Light in the Wilderness...and Raising Chickens

I just finished reading A Light in the Wilderness by Jane Kirkpatrick.  I was inspired by the fortitude of the main character, a woman who had been freed from slavery.  She fell in love with a "white man" and they secretly married.  On the Oregon trail, she had to pretend to be her husband's slave.  They both thought it best to do it that way, for her safety.  During the exhausting journey, she gave birth to their first child.  A few hours after labor, she was walking behind the wagon.

I can't imagine doing that, but that's just the way it was.  A 5-hour trip with my kids in the car is currently my limit, and I can't imagine giving birth without an epidural, in the comfort of a clean hospital bed, surrounded by medical personnel.  This woman has inspired me!

Not to travel across the country in a Conestoga wagon, nor to give birth then walk several miles.

When they arrived in Oregon, they staked a claim and started a nice little homestead.  She learned how to live off the land from a local Indian woman, but she was also worldly wise.  She brought a milk cow clear across the country and, after learning how to make cheese, provided milk, cheese and butter to travelers and a local hotel for profit.  Tiny apple trees that had been transported were carefully planted by their cabin to provide fruit after several summers.  She also obtained some chickens to produce eggs and meat for her family.  While her husband went to see what the Gold Rush was all about, hoping to find their fortune, she stayed at home.  She began a herd of dairy cows and increased her business many times over.  She experienced race-based persecution throughout the story, yet she continued on.  What an inspiring woman.  At the end of the book, the author reveals that it's a true story!

Kind of reminds me of the Proverbs 31 woman:

16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.

I want to be this kind of woman.  I don't particularly want to work 24 hours a day, but I'd like to imitate her great work ethic, her enterprising spirit, and her never-give-up attitude.  

So it started me thinking about raising chickens.  We have a partial structure that could be easily transformed into a coop, and plenty of yard space for them to run around.  I've read that they can eat table scraps, grass, bugs, or whatever they find outside.  Free range chickens. 

Do any of you have chickens at home?  How's it going?  Is it a worthwhile venture?  
Do you have any advice for me?  I'm all ears!