I have been a member for quite a while, but never introduced myself. I have had backyard chickens since 2009, when our city (Saint Paul, MN) first allowed them. I started out with 6 hens, but that was way too many for my small city lot backyard. I now keep 3 hens, and that is just right - plenty of eggs and the yard is not all torn up.
I was a farm kid, so am very familiar with chickens, and have had pretty good luck with my backyard flock. I have one hen that I have had since the beginning of my city chicken adventure - a brown leghorn named Minerva. She will be 10 years old in June and is still laying like a champ. Of course, she does stop laying earlier in the fall, and begins laying later in the spring. She started this year on March 18th and has been laying about every other day.
The other two hens are only 1 1/2 years old. They were part of a 4-H girl's project. She won second place for showmanship at the MN State Fair! These hens, Circe and Calliope, are white leghorn crosses. They are more stand-offish than Minerva, but still come running if I have treats. They won't sit in my lap, though.
At the height of laying season, we have more eggs than we can eat, so I will trade with the neighbors for fresh produce, homemade goodies, etc. The neighbor kids come to visit the chickens (one little boy calls them "chichens") and love to feed them mealworms. The chickens are a fun hobby and good ambassadors for the neighborhood.
to 'Offically' Welcome you to BYC! Thanks for the intro! 
