I actually have that first chart as a poster in my kitchen. I have one for Dairy Cows and Fruits & Veggies from that same line in my office. :)
The coop construction in the barn will be longer than anticipated, but that’s OK. Beau is doing a TREMENDOUS job on getting the barn cleaned out - but when it warms up again, he’s going to fill in all of the (empty!) manure gutters with cement, so the flooring in there will all be level and we don’t have to mess with ‘bridges’ and other trip hazards. It was the Milking Parlor in the lower level of the barn, so I’m sure you know what I mean.
Either way, he’s got some really great ideas/plans and I’ll just let him run with it. He likes chickens. I know he’ll end up being The Chicken Whisperer around here! ;) (He’s already the Cat Whisperer; I do everything for those cats, but who do they run to when they see him? Yep.)
So, it will probably be NEXT spring, and I’m going to ask the two closest neighbor ladies if they want to split a box of 50 chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery out of Iowa. I’ve always used them for chicks when I sold eggs in a big way back in the day.
My favorite breed of all time is the Buff Orpington. I also like the Barred Rock hens. Both are brown egg layers and the Buffs can also go into the stew pot when necessary. ;) They both survive Wisconsin Winters just fine, and lay all winter, too.
Sounds like great plans, and you must be the mule and dog whisperer.
I envy you. I am thinking I will have to look for someone around here to buy eggs from...