Chicken Planning

I've been studying up on the fine art of chickens for about a year now.  My neighbor used to have chickens, but let them free range, which didn't work out too well for the chickens, either the mink or the coyotes got them.  I've been looking at a variety of backyard chicken types of websites and currently I'm reading thru Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens - this book is a must have if you are serious about raising chickens for any purpose.  It covers the minute details of every fathomable thing related to chickens in the world, or so it seems.

I ordered a ready made chicken coop from ezcoops.com, which is actually a local company that also sells gazebos.  I like that they already thought of how to make it easy to clean, easy to get to the eggs, and more predator proof than a lot of cheaper coops I've seen advertized.  Plus I can order it in colors to match my house, so its pretty nice to look at too.  Its supposed to arrive in a few weeks, so we'll see what it looks like in reality.

Buff Orpington

Easter Egger

Cuckoo Maran

Silver Laced Wyandotte

The chicks are on order as well.  I ordered 2 Buff Orpingtons (brown eggs), 2 Easter Eggers (Pastel color eggs), 2 Silver laced Wyandottes (brown eggs), and 1 Cuckoo Maran (extra dark brown eggs).  They will arrive as 1 day old chicks that we have to pick up at the post office as soon as we get the call.  Apparently the post office has been delivering chicks for 100 years or so.  Not sure if my post office has been doing this for that long, but anyways...  Then we have to get them water and food asap, since the travels can be tough on them.

I'm expecting to learn much through the experience of raising chickens.  The kids are eager to help and play with them.  I have fond memories of visiting my great aunt in MO and playing with the fluffy brown chicken in her lean-to coop.  Seems easy enough, from a child's perspective, hopefully real life will be enjoyable and possibly nostalgic too.  I haven't come across any books or articles about disappointed chicken owners, so I have to think its going to be OK at the very least.