You are not dense, just learning.DebFred said:I really don't mean to sound dense. But....I still don't get the sprouting. By scratch, is that the feed you give them? Or something totally different. I can't believe how little I know, considering I lived in Kentucky when I was small. We fed our chickens scraps and I think dried corn. And fed the hogs slop. I can't remember if we fed them anything else.... And when you sprout the scratch, do you just put it in water till they sprout roots like a potato will? We will use cages for the bunnies. I want a coop for the chickens with an area for them to get outside in the sun and peck and scratch. They will go to the coop when it gets dark to roost for the night, correct? I know I have to keep it secure from critters of the night. Also, we will use the chickens primarily for eggs, but I will still need a rooster to kinda look after the hens, correct? And when should I start this? In the spring or could we do it now? I know if we do the chickens now we will have to buy grown hens. I also know they don't lay much in the winter. Unless you put a light in the coop, and I don't want to do that all the time so they get enough rest.