My familiy has kept chickens since I was a little'un. As far as i know the only time they are of any bother is when a fox gets in, when the bastards get red-mite, or you try to introduce a couple of new chickerys to the gang (they don't take well to new comers). You don't have to give them too much attention, because they are just birds and as such look after themselves to a large extent. You'll need something secure to put them in at night, easy enough if your a bit handy. If not i've seen people use these...
Its called an eggloo, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, get googling