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What do I need to do to get the old coop up to being ready for chickens?
Part of the answer depends on how you plan to manage them, but there are a few basic requirements for any coop.
1. It needs to stay dry. A wet coop gets stinky and the resulting mold and such is unhealthy for them.
2. It needs to be predator-proof so you can safely lock them up at night. There is a risk of a predator attack any time of day or night, but the risk sky rockets at night.
3. You need roosts for them to sleep on at night. The roosts need to be in a draft-free area.
4. You need to be able to clean it occasionally or access the different areas.
5. You need nest boxes, about 1 nest for every 4 hens.
That's all I can think of that is required. The rest depends on your management style, whether you feed and water inside or outside mainly. This might help you post pictures if you want specific suggestions.
How to post pictures/avatar
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26838
Should I buy some grown chickens to start with, or start with some eggs to hatch so they imprint on us...or a combination of the two?
There are several different ways to start, all with advantages and disadvantages. Part of the answer depends on your goals for having chickens, part is your specific circumstances, and part is pure personal preference. You can buy and incubator and hatch eggs, you can buy baby chicks, you can buy Point of Lay pullets (Pullets just about to start laying), or you can buy grown chickens.
You invest quite a bit up front before you really know if you want to keep chickens if you buy the incubator to start with, then need to buy specific equipment for the brooder so you can raise them. If you know you want chickens and you plan to hatch chicks in the future with an incubator, it is not a bad way to go but it would normally not be my recommended way for someone just starting out. If you want your kids to watch the hatching process, it might be right for you though.
Many people start with day old chicks. The standard ways to get them are mailed from a hatchery or you can buy them locally. You need the equipment to raise them: a draft-free brooder, a place with electricity for the heat source, a heat source to keep them warm while young, and feeders and waterers. This does not have to cost a lot. The biggest problem may be a place to keep them. Many people keep them in the house, but they are loud and create a lot of dust. I put my brooder in the coop and raise them out there. They will imprint on you the same whether you hatch them or get them when they are only a few days old.
With the POL or grown chickens, you don't initially need the brooder or incubator, but the individual chickens cost more. Depending on how many you get and how you go about setting up the brooder, it may not be that much more expensive than the equipment and feed to raise them to that age. It depends some on how they were managed before you got them, but they probably won't be as friendly as hand raised chicks.
I have kids that would enjoy hatching chicks and watching them grow. We live near a lot of amish...would they be a good source for chickens and fertilized eggs?
You have a lot of potential sources for chickens and fertilized eggs. The Amish are certainly a potential source. There are probably a lot of people in your area that are not Amish that raise chickens. You can talk to the people at your feed store that may know good sources or maybe you can put up a sign there. Your county extension agent, in the phone book under county government, would be a great resource to help locate eggs or chickens. You can order chicks or fertile eggs from hatcheries or from some people on this forum. You can look in this thread for people on this forum near you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=63745
You have so many options and so many decisions. Practically all the options will work for you. As long as you look at your specific goals for having chickens and provide for the basics of feed, water, shelter, and safety from predators, it is hard to make a bad decision.
Good luck!!!
