Laying hens also are productive way beyond their ancestors with 10-20 eggs, which takes a big toll on their bones. According to a study from the university of Kassel an estimated 23-69% per flock come to the slaughtering line with broken keelbones, wings and legs from egg calcium depletion, rough handling and crammed cages.

Egg factory farming is an all around brutal and despicable industry. Look up what forced molting and maceration means and get your own chickens if you're able or eat scrambled tofu.

Ask anyone who's kept chickens, keeping the hawks and foxes and raccoons etc. out of them is a constant and eternal struggle.

Two things I have learned as a chicken weirdo:

1.) Get dark colored chickens

2.) Get a big mean rooster.

I haven't lost a chicken so far, but I have seen my bigass stupidly brave rooster take on all comers, he has defeated squirrels, snakes, frogs, mice, and a gopher that was apparently pretty bad at making connections. I've watched him chase off a cat and a pretty good sized dog. Foghorn Leghorn is more accurate than I realized.

But more than his incredible dinosaur kung-fu is that he is smart, and communicates with his hens. He will tell them to shelter in the coop, and they will run and hide. A hawk isn't going to want to deal with 15 pounds of land-bird standing in a small doorway.

For the color, a black or gray chicken will be harder to see against the ground than a white one. Also, I think they look cooler than plain white chickens.

without decreasing the size of your flock.

Read that as "without decreasing the size of your cock"

Ideal period is 7 weeks. Anything below that is not meaty enough, anything above is too old and stringy meat.