I have had chickens now for five years and I love them dearly. We have had very good luck with them. I wish they would eat lady bugs, though! They don't! And we have a terrible lady bug problem here in rural WV. Do guinea fowl eat lady bugs? I would seriously consider getting a small flock...
I have a male Pekin. He seems to need a mate because he keeps trying to mate with my hens and they are missing feathers on the backs of their necks where he grabs them. I do have a rooster who is a buddy of the duck. LOL! I don't know if the duck really wants to mate or if he's just copying...