Hey Neighbor!!!!! Im from Suffolk... just got 3 babies at the beginning of the month. (ordered 4 but one didnt make the trip, long story short she was injured and it was really sad) Like you, I researched A LOT! but at the end of the day the most important info I found is... Try to get all girls as I believe local laws are the same for you and I... we can't have roosters... I ordered from mypetchicken.com and got all girls (hopefully hehe) I ordered all "cold hearty" chickens as I dont plan on heating the coop... something to keep in mind.
make sure you have a coop, (I bought mine off amazon) shipped right away but they will only deliver with a signature... when you put it together find it a permanent location.... I re-wired the entire coop with hardware cloth. And I put the hardware cloth 2 ft in the ground all the way around.... (this keeps unwanted visitors out of the coop and the flock protected) also I found a lot of people buying the type of coop I ordered said that it was much smaller than expected and although the description says "up to six chickens" there is only room for 4 standard size but you wont have to worry about that as you are thinking of bantams... but that is for when your chickens are ready for coop-life..
I keep my babies in a large tank (old reptile tank) and I splurged on a brinsea eco glow to keep them warm... they seem to enjoy it
) They are almost 3 weeks old and are still inside (our house). They are growing nicely and getting LOTS of feathers! I put pine shavings down on the floor, got a little feeder and use medicated and non medicated food (if I could go back I would get all medicated but now that I have non medicated I have to use it so I mix) For the first week I gave them a little sugar in their water but I slowly weened them off that and they are drinking straight water now...
We take them out a few times a day so they are used to us.... and its working pretty well... they all have personalities and enjoy our company.
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hope this is good info to get you started!!!
