I live in a suburban area, I have just over 1/4 acre & I have 8 standard size hens, no roosters. I picked breeds based on their beauty, ability to lay even in cold weather, cold hardiness, no white eggs, friendly & not flighty. I originally wanted 6 birds of 6 breeds but I now have 8. I ordered 25 from MM hacthery in March of 2006 & adopted the rest out to other local chicken pet people. I thought one was a rooster, but she was my DH's favorite-so I kept another one like her in case we had to give her away. I also had a sick chick that I thought would die, so I kept another of her breed but she turned out fine. So now I have 1 barred rock-mine is not really friendly like most are but she's pretty & a great layer 1 black australorp-she is an ok layer, the leader of my flock, beautiful & a total lap chicken 1 silver laced wyandotte-she is a good layer, very pretty & friendly 1 redstar(sex-link)-a prolific layer of big brown eggs, pretty & friendly 2 buff orpingtons-one lays regularly, the other that was sick doesn't lay at all yet. They are super friendly & loveable & so elegant looking 2 Easter egger mutts-one lays bluish eggs, the other sage green. They are by far the most flighty and skittish, but are so unique with their muffs & beards & great markings. They are quite docile when being handled by me. The blue/green eggs are a must have for us. My flock has a small coop & run, but they free range my fenced backyard everyday. They eat tons of bugs & more grass, flowers, plants than you can imagine. There is something about the same/similar breeds sticking together and I can see why some people don't like to have a small flock comprised of so many breeds. Have you considered predators in your area? will your tractor be secure enough? Good luck, deciding to keep chickens has been very rewarding & more fun than I imagined.

Me, too! We've been planning and dreaming for so long, that it doesn't seem real that we about to get a new kitchen. The rest of my cabs are here. They are gorgeous! We picked the stain sample off a 6 x 10 sample so I was a bit nervous about how they would look but they are really, really lovely. I'll post a sneak peek on my other thread later. I made a decision: Option B with a larger center section. I just sent the plan off to the cab maker. So glad we took the opportunity to rethink the hutch. I think it's going to look good and function very well for us. Thank you, again, for helping me make a decision, Lily Spider!

The photos did not upload in order but I think you can tell what photo is the inspiration picture. Here is one more photo of our layout for some perspective. I basically want out house to look like Joanna Gaines designed it! :)

Why not have Ikea help with the design their designers are the most knowlegable about their product. I have the old ones from them in a the high gloss white and they still look like new 11 yrs later. I use Ikea in many of my design projects with great results.