We are doubly honored to be the feature article in the national publication Acreage Life this month! The article is a really in depth description of what it takes for us to do what we do here on the farm. For the full length article follow this link. Happy reading!
We are thrilled and honored to be on the cover of Made Local Magazine here in Sonoma County! A fun full article was written about us by the talented Leilani Clark! Check out the link below for the story 🙂
http://madelocalmagazine.com/2017/03/welcome-to-the-egg-rainbow/
Hey Everyone!
Spring is in full swing and chick season is upon us. Every year our head chicken wrangler gets thousands of questions from folks of all sorts of expert levels in backyard chicken raising. This year for the first time she is offering two full class days (March 11th and April 1st) when two classes will be taught back to back. The first class offered on each class day is “Backyard Chicken Raising For Beginners” and the second is “Advanced Backyard Chicken Raising”. You can come to one or both classes on either class day to brush up on your chicken whispering skills and expand your knowledge base!
Check out the descriptions below for a full outline of each class as well as locations and times.
Class 1: Beginners Backyard Chicken Keeping Course
This two hour class is designed for those who are interested in keeping backyard chickens and want to know the basics from which breeds to select for your flock goals to how to build a predator proof coop. We will discuss brooding of chicks, feed for all stages of a chickens life, proper coop maintenance, integration of existing flocks, collection and storage of eating eggs, how to set yourself up for success in relating to your new yard companions and how to look for signs of illness.
Class 2: Advanced Backyard Chicken Keeping and Hatching
This two hour class is going to be packed with all of the nitty gritty details that the experienced backyard chicken keeper is looking for clarity on. We will discuss various incubation techniques as well as incubators available on the market, selecting correct eggs for incubation, testing for signs of fertility, candling, feather color genetics and how to breed for specific looks in your birds. On the health front we will cover vaccination, holistic health management of your flock, setting up proper biosecurity, what it means to be NPIP certified and if it makes sense for your flock, what to keep in your home veterinary kit, treatments for common ailments, class questions.
Saturday April 1st
This full class day will be held at: SHED located at
25 North St. Healdsburg, CA in Healdsburg. Cost for each class at this location is $45. For class times and registration you can follow this link:
http://healdsburgshed.com/events/beginner-chicken-keeping/
http://healdsburgshed.com/events/advanced-chicken-keeping/
Class participants in either class day receive 15% off a chick or hatching order placed in 2017!
Talking chicken at the Gravenstein Apple Fair!
We are committed to educating folks on humane ways of raising chickens and were thrilled to be invited to speak at this years Gravenstein Apple Fair. The head chicken wrangler gave a 45 minute presentation on chicken raising basics with Patricia the partridge silkie happily tucked under her arm. Topics covered ranged from how to predator proof your coop to which breeds are best for your family.
If you have a local group who would like to learn about chicken wrangling don’t hesitate to reach out – we love chatting chicken with people!
Seeding fresh pasture
What do you do when your father comes to visit? Why put him to work assembling your seed spreader! With big rain in the report for Northern California we created our own seed mix of general pasture, rye grass and clovers to cast over our acreage. We are extremely water conscious here on the farm and do not irrigate our fields during the summer, big rains means an explosion of color on the landscape again.
Blue Ribbons All Around From The National Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa!
We keep a closed flock here on the farm which means that we do not bring any new birds onto the premises. We do this to protect the health of our breeding stock from various diseases other flocks can carry. We are proud to be part of the National Poultry Improvement Plan, every bird on our property has been tested clean of diseases.
Keeping a closed flock means that we cannot open the farm to visitors or take our birds to shows unless the birds are sold at the shows. This year we decided to participate in the National Heirloom Expo put on by Baker Creek Seeds because we are aligned with their mission of preserving heritage breeds of livestock and seeds. We entered a small sampling of our breeds into the judging and were pleased to have each one of our birds win a blue ribbon!
We held a silent auction for a breeding quality pair of Svart Hona and at the end of the fair it was none other than the founder of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company who won them. It was bittersweet seeing Darth and Duchess off to their new home but we know they are now in excellent hands!
Many hands make less work!
Here our littlest farm hand is working the Philips head screw driver to install new batteries in our auto coop doors for the season. She is very proud of being tall enough to help with the every day tinkering tasks farm life demands 🙂
A garden tall enough to hide in!
This year when rotating pastures we planted a mondo veggie/sunflower garden where the chickens had been previously. The result, some incredible growth! Thank you chickies for all the nitrogen 😉
Homesteading!
We took a break from chick wrangling today to make elderberry syrup in preparation for the coming winter.
The task of separating the berries from the stem is perfect for little hands and also serves as an invitation for little minds to learn about medicine making!
Bearded d'Anver Chick
$20.00
French Blue Copper Marans (Alchemist Line)
$40.00
Surprise Flock Gift Certificate
$120.00
Alchemist Blue Male Chick 2025 Line
$1.00
Alchemist Egger Chick
$15.00
