Hello all! I've used the recommended template, but added my first question below if anyone would like to give me a little advice right off the bat. 
Thanks for letting me join your lovely little chicken community! 
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I've never had chickens before and we are looking to get our first, probably just 3-4 hens.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
None yet!
(3) What breeds do you have?
That's an excellent question. We would like to get a few young hens or sexed (female) chicks to keep primarily as pets, though the eggs are a nice bonus. Looking for friendly hens that like to be handled by young but gentle children. Another important consideration for us is that we live in Spain, so we'd like a relatively affordable and easy-to-find breed that can tolerate a climate similar to that of central Texas (hot summers, pretty mild winters).
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
thinernet
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Kids, reading, working. The usual.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
We have two children, and the oldest is starting first grade next year (yikes!). We love animals, and a year after relocating to Spain from the USA we're finally feeling settled enough to start adding a few pets. In addition to hens, we are also hoping to adopt a dog and maybe a kitten in the near future.
...My First question! Where to place the coop?
We have a large yard (about 1/3 acre), with a small grassy area in front of the house, and an orchard with several trees (olive, fig, pomegranate, apple, pear, and lemon) on the side. One end of the orchard is very dry and dusty, with little shade, while the other end is quite rocky with loads of tree-cover. We'd really prefer that the coop not be on the grass. I was thinking somewhere kind of in the middle of the orchard, with moderate tree-cover but near the dust?
Our yard is fully fenced and we're in a neighborhood rather than a rural area, so I was also not planning on fencing in a chicken-run, but just letting them wonder the property all day. Is that a bad idea? We also have pool; it's fenced, but I'm sure a chicken could get through the bars. Should we put chicken wire around the pool if we decide not to do a run? Alternatively, we could put chicken-wire along one side of the orchard, which would give them a large space to run around in all day, but there's no grass there, only dust, dirt, trees, and small rocks on one end. Thoughts? Oh, and there's already a big trampoline in the orchard, and a small office... but there's still plenty of room I think.
We all love photos of other people's yards, so here is a photo of the more shaded and rocky side, and also one of the dustier area (taken on a stormy afternoon so the color is weird).
Thanks for letting me join your lovely little chicken community! (1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I've never had chickens before and we are looking to get our first, probably just 3-4 hens.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
None yet!
(3) What breeds do you have?
That's an excellent question. We would like to get a few young hens or sexed (female) chicks to keep primarily as pets, though the eggs are a nice bonus. Looking for friendly hens that like to be handled by young but gentle children. Another important consideration for us is that we live in Spain, so we'd like a relatively affordable and easy-to-find breed that can tolerate a climate similar to that of central Texas (hot summers, pretty mild winters).
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
thinernet
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Kids, reading, working. The usual.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
We have two children, and the oldest is starting first grade next year (yikes!). We love animals, and a year after relocating to Spain from the USA we're finally feeling settled enough to start adding a few pets. In addition to hens, we are also hoping to adopt a dog and maybe a kitten in the near future.
...My First question! Where to place the coop?
We have a large yard (about 1/3 acre), with a small grassy area in front of the house, and an orchard with several trees (olive, fig, pomegranate, apple, pear, and lemon) on the side. One end of the orchard is very dry and dusty, with little shade, while the other end is quite rocky with loads of tree-cover. We'd really prefer that the coop not be on the grass. I was thinking somewhere kind of in the middle of the orchard, with moderate tree-cover but near the dust?
Our yard is fully fenced and we're in a neighborhood rather than a rural area, so I was also not planning on fencing in a chicken-run, but just letting them wonder the property all day. Is that a bad idea? We also have pool; it's fenced, but I'm sure a chicken could get through the bars. Should we put chicken wire around the pool if we decide not to do a run? Alternatively, we could put chicken-wire along one side of the orchard, which would give them a large space to run around in all day, but there's no grass there, only dust, dirt, trees, and small rocks on one end. Thoughts? Oh, and there's already a big trampoline in the orchard, and a small office... but there's still plenty of room I think.
We all love photos of other people's yards, so here is a photo of the more shaded and rocky side, and also one of the dustier area (taken on a stormy afternoon so the color is weird).
Welcome to BYC!!! 
Sorry I can't really answer your question
