Feeding them can get a little pricey if you're not careful. My mom at 95 has some hens that we got for her as chicks so she could have something to be interested in, etc. They lay the blue green eggs that you mentioned. They have gone for weeks and months without laying one egg. So, you can't count on making money from their eggs, year round. Some breeds, as you noted, are better layers than others. They do produce a LOT of poop and that can be used as great fertilizer for roses. Might be a source of some income also.