Any advice for farming animals?

I'm thinking about finding some cows, sheep, and chickens, to get myself a steady supply of a lot of things. Any advice is welcome, but I do have a few specific questions:

-How long is the time between when I can collect from a given animal?

-Do chickens produce eggs passively, or do I need to activate them to get the eggs?

-Can I keep them tied up somewhere, or do I need to let them roam around?

-Can I make them breed?

-Do they need to be outside, or can I keep them inside?