There is a lot of great information out there about raising chickens, so I hesitate to re-invent the wheel.  I'll be addressing some basic topics that are essentials in getting started - from the lens of our experience.  Chickens are often a gateway to homesteading and raising animals, so it's best to maximize success and minimize losses.  With animals comes a greater potential for heartbreak as well as joy, but such is life.

• • • Breed selection
    • Housing
    • Feed
    • Water
    • Roaming
    • Protection from predation
    • Broody hens
    • Roosters

Breeds of chickens

The breed(s) you choose depend upon your interests.

• Many people these days are choosing chickens that lay certain colored eggs (light brown, blue, green, chocolate brown, etc.).

• New chicken owners often choose interesting looking hens as well.
• Others prefer high egg productivity over other attributes.

If you order day-old chicks from a large hatchery, you can choose a selection of different chicks that suit your interests.  The only caveat is the minimum order (often 12 chicks), which is essential to ensuring that the baby chicks stay warm and survive the trip through the US Mail.  If you just want a few chicks, your best bet is to look onsite at local farm supply stores such as Tractor Supply or other local outlets such as online forums, auctions, farmers' markets, etc.

We have run the gamut in our chickens.  In the past we raised all manner of fancy breeds.  We transitioned to reliable egg-layers, such as Red-Stars (the most productive breed) and black stars, with some heritage breed hens (Dominickers/Dominiques) for fun.  And then I received a catalog from Murray McMurray a few years back.  Despite announcing several times each week that we would NOT be purchasing any new chicks, I had a moment of weakness and before I realized what I was doing, added some White Marans (chocolate egg layers, which are also very broody - more on this trait later) and Whiting True Blue (which unlike Ameraucanas, lay consistently).  And now we really have more chickens that we truly need.  We are terrible at culling old less productive birds, despite eating exclusively from the farm.  Homesteading is all about the journey, right?

Housing

Chickens need a few considerations for their housing.  Our birds roam far and wide during the day, but they come home and put themselves to bed at dusk each night.

• Roosts:  Chickens naturally sleep on a roost they can wrap their feet around.  For safety from predators, their instincts are to fly up and roost off of the ground.  Don't arrange roosts directly on top of each other, as chickens have no sphincter control and will let droppings fall directly below them.  They don't mind snugging in close to each other.  However, build for the largest size flock you might have.  Otherwise, they'll sleep (and mess) in the nesting boxes.

• Weatherizing:  Chickens need to be able to get out of the rain at all times.  In the summer, you want to ensure adequate ventilation for cooling, especially if the coop is in the sun and has a metal roof.  We have removable plywood panels that come off during warm weather.  In the winter, we ensure the coop is free from obvious drafts, but we don't heat it even in cold snaps.  Being able to sleep snugged up to each other helps the birds stay warm.

• Litter options:  We have tried straw, sawdust, no litter, etc.  We currently purchase (yes, I spend money on litter) large shavings.  I'll be honest if you promise not to judge me - I clean the chicken house every 4-6 weeks, and the whole process takes me maybe 20 minutes.  I get 2-3 wheel-barrow loads and with the shavings, everything scoops up easily.  I used to worry I was waiting too long between cleanings, but the birds happily spend the day on the compost pile that I freshen with their latest droppings, so I guess they aren't upset by the yuck.
• Nest boxes:  I try to mimic where the birds like to lay when they don't lay in the coop.  They like deep hay or straw in hidey-hole places that feel protected.  We have around 30 hens with 4 nesting boxes, which has been more than adequate.  The birds take turns laying in them.  I place my nesting boxes just inside the coop, in front of the roosts.  This way I don't have to step over piles of night droppings to get to the eggs.  Keep the nest boxes freshened with plenty of dry hay or straw - at least as often as you clean the droppings out.

Feed

In our experience, despite how much our chickens are able to roam and eat insects and a wide variety of greens, their egg laying productivity is improved with the addition of a protein-rich feed.

