Once you have decided that you are going to buy and look after some chickens the next stage before getting them is building a poultry shed for them to live in. You can of course buy poultry sheds, but this has many downsides, they generally come in flat-pack form (so need assembling anyway), they are a mass produced product and can work out very expensive and you rarely get one that suits your needs. When you build a poultry shed you get a far better quality chicken coop that will tick every box.
By looking after and protecting your chickens in the right way they in turn will look after you by providing you with a constant flow of healthy nutritious eggs for you and the whole family.
Predators can play a major part in chicken keeping and should not be overlooked or underestimated. Sadly by their very nature and make up your hens can appear as a very tasty food source to a variety of predators in your area.