Reply #10: in days gone by it was a very popular tradition, we did it

[pitohui]

baby chicks are the easiest of birdlets to raise, but they do need special baby chicken mash, i'm thinking it was 19 cents a pound (probably 2 months supply) back in the day and it's prob. still under $1/pound

you make an incubator with a light bulb in a box to keep them warm and there's no reason if they're probably cared for that they shouldn't do well

as kids we raised them and kept them until they were adults, at which time, my mom would give them away to someone living in the country who had a chicken yard

as an adult i made sure to buy chicks that were guaranteed to be female and i kept them quietly for egg laying -- they will live a number of years, they aren't real intelligent, but they can be affectionate, one of my friends used to bring one of her hens inside to watch TV with her

many suburban neighborhoods are zoned to prohibit poultry so you have to keep them secret from your neighborhood nazi "we'll run your life for you, thanks" association