I really enjoyed reading this. We had had chickens in the past and a few years ago my husband built a coyote-dog-and-cat secure yard with wire mesh and poles made from tree parts. We had 8 chickens, all supposed to be hens but there was a rooster and he grew up to be so obnoxious that we ate him... I was afraid to go in the chicken yard when he headed for me! We ate so many eggs that I got tired of fried ones. When we took off for the winter in our old RV, we gave the girls away... and that was good as we ended up moving to a better climate.