Chickens make an excellent choice for a first farm animal. They aren't too big, so don't take a lot of space or eat a lot, they are easy to care for, and layers begin to produce immediately. A young child can easily care for twenty or thirty chickens after the initial housing is built, and if you want to go on vacation for a few days they can easily be cared for by obliging neighbors unlike many other farm animals (such as a "fresh" (in milk) dairy cow, for example). When buying chickens, there are several important things to be considered. First you have to decide why you want chickens. Do you want them just to run around the yard and look pretty? If so, there are numerous ornamental breeds to choose from, such as the crested breeds including the Polish and others. There are also the Phoenix , and the Favorelles, to name a few. Or you could start with meat birds, though I don't recommend it if you are new to raising chickens. The advantag