I have from 20 to 30 laying hens at present.

Haven't killed off a flock for meat in over 4 years. I just trade/sell off the laying hens at about $10 a piece rather than kill them for meat. In other words they are worth MUCH more alive than served for dinner.

Airforce is right, chickens are smellier and messier to do than rabbits, fingers will stink for a while.... but rabbits don't lay eggs! Last time I killed off 19 birds I 'chickened out' and brought them to a processing plant. For $2 a bird they were killed, gutted, plucked, washed, and bagged by some ladies speaking Russian. Can't beat that.

The way I have the coop and turn-out yard set up, the chickens are free to roam and extremely well protected from attack. I have NEVER in 7 years lost a bird to a predator. All we have to do is feed them, water them, and open and close the door once a day. Takes about 5 minutes. On Saturday we clean out the coop's poop collection tray and change out the pine shavings on the floor. Takes less than an hour.

We get 15 to 20 eggs a day which we sell for $2.00 a dozen that pays for their food and bedding, and allows us to get new chicks every year. So basically we get all the eggs a family of 7 can possibly eat, and a little cash.

I could get more birds and possibly make money at this, but that will have to wait till the kids are ready to assume responsibility for the job. I have better things to do... like post on militia sites.

I built a modern 'scientific' 8x12 coop, of an Amish design, with secure 50x50 turn out pen, for about $1200 retail. A predator would need a crow-bar to get into it.

I will never build a fixed coop again as the birds quickly kill all the grass in their pen, and digging a trench to bury the fence wire is ALOT of work. From now on all coops will be on wheels like a wagon, with a turnout pen made of folding fence panels. I will move the coop every three days to fresh grass. I have plenty of land for this.

It's too late to get birds now from my source. McMurray will start again Feb. 15th.

I will get maybe 20 meat birds then, and keep then separate from the hens.

As to birds, I've tried about 10 different breeds. Silver Leghorns work the best for us here in Georgia, and believe it or not, Rhode Island Reds work well for us. For a heavy breed, they sucked up this summers heat very well. I want polite, quiet, affordable, and productive hens.

We do use a small incubator sometimes and hatch our own chicks. It's fun, but messes up the house, so we don't do it much.

Any questions, feel free.