so basically no need for a rooster ever..unless you want to breed chickens and raise chicks to adults for poultry?.....sounds like i would be better off just buying farm fresh eggs rather than feeding chickens to get eggs eh? my dog has never been around chickens or seen one ..so he would probably kill them .... i want to get down with the country lifestyle since i am leaving the city ..any idea on a decent farm pet..that kind of pull its own weight and not a huge responsibility?
Fresh laid eggs are not pretty. Usually there are shit streaks and sometimes bloodstreaks on the eggs so you have to wash them. The smell is very off-putting. Plus you end up walking in a lot of chicken shit and you have to keep the coop clean. At the very least, once a week or you invite all kinds of parasites and diseases. Plus the smell is really really bad.
Goats are pretty self-sustaining and you can milk them as well as process cheese with the milk (I hate goat milk). Goats are a little ornery and you can find yourself ass over teakettle when they butt you from behind. Not if, when. They can also eat things you don't want them to eat. Pigs... don't even bother. That's a lot of fucking work and the smell will cause your neighbors to riot and burn your house to the ground after stringing you up. And they can be dangerous when they get big. They are omnivorous and won't think twice about eating your kittens or your chickens, alive. Yes, personal experience. Cows? Lots of shit. But it makes great fertilizer. They are eating machines and will eat you out of house and home if you can't afford it.
Turkeys? Too stupid to live. Guinea fowl? They're fine if you like screeching banshees.
I hate to tell you this but raising farm animals is hard work and takes a lot of time out of your day. We had horses, cows, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowl, goats, a couple of sheep for 4H and the odd hamster or two. Lots of chores.