Hi Vickie!  
It will be nice to know someone so closeby.  Since you know where I live, maybe you can come and check out my barn sometime and give me some pointers.  I am also a lover of big red barns... a main reason I worked to talk DH into buying this house.  Turns out, I didn't have to do a lot of talking... he loves the property.  The barn is old and dark and kind of scary, but I look forward to learning and working hard to bring it back to life.
Thank you, Gayle for your words of wisdom.  
The more I think about it, the more I realize that it will probably be better to ease into the whole chicken experience.  Maybe I will try to find some started pullets that we can enjoy in the fall, unless I get lucky and find a source for chicks.  I'm just so excited and can't wait to get started... I keep forgetting that I might have my hands full with moving and oh yeah, taking care of my human babies too.  Someday, I want to have a wonderful and happy flock of all different kinds of chickens running around in our yard.
Thanks for the website, Cathy.
I checked it out, but couldn't figure out where they have chicks for sale.  Maybe it's too late in the season.  I will have to take the time and give them a call.
I'm hoping to talk DH into going to the chickenstock on August 2nd in Potterville.  We'll see what he says!