New Virginia Member Looking To Get Started!

Hello....I'm just getting into this, and this seems like a decent resource that keeps popping up in my search results. I'll be working on a chicken coop this weekend, but have yet to figure out what type of chickens I'll be housing. Only going to have a small number of them, and for eggs only. As I'm searching through the site, trying to find the specific information I need to get me going in the right direction, if anyone has any helpful hints you don't mind sharing, I would surely appreciate it.

• Leesburg Virginia Resident
• Living in a non-HOA neighborhood
• Reusing an old shed as part of the coop

I have a decent sized back yard, so I thought 3 or 4 chickens would do well with the space. I plan to keep them protected, and allow them the ability to go in/out of the shed into a covered area to protect against foxes, cats, dogs, etc. When I'm home, I intend to let them out to wander around the yard.

My biggest reason for going with chickens is that I have many food allergies, one of which is soy. The amount of soy in the chickens diet seems to have an impact on my egg-eating abilities, so I'll be going for gluten-free, soy-free chicken feed. I've tested out my allergies on some local farm provided eggs, and the results were good. The cost, on the other hand, was not so good. Trying to be more self-sufficient, the chickens will be a good addition to my back yard garden (which I'm keeping fenced in to protect against local predators as well).

Given the area that I live in, I'm trying to determine the best chickens for my needs. The Amber Star Hybrid came up in my search, which of course is a bird I know nothing about, outside of the fact that it lays eggs, and is docile. Not sure if that has any relation to 'quiet' but that's one of the things I'm looking for, as well.

I'm sure a lot of what I'm looking for is spelled out for me on this site, so I apologize in advance for those that feel like this is the millionth time someone has asked the same questions. Gotta start somewhere, though!

Thank you, and let the games begin....