My chickens

Two years ago I got chickens.  We had chickens growing up and I thought the idea of eggs whenever we needed them was a great idea.  It has been an adventure to say the least.  Here is a picture of my chicken set up outside.  I have two openings to my gardens and I also have a way to open the two runs together to make one.

When we first started with chickens we bought 10. Two of many different ones to see what we liked the best.  We got Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers, Isa Browns, and Silver Laced Wyandottes.  Unfortunatly we have irresponsible dog owners and coons out here and we lost both our Isa Browns, which are by far my favorite breed.  Last year we bought 10 broilers. They stank horrid and ate me out of house and home. I didnt have a good way to keep them or kill them.  I vowed I would never get them again, but now that I am wiser I"m thinking about it again but they definitly will be well away from the house.  We also got 5 Rhode Island Reds and unfortunately we only have 2 left.  One made it till this spring but when we put in our newest chicks she was too much of a bully and she ended up as dinner.
     This year we bought 6 Golden comets, 3 more Easter Eggers, 3 Golden Laced Wyandottes, and one silkie.  We also got a rescue hen (black australorp) because my friends dog brought one home.  Currently we have 24. 11 of which lay eggs.  The extra eggs we give to little ol ladies who are now living in senior centers and they all used to live on farms.  We use the shavings to line the paths in our gardens, as mulch in flower beds, and compost most over winter.  We use shredded newspaper and bills for the nesting boxes and then that gets composted eventually also.  I try to let my girls free range as much as possible but with the dogs running around here whenever they feel like it, I have to make sure I am home and outside all day.   This winter I already know I will have to cull at least 5 for canning.  My coop is too small to hold them all inside for winter.  I plan on placing my webcam out there and keeping track of who's laying eggs on a daily basis here.  The ones who are not...well...