Lots of good tips here. I'll chime in as we've had laying hens for the past 4 years and plan on adding 40 or so broilers this spring.
Predators will become a concern as everything likes chicken. While free ranging, we have lost birds to 4 legged creatures, fox or coyote and have seen eagles and hawks hanging around. I keep control of the raccoons and opossum with traps. Spring for hardware cloth or welded wire vs the poultry netting as a coon will walk right through that stuff. Also be sure to guard against digging under your coop.
We live in a rural area and enjoy having Rocky the rooster around. He definitely has an eye out for danger and keeps his girls from wandering off too far.
We have a few different breeds that seem to lay 5 or so eggs a week which is enough for us. I have bought eggs from mypetchicken.com and they also offer sexed chicks. There is plenty of good info on this site as well.
Best of luck!
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