal progression on this consumer shift.

Folk seem to be more used to knowing friends and neighbours who keep hens.

With the offer of a fresh organic egg as part of the bargain, you'll probably get unlimited offers to take over your chicken keeping duties should you ever need to go on holiday.

Also when you've seen the difference in yolk and feasted on the amazing different texture of the white, of one of your own back garden hens' eggs you'll never buy shop egg again.

When in the frying pan, your eggs you'll raise your eyebrows at the difference too.

Back yard eggs stay together better than eggs bought in a shop as they're certain to be fresh.

There's also the plus point that keeping chickens bring a brand new dimension to your garden - movement, sound and colour. Forget adding a pond, keeping chickens brings so much more!

Each chuck is an completely different and some can be real 'characters' and, if handled whilst they're young, they can be very good pets for kids.

Chicken keeping needs some 'graft', and there will be a element of cleaning out the chicken house and obviously, letting the chickens in and out of their chicken run at dawn and dusk.

There's also the 'chore' of searching for eggs. This should be done a few times per day - just in case your chickens are afternoon 'layers'.

Another thing you need to watch out for when keeping chickens; is 'chicken watching'...

Many hours can be happily spent watching your chickens potter around the garden. If you're the kind of person who stares at hypnotising fires, you'll find chicken watching is addictive!

Keeping chickens is a financially scaleable hobby. If money is no object, then there's many fancy looking ready made chicken coops that can be bought from numerous chicken keeping stores.

If finance is tight, then a home build chicken coop can be built for virtually 'free', using scraps of wood found discarded in your garage.

A chicken shed just needs to be big enough for the chucks to nest in at night, and large enough to stretch their wings in during the day.

Also somewhere for them to scratch during the day time should be provided.

So whether you're looking to build a chicken house, or buy a ready made chicken run or are just interested in keeping chickens as a pastime; a world of chicken keeping joy awaits.