I’m a real person!
It is so hard when you lose one of the flock, and foxes, weasels, raccoons, whatever predators are in your area can smell them for miles and will snatch one eventually. But, for all the sobbing beside a pile of feathers I have done, I still wholeheartedly recommend that you go for it!
You should go for it, raising chickens is surprisingly easy and they are a hoot to watch frolicking around your yard.
However, fuck Tractor Supply for rolling back their DEI initiatives Search for local hatcheries to buy your chicks. Last spring, I bought ten pre-sexed female chicks (which, admittedly comes with the ethical concerns of what they do with the males) of random “designer” breeds for only $95 including shipping.
Right now we have three orpingtons, two brahma, one cochin, three golden comets, two marans, two plymouth rock, one silkie bantam, two sussex, and one wyandotte.
I had more bantams but they are really really good jumpers because they’re so small and light, they can nearly fly, and they would insist on roosting in a tree… Their steadfast refusal to come in at night ended in their demise.