Hi, new to the forum but trying to get back to raising chickens and some other fowl soon- When I was a kid growing up in a small town where the animals outnumbered the people, it was expected that your family raise some kind of animals- we had chickens- 50-100 at any one time, lambs, and a horse. that was a few years ago and now that JoAnn and I are retiring we are planning to settle into a little slower life style nearer to our food chain. We are in OC California for now, but will be moving to another state and on to a small parcel of land soon and by this time next year we plan on being busy setting up the hobby farm. I am looking forward to finding out lots about how things have changed/remained the same over the years with the chickens and such. I've already gleaned many ideas for the hen house from the Gallery section-