re: Tell me about raising chickens

Eggs can stay unrefrigerated for a month or more actually. Couple of days are def fine! Don't wash with soap. Just wash lightly with water to get trash off. Eggs have a natural protective coating that protects from harmful Bactria like salmonella. Our good il FDA requires eggs be washed in chemicals that remove that coating. Hence the salmonella scare. In Europe there is no washing and no refrigeration of eggs.

Lots of good info in here already, I'll add a few things. If you don't wash the eggs, they will last a really long time without putting them in the fridge. In class I'd take fresh eggs and put them on the counter and eat them at the end of the semester, they don't taste the best but nothing wrong with them. Once washed they have to go in cold storage. Hens of different breeds will be fine together. You will have problems with different ages/sizes. I would recommend an all in, all out approach. Once the chickens you have stop peak laying (2-3 years of age) replace them all with new chicks. To reduce a lot of stress on your hens, never get a rooster. A good layer pellet is all you need for feed, but if you want really good colored yolks feed some corn mixed in, about 1/3 of total feed. I'd get whole kernel corn, it's cheaper than cracked corn, will cut down on the amount they eat and is just as effective. With a dozen hens you'll get around 9 eggs a day on average. Hope that helps, I have degrees in this shite so ask away.