
This is also part of the garden experiment, the chicken experiment. I admit to being mostly "city girl." When I got chickens last year, it was such a mind boggling experiment. I fell in love with chickens. I had to read every book and mostly stood around with one in my hand as I figured things out. Well, this year with the garden, I knew I wouldn't have time to take care of a new batch of chicks. (If you want lots of eggs, you have to keep adding to your flock.) The other part of the equation is you should make chicken soup with the older batch, I am not there, yet nor ever.
I read a part in a book that said, " Having a rooster, does not make the hens happy, in fact the only reason to have a rooster is for chicks." So having a rooster and two little hens, we built a special pen for my banny chickens and they laid eggs, and we got chicks!