New member on the San Francisco Peninsula

Hi,
My name is Rob and I live in Menlo Oaks, CA. My neighborhood is an unincorporated part of San Mateo County, next to the city of Menlo Park. My current involvement with chickens is limited to meal times. Several of our neighbors raise chickens and ducks, and they have been very generous in sharing their eggs with us. I figure it is time for my family to get more involved in our neighborhood poultry business (beyond just chasing the ducks out of the swimming pool each spring.) I'll try to keep my questions sensible, I wouldn't want to lay an egg.

cluck, cluck,
Rob

P.S: I used to refer to my niece and nephew as my sister's free range babies when she would set them loose on the back lawn.