re: Grass Fed Beef/ Free Range Eggs in BR?

re: backyard chickens...they're not hard to raise, but they do require quite a bit more care than, say, your average feral yard cat. Daily food & water, basic vet care, protection from predators, supplemental calcium/trace minerals, adequate space... Plus, you need to figure out if you'll eat 'em (which means killing them) when they stop laying or whether you're okay with feeding a non-laying hen.

Chickens are showing up in animal shelters all over the country b/c backyard "farmers" bought a few chicks and didn't quite understand that the birds will live for years. People move, they lose interest, the neighbors complain, and some folks are too tenderhearted to turn 'em into stew.

Anyway, owning an animal, whether pets-r-meat, shouldn't be a snap decision because it looks "easy".