>Great idea. However, I worry about cats, dogs, etc. Almost everyone in my
>neighborhood has pets. I can keep the dogs out as my yard is fenced, but
>what about cats? We have a cat, and many of the neighbors do as well. We do
>not have a dog. How do cats and chickens get along??? Also, my yard is not
>as big as yours, it is about l/3 acre.

        we don't have a cat, although there are some in the neighborhood.
they stay out of our yard, due to our dog (a mixed breed german shepherd).
the reason we don't have the hens any more is that one day, we came home,
and one of the hens was dead.  i think it may have been our dog, although
she never seemed to mind them before, so it may also have been a hawk or a
fox or whatever (we live near a woods). the survivor hen is now living with
a family that keeps a flock of hens (she was lonesome by herself)
        our yard is fenced, but the hens will fly over a 4 foot fence, so
you'll have to clip their wings, or they'll be foraging in your neighbor's
yards as well, and some people are funny about having their flower beds
scratched up by roving chickens.

> Did you provide a hen house or nesting place for them, or where do they lay
>the eggs?

their 'house' was like, imagine a big wooden box, about 4'long x3'wide
x3'high, we hinged the lid to open, so i could change the straw inside, and
a round hole cut in one side, so they could go in or out.  i wedged a branch
sideways inside, so they had something to roost on while they slept.  they
would lay their eggs in their house every morning, the only time they were
in the house was to sleep or lay eggs, they loved to run around the yard all
day.

JoAnn.