Ok, have 30 odd chooks here, so will see what I can answer:

1) The kids would love it - yes they will, just be prepared for the odd dropped egg
3) bug and weed control - just be careful, they can really damage garden beds. Fence them off from seedlings, or cover them with some mesh. The love a scratch in freshly dug dirt for some reason


Now my concerns
1) rats and mice - have not noticed an increase, but we are rural so naturally have a fair few rodents
2) rats and mice attracting snakes - eeek - not noticed any increase and we do have snakes in the area
3) we have a lab, not sure how he'd go with them. He's pretty placid most of the time, though - tough one, we had one dog that did not touch them, but the other did. Not to kill them, but to chase and play, so he damaged them. You wont know till you get them together. Speak to a dog trainer about what you can do, otherwise good fencing, which a good idea anyway due to foxes, Organic Gardening (ABC mag) had a great article on building a fox, snake etc proof chook pen
5) Will I have the time to look after them? - they really are not much time per day. Just feed them, check their water, collect the eggs. Clean out their nesting boxes every so often (tends to be 1-2 weekly herr. Clean the coop every so often, ours requires a big dig out and replacing the mulch.

DH is against the idea because of the rat/mice issue. I have read that keeping their food in sealed containers and the coop clean can stop rat or mouse infestation. Just a sensible thing to do. We have those kiddy wheelie bins - rats can't climb into them or lift the lid

I was thinking of hiring a coop including chickens for a month or two to give it a try. I'm sure the council won't "spring" me in such a short time. - Great Idea, if you are so uncertain then renting is they way to go

Hope that helps