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I did mine when I got it a couple months back. This is the video I used as reference. It was super easy and I did it in about 15 minutes at my kitchen table.

Thanks for the input guys. I've been cruising backyardchickens.com for a few days. They do have some good info. While I've never dressed a chicken, I've done so with plenty of other critters, so I'm sure that won't be a problem.

As far as finances are concerned... I can build the coop with scrap. The birds themselves are pretty cheap, so I'll negate those costs. I read on backyardchickens.com that a laying hen eats about 1.5 lbs food/per week. That means a 50 pound bag ($15) should last a month with 8 hens. 8 hens laying nearly daily so lets say maybe 18 dozen eggs per month. Fresh eggs are going for $2 or $3 on Craigslist here, so even if I can only sell half, that's still 9 dozen eggs/month. Maybe I'd get $18 total for the eggs, which pays for the feed for the month.

Obviously, I don't have any experience upon which to base these numbers, just info gleaned from the interwebs. I feel like my numbers are pretty conservative and will put me at least at a break-even financial state.

When I bought this "starter home" in town, it was to be a temporary thing...just a year or two.  You guys know how life happens and things change.  7 years later, we're still here.  I was raised on a farm, and like most of you, without video games and iPods.  That crap is rotting the brains of my kids.  I'm doing my best to find stuff for them to do outdoors here.  We have a giant garden.  There's really only so much you can do with that.  I just found out today that the city lifted its restrictions raising chickens in town.  To me, it sounds like a great opportunity for me to teach my kids all sorts of things.  There's only one problem...I've never raised poultry.

I've been looking into it, and it seems pretty easy.  Build a coop...feed hens...eat eggs...clean poop...fertilize garden...eat chicken.

Do any of you guys have experience and/or advice on backyard chicken keeping?

How many miles you got on that thing now Matt?

I thought about switching to a blade fuse during the PDI. I just didn't see much benefit to it. The glass tube fuses are cheap and readily available.

Hell Matt, I just saw that 100 people have viewed this post but not replied so I thought I'd throw you a line.

I'm with you buddy. I'd love to go 100% LED. I'm waiting to hear how your quest to do the same works out for you before I make the plunge. I'm anxiously awaiting tales of your success.

The common phrase among those of us in the engineering department at my last job was: "You get respect for doing it first, but you make money by copying that guy and doing it second."