Hi,
We have 5 hens in our back garden in a Dublin suburb. Various different breeds, with appearance and egg-laying rate both being factors in deciding which to get. We increased our 'flock' from 3 to 5 a few months back. For the sake of peace and harmony, if you're thinking of getting three, get them all at the same time, rather than two and then an extra one, as this will allow them to settle into a proper 'pecking order' (that's seriously the phrase used!) more quickly.
I agree about getting proper feeders; if they can they'll scratch at the food bowls and send the stuff everywhere. Ours love it when we give them scraps of fruit and veg. We even put pineapple and melon peel through a food processor so they have little bits to peck at. A couple of times we've had apples that have lost their crunch, I left them in the hens' enclosure, cut in two, and they have great fun pecking at the apple halves.
You can get a purpose built hen house from places like B&Q (quite expensive), you can check Gumtree or Buy&Sell or the like to see if there's anyone local who makes hen houses, or you could have a go at making one yourself. However you source your hen house, I'd recommend trying to get one with a built-in run; this will keep them more safe if you're out and can't leave them to roam the garden. (We had foxes come after ours in the middle of the day, but they managed to escape!)
They're well worth keeping (maybe not economically efficient, but in terms of personality and the flavour of the eggs); I'd definitely recommend it.
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