Hello, I am a new member, maybe. I thought I had a membership and had posted a year ago, but my username and email were not recognized, so here I am again. 
My family and I have a flock of 11 chickens currently. This is our third batch. The first had to go when we discovered lead poisoning in our son and then the dirt around the house (where they hung out during the heat of the day) was also contaminated with lead. The second batch was free from some folks in the city who couldn't have them anymore. Those hens grew old and one was a victim to a predator. Our current flock all came as day-old chicks last spring. We hope to hatch some of our own chicks this spring as well as buy some meat chicks.

My family and I have a flock of 11 chickens currently. This is our third batch. The first had to go when we discovered lead poisoning in our son and then the dirt around the house (where they hung out during the heat of the day) was also contaminated with lead. The second batch was free from some folks in the city who couldn't have them anymore. Those hens grew old and one was a victim to a predator. Our current flock all came as day-old chicks last spring. We hope to hatch some of our own chicks this spring as well as buy some meat chicks.
and Welcome To BYC! Good luck hatching new chicks this spring! Sorry about the problems you had with your son and them in the past, that is scary.