There are options in feeds available.  There are organic feeds, grain-free feeds, cracked corn (which is relatively low in protein), laying pellets (which are formulated for laying hens with added protein and calcium), and even more.  We live in an agricultural area, so there is a local farm that formulates their own corn and soybean pellet from crops they grow here locally.  These are grown from GMO seed however.

We buy a 16% dairy (goat) feed that is slightly less expensive than laying pellets, but comparable nutritionally.  We feed this to our goats and chickens.  We also have neighbors that go in together to purchase organic feed in bulk for a reduced cost.

Water

Chickens need access to fresh clean water every day.  You can use a large trough with an on-demand system that fills up as the water level drops.  This sounds ideal as you won't have to fill it often.  But you will!  An open water trough is an invitation for chickens to perch, and perching means pooping.  Once your hens poop in the water it is too soiled and potentially bacteria laden to be healthy.  Besides that, the added phosphorous in the water invites quick algae growth.

Your best bet is a top-fill poultry waterer.  This keeps the birds from roosting above the water.  They only down-side is daily filling.

In the winter you need to keep your water from icing.  Installing a frost-free water spigot near to your chicken house is maybe a want, but would top my list of wants as a livestock owner.

There are electric trough de-icers.  In our experience, waters troughs don't get messed in as frequently in the winter, and accommodate these convenient trough heaters.  For years, we resisted the water tank heater, but were given one by a neighbor, and now I can't image winters without one.

Roaming

I've seen set-ups for chickens where there is a coop placed inside a relatively small chicken yard that quickly becomes a patch of bare dirt.  That's fine if that is all the space you can allot.  But if given a bit more room, say a quarter of an acre, the ground never becomes bare.  We have a multipurpose area where one of our goat paddocks and the goat barn is in the same space as our chicken coop.  This cuts down on our feed cost, as the chickens forage on grass, weeds, and insects as a large part of their diet.

Protection from predation

With roaming comes the risk of attack from wild animals.  We find the best bet is to have a livestock guardian dog to protect the flock.  At night, be able to secure the chicken coop so no large animals can enter.  Chicken wire may allow in an occasional egg-robbing snake, but they will be trapped once engorged with eggs, and can be disposed of however you see fit.

Just don't make friends with the local predators!

Broody Hens

Broody hens are those that want to sit atop a nest of eggs to incubate them so they hatch out.  Eggs take 21 days to develop into chicks once they are kept warm.  Some hens start off broody, and then change their mind mid way through the incubation period.  Once eggs are abandoned (for longer than a quick dash to get food and water) they will get too cold and die.

If you want to hatch your own chicks, broody hens are the way to go.  Just bear in mind that your egg-laying hen will be out of production for at least a month.  After sitting eggs, she has to sit atop young vulnerable chicks.

Having a broody hen or two is a boon.  Having an entire flock of broody hens is a hassle.  You have to stay on top of getting eggs daily so none get incubated - especially if you are selling eggs.  Your friendliest egg customer will drop you as a supplier in a heartbeat the moment s/he cracks open a partially developed chick - ewww!

Roosters

I've never raised chicken "in town", so I won't address the noise and neighbor issues.

Without those concerns, I can't see why not to have a rooster (or four).  Roosters are not only necessary for making fertile eggs, but they are natural protectors of the hens.  Unless you have an unusually mean rooster, the male birds will divide up the flock into smaller harems (my term, not official chicken terminology) and keep watch over his ladies.  He will find and point out choice food, herd the ladies around and generally micromanage with the best of intentions.  We currently have seven roosters, which is way too many, but there are no male-to-male aggression issues.

Chickens to maintain a pecking order (thus the phrase), but if you're too upset watching this natural animal behavior, then raising chickens may not be for you.  Chicken sex is another matter altogether, and is even less palatable to witness.  Just be glad you're not a hen!  Don't dwell on it.  This is what they do - on your farm or off.