Happy, let's chat lol! From the sound of it you are pretty close to the age I was when I found myself a single mom. I'm not a widow, but in a way I feel like I am because with the death of my second marriage before I was 35, I felt like all my trust in men in general died.
I'm now 45, my son is 17, I've been single since he was under 2, and for the most part I've been happy. Lately I've thought about dating again, been working on getting the "bait" in shape, ya know? I've seen several suggestions that tell you not to mention your chickens up front, and not to step on any feelings but I know I will, don't wait to mention them. I'm not saying introduce in such a manner where you say "Hi my name is ___ and I have chickens", but don't avoid the subject either because when you are meeting someone you want to be honest. The biggest mistake we all make, and yes we all do it, all, is to hide little things, or make them seem not important to us when in fact it is something very important to us. We may not all do it consciously, but we do it.
When you are looking for someone, you want them to see only the good, or more importantly, you want them to see what they are looking for, not what you might be or be lacking in what they are looking for. In my case, I have a lot of animals, and when I meet a man and it looks interesting, I'll flat out ask what kinds of animals they like, just in conversation. That way if they say they hate cats, I can just enjoy the rest of the evening for what it is and it goes no further because I have cats, I love them, and I'm not giving up a furry friend because a man doesn't like them. I live in a rural area and a lot of times my land comes up in conversation and I'll make a comment about how lucky I am to have room for all of my animals. Sometimes they are receptive and sometimes they are not.
My main point is to not misrepresent yourself with your chickens. You may come to the point of really liking someone, and it falls apart because you find out too late they don't like your animals. Been there done that. Don't set yourself up like that, about anything. Present yourself for the loving, caring, wonderful person and mom you are, animal lover, chicken lover included. Let the chips fall where they may, because if you don't you are setting yourself and child up for pain you just don't need.