The first couple weeks of having chickens, they were too small and got out of their enclosure. The dogs killed them but they later learned. And you're right about the food supply. We rarely run out of eggs and that's typically during winter. When we have a surplus, we sell to our neighbors, $4 a dozen. Expensive but they taste a lot better than store bought eggs and they're right down the street for people. We have no stores or gas stations within 20 miles so they don't mind paying a little extra.