Greywolf, I don't have an 'acceptable' out building... yet...

Wish I did.

I am able to set up a brooder inside the coop that will hold about 20 or so chicks. I wait till the chicks are 2 weeks old to put them outside. We use a heat light, but don't have to run it as much as some places it is so dang hot around here. When I lived up north we had to wait 2 months to put them outside! The sun-room we kept them in was a disaster area by then. Dang chicken dust was everywhere. The small plastic kiddie pools we used for brooders held all the poop and spilled water, but the dust was another story.

I used to live on a chicken farm a long time ago. 20 birds is easy compared to 20,000.

My wife likes chickens. So we will have chickens. Hey I ain't complaining, cause I like eggs.