We'd raise them from a mixed batch of chicks and as soon as one started crowing he became dinner.

OH my gosh are you lucky!!! I lived outside of the city for 13 years and we had chickens and I love, love, love fresh eggs. They're soooo much better. But, just be sure to candle each egg before cracking em in a dish. One time, it was a chicken that wasn't quite ready to hatch and that was yucky!! (You'll only do that once, and then you will candle every single egg...unless you have no roosters). Also, don't expect white eggs. They'll be brown, green, blue, speckled...but white eggs come from chickens that are given hormones...at least that's what I was told.

Have fun!!! and baby chicks really are cute at Easter time....

I was surprised to see this topic when I logged on. My husband recently decided he'd like a few chickens again so he could have fresh eggs. He takes care of them and although it isn't very time consuming, it would definitely be cheaper to buy eggs. Having said that though, if you read, the very fresh eggs are far more nutritious than those from the store.

If you go to the McMurray website, and maybe even request a catalog, you can read all about the various types of chickens so you can get the one suited for you. We got ones that do well in cold climates since we have very cold winters. He also bought the book, Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, which is said is excellent and supposed to be the best book on the subject.

We got our chickens through the mail from McMurray. We got the minimum order of 15 and all arrived safe and well. Good luck!

One of our neighbors is raising chickens. Their coop is located less than 60 feet from my bedroom window....let's just say that I know when one of them is laying an egg, because the hen announces it LOUDLY. This usually happens at around 5:30 to 6:30 am.
I like these neighbors and don't want to cause problems...but I'm not sure it is legal for these chicken in the city. It isn't the nicest way to wake up in the morning...but, I've had worse.

Raising some chickens for eggs is not the only benefit from them. They are very peaceful and calming. Keep them clean and flies should be little problem. A good sturdy coop for their protection, including a covered top (hawks). They also like shade. They will keep bugs and weed seeds low in your garden if you keep one.

They are a most pleasant and agreeable creature to have around the house.

Create little covered areas around the yard so they have nearby cover to run to in case any overhead threats come looking for lunch. That's what I did. Even after the girls got to old to lay they remained an integral part of our landscape. Well worth a few handfuls of corn.
Have fun, do some research and most of all enjoy them.
peace

EDIT: I forgot to say, if you have never eaten a fresh laid or one that is organic, you will never forget how good they are. They don't come close to anything you buy in the stores today which can hardly be called eggs anymore.

MM MMM good!

White eggs come from a specific variety of hen,,,,nothing to do with potions given the chickens.

Fresh eggs are wonderful. Chicken poo on the porch isn't. Fresh, organic chicken meat is wonderful. Wringing necks isn't. It's a trade off. Lucky for me my neighbor has more eggs than she can use and gives them to me!

We have chickens just because we wanted to have them and also for the eggs. I used to raise chickens in my former life (about 20 yrs ago) so I knew what we were getting into. DH's mom always had chickens when he was little.

The fresh eggs are much better than store bought eggs. We rarely sell them-only when we get a lot. We give them away to family and we use them ourselves.

Our chickens are in a coop and enclosed pen, and we just feed them once a week or so (the feeder holds a lot) and make sure they have water every day. Collect the eggs daily and every day I throw them some grass or marked down produce or peels from when we use produce. Tomatoes from the garden that get half eaten by bugs go to the chickens. Also, during and after harvest, we throw corn that spilled when dh was filling the grain bins, and in the summer he saves the wheat that gathers in the bottom of the grain trailer.

I have a blog about them-I don't blog about them anymore (they haven't really changed at all since the last time I took pictures) but it shows our chicken coop that dh and I built, and the chickens. We've lost 2 hens since the start so we now have 9 hens and 1 rooster.

http://lookslikechickenscratch.blogspot.com

We had 18 chickens and a rooster, we gave them to a man down the road.Just to expensive to feed and alot of work.Kept us close to home also. We raised them from chicks. We found that by keeping a single light bulb burning in the hen house, they layed year round. Loved the big brown eggs tho, and had lots of double yolks. I do miss all those fresh eggs!

FYI, Chickens carry over 60 different diseases, some of which can be deadly. I'd think twice about getting chickens If I were you. Find a farmer friend to get your eggs from.