I second the chicken winter issues. We had some frostbite issues our first year w/ chickens. You really need to have them trained to go to their roosts before dusk, and have their feeding area covered from aerial predators. We have Bald Eagles (which I thought were regal until they stole some birds), hawks, huge crows, etc. I've found that our system takes care of the large land predators. LGD, guard dog, alert dog (3 separate dogs/breeds), large stock with horns, frequent gunfire in the range on-property, and meat-eating male (DH) 'marks' around the property. Bears, wolves and lions keep a wide birth, and coyotes haul butt through, going nowhere near the animals.
Our chickens have free reign of the property, but stick to the front 3 acres fairly religiously. I am going to have a tractor for my Silkies, but the laying flock is free-range for pest control/entertainment purposes.
We are located in a tight N/S valley outside Missoula. Wind is at a minimum, which is nice year round, but especially in winter. We have an artesian well and a large creek/springs nearby, so water isn't an issue for us. It really depends on your property location, water, terrain, etc. Pretty much every property has its own set of pro's and con's.
We really like the people outside of the cities in MT. They're generally polite, packing, and helpful. We enjoy the privacy outside of town, and ranching is something we look forward to teaching our kids. It's a very different life up here compared to how DH and I were raised in huge cities in South Western states.
