You will need to have extensive knowledge of which breeds are most suitable to your preference. A bit of visual appeal can also go a long way into sparking and maintaining interest. A chicken can have a variety of colors and styles to choose from - red, gold, brown, spotted, dappled, high-tailed, bushy tailed, feather-legged, the list goes on. They are fun to have around, are a good food source, and are low maintenance. If you have an ample backyard the idea of keeping chicken may have occurred to you but needed a little more information before getting started. Of Hens and Roosters You do not need a rooster. Keeping a rooster is a matter of choice but not actually a necessity. Once they've grown new feathers, egg production should start as normal. BROODING There comes a time in the cycle of a hen's life when it starts to stay in its nest box without moving much. This is called brooding, which can cause your hen to stop laying eggs for some time. It takes about two to three weeks before the hen can snap out of its "catatonia" and start laying eggs again. The internet is chock full of information about breeds, so it is imperative to do a bit of research to decide on what type of chickens you want to keep for its meat. You have two choices when purchasing chickens. Either you go for the full-grown ones (after checking the vaccination records to ensure that there's less risk of disease) or you can go for the newborn chicks. Even so, provide a lamp where they could huddle together and get heat especially in the coldest hours of the morning or and when they need it, otherwise turn the lamp off to get them acclimatized to normal temperatures. Clean water must be provided but even chicks scratch or step inside the water pan that could topple it. Having three or more chickens that constantly produce eggs saves you the trouble of buying eggs at your local supermarket. A normal hen could lay an average of 300 eggs a year, provided that they are getting the proper nourishment. Increasing the amount of hens can also provide more returns, provided that you are buying poultry and chicken feed at a cheaper price.