This is a link to a good article (in my opinion at least) about keeping chickens, and the fact that they are both fun, educational, sometimes profitable, and sometimes heartbreaking to have.  They are both shorter lived than most of our other animals, and in general, more susceptable to predation and health risks. 

It's very hard to justify a big vet bill (actually impossible for me) for a hen that as a chick cost maybe $.99 and a few bags of feed IF you can even find a vet who will treat them!  (a very difficult prospect I assure you!)  I was raised to treat them as livestock, but I never quite got that perfectly.  Yes, I do to a point, but there's a lot of affection in me for them too.

Luckily, you can treat many, many injuries and illnesses yourself, with a minimum of medicines and a few good books and references.  They often respond well to good care which I've always tried to provide along with excellent day to day feed water and housing.

Anyway I know I need to cut to the chase here!  I'm a blabbermouth aren't I?    So I just wanted to share this article with you all!

http://www.poultrypress.com/ar…..cle23.html

To find rules for your town or locale about chickens, goats or other small animals, in MOST cases on this site, the best thing is to find your state, then by go to either the Municipal codes, Local ordinances, City codes… there’s a few other names different states use.  It’s fairly confusing, but if you have a nice cup of tea and some time, you can usually weave your way through the maze. 

If you PM me, I can maybe help a little to find things, but you ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT use what you find here as the final answer!!!!  You have to look locally, print out or take notes on what you find here and go to the court house or city office and ask to see their copy of the same documents, because there’s no way to be sure that everything here is totally up to date or that every town and city is even listed.

My cousin thought it was illegal because he called city hall and someone told him chickens were illegal, but later found out that whoever answered the phone just said that because she assumed it was so, not because she had any actual knowledge!  It was just some minimum wage phone person who said it, not anyone who had a clue.  The town they live in have no rules preventing him from having chickens, he talked to his closest neighbors, they all thought it was fine, and hey, fresh eggs!!

http://www.whpgs.org/f.htm

No problem or "oops" at all Angela!

Here's a good link that talks about candling eggs if you're trying to hatch them.

http://www.backyardchickens.co…..p?id=230  There's probably others out there on Google too!