My wife and I (she doesn't know it yet) are, I hope, soon to be chicken owners. She's been bugging me for years about the joys of owning the little critters (she had them as a child, growing up), and I kept putting her off. Now, I recently decided that maybe having good, fresh eggs whenever we want them would be worth the hassle (joy?) of owning the birds. Will be researching this wonderful site to get ideas on the best birds to buy, the best coop to build, the best feed to use, etc., etc. We live on a 1.5 acre plot in central Oregon, with a good expanse of grass (which I don't enjoy cutting like I used to) and lots of tall fir trees around the perimeter. Now I just have to figure out the most practical way to keep the girls from freezing come cold weather. I'm thinking about a movable tractor that I can move around the property to keep them from obliterating the vegetation.
