Chickens in your backyard

I recently met a farmer who offered to give me his laying hens in the fall when he culls for winter. I am so excited, since I have wanted to avoid razing chicks but still would like to have eggs from my own back yard. I have the summer to build a coop, and to convince my sister that she can still come over even though she hates birds of all kinds. I am more confident about the coop than the sister, but we'll see!
Since I want to keep birds, I have been looking for resources for a while. This book is a great mix of humorous anecdotes and practical suggestions for the whole life cycle of backyard chickens. Some books make it seem like a tricky project, but this one illustrates the hardiness and flexibility of typical breeds and encourages, rather than discourages a small, one household flock. I am excited to try this out, now I just need to learn to build a chicken coop....