Rural Gardening: Welcome Newbie's introduce yourselves , 1 by Patti14P

Patti14P wrote:
Ok, thank you for allowing me to have a 'formal' intro:
I'm new to chickens, so I've been reading this site whenever I have time, t/o the summer.
I have 3 Ameracauna hens, but only one lays green eggs, one lays brown eggs and one hasn't yet begun (6 1/2 mos). I've tried to make them free range, but they have chosen to lay eggs everywhere but in their nest boxes, so I've been confining them to their henhouse. Any help on this would be great.
I am also a gardener (BS Hort PSU '89), and have 5 cats, 3 dogs and 3 horses, one of whom I am training (a backyard foal who is now a colt).
I've got way too much on my plate, but the hens are the only productive pets that I have, so I guess I'm headed in the right direction.
I'd like to order more Ameracaunas next year from a reputable hatchery (not the local feed store) and I'd like to try some Buff Orpingtons, if they get large enough.
I'm also thinking about getting a saddleback pig next year, ......

Thanks!

Patti
location: Western PA, zone 5b, probably becoming 6; wooded, reverted from farmland from the 1950's, alot of dying White Ash trees thanks to the Emerald Ash Borer, etc.