Hello everybody! I've been daydreaming about keeping chickens for quite some time but I've just recently begun to put serious thought into it. I fostered a RIR rooster for several months until he went to his permanent home in MA. The one and only thing preventing me from currently having chickens is that I rent my house, and though I highly doubt my landlord would mind, I would hate to end up in a situation where I was forced to move and part with them. However, I've recently been considering renting to own my house! If this happens, I plan to keep a small flock (probably between 5 and 8) Silkie bantam hens, maybe a couple Cochin and Polish bantams, too! I have a large yard with a pretty large unused wooden shed with electricity that could be converted into an awesome coop! My boyfriend and I are both very handy so it wouldn't take much to convert it and build a big run. The bird and animal hospital that I use for my pet rats sees chickens and has many chicken clients, so I have that base covered. I'm getting pretty anxious but I'm trying to put all of that energy into doing as much research as possible and, of course, looking at tons of chicken pictures!!! Since I am a chicken newbie, if anyone has any coop tips, advise or other chicken info that I may not have read, by all means, I'm very eager to learn!