That "Omlet" site does look like a pretty good idea. Really simplifies getting proper housing (that attached screened-in run is nice, especially if you don't have a secure fence). It's much easier to keep their quarters clean (and minimize the smell) with that kind of setup. Also, it looks like they've pre-screened the birds for friendliness and easy maintenance. I see they've added rabbits since the last time I heard about this!
I'm lucky that my city allows up to 6 chickens per backyard (no roosters). One of my co-workers is actually bending the law a bit on this (she is one Black Australorp over) but luckily she has a big yard and the neighbours haven't made a fuss.
Last year I had to choose some breeds for the local Land Conservancy group -- they were setting up a heritage poultry exhibit at one of their farm properties, and so we had to find chickens that were available in the 1870s, not too skittish, and didn't need a lot of special care. I got the eggs from a farm in Quebec, and hatched them in an incubator I set up in my office at work. (My officemates are very understanding!) It's possible to buy fertilized eggs of various breeds on eBay (much easier to find producers in the UK or the US who'll do this -- we don't have as much of a choice in Canada), or from local organic producers.
We ended up with Barred Rocks, Brahmas, a couple of Polish chicks who are now the "stars" of the show with their spectacular plumage, and a cute Silver-Spangled Hamburg. If I do another batch, I think I'll go with the larger birds, including Buff Orpingtons and Jersey Giants.
Here's some info on dozens of breeds:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.htmlAnd some pictures -- the chicks are particularly fun:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKBabyChicks.htmlp.s. if you want a really friendly chicken, getting them as chicks and handling them a lot can pay off. I did an experiment last year with the Land Conservancy chicks ... the first batch got put out with a foster chicken mom, the next dozen lived in a rabbit cage in the garage and were petted and talked to several times a day for 2 weeks, and the third group (only a couple of them, Speckled Sussex I think) were handled like that for almost a month. They would watch TV with me in the evenings, sitting in a mixing bowl lined with towels. I mean, THEY would be in the mixing bowl, in my lap -- I would be on the couch. (They were particularly fond of Jon Stewart's show, for some reason.)
I've since heard that the Group 2 chickens (now full-grown) are friendly with people, while the Group 3 ones rush over and beg to be picked up. The very first chicks I hatched out (Bovan Brown layers) are now on a friend's farm, and after being coddled and spoiled by her pre-teen kids, now insist on being taken for car rides.
p.p.s. -- stuff to check (so you don't make the same old mistakes my friends and I have, and can make exciting new ones!)
*local by-laws re: poultry-keeping (e.g. types and numbers)
*food supplier -- some feed stores get snarky if people only want a kilo of chicken mash, but most are quite willing! And I have to say that chickens are the cheapest pets I've ever kept ... they eat even less than ducks do.
*veterinarian -- check for someone in the area who's got avian experience (usually classified as "exotics") -- I used to work for an avian vet, and she would sometimes get attitude from colleagues who didn't think that birds, snakes, hamsters, etc. were "real" pets and would refuse to treat them. She reminded me that chickens aren't mammals (not even the same as budgies), so if there's an emergency and the vet assumes that you just give the chicken a tenth of what you'd give a cat, that might be it for the bird.
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