I expressed my interest in raising chickens this year to a friend of mine. Later on she called to say she had some extra chicks, and would we like some? Why yes, we would. Now we have a small flock of four barred rocks, and everyone is enjoying them. I’m not sure if they are enjoying us yet–they react quite strongly when my toddler comes by for a look. These are our first pets as a family (minus a few fish). We’ve never really wanted a traditional dog or cat, but we have always wanted chickens.