We care deeply about the health and happiness of our chickens. We are not a large scale hatchery and we hatch chicks from our own breeding flocks. All of our chickens are raised with full access to large outside runs with plenty of fresh air and sunshine. We believe it’s important to know where your chicks come from, so we’d like to share some information about our farm and how we raise and care for our chickens.

Breed Focus

We focus on a few breeds of chickens – primarily heritage and rare or hard to find breeds including Tolbunt Polish, Jubilee Orpington, Silver Laced English Orpington, Lavender Orpinton, Blue Ameraucana, Ayam Cemani and French Wheaten Marans.

Tolbunt Polish Frizzle Hen
Ayam Cemani Rooster
Tolbunt Polish Pullet
Silver Laced Orpington
French Wheaten Marans Rooster
Jubilee Orpington Hen
Jubilee Orpington Flock
Blue Ameraucana Flock
Blue Ameraucana Chicks

Coops and Runs

We have separate coops and outdoor runs for each breed we raise, plus a dedicated grow-out coop/run for juveniles. Our coops are integrated with our horse/goat barn and provide access to oversize outdoor runs. Our runs are fully covered with wire to keep our flocks safe from overhead predators.

Automation

We like to automate many of our daily tasks so we have more quality time to spend with our animals. If I had to choose just one automation, it would definitely be automatic coop doors. These things are life changing! We still spend time with our flocks every morning and evening, but it’s time not spent rounding them up for bed or remembering to go lock the coop doors after dark. Their doors open automatically after the sun is up and closes after sundown – so if I want to sleep an hour extra on the weekend, I don’t feel bad about the chickens being stuck inside their coop. There are a lot of automated coop doors on the market now. If you can only invest in one automation for your coop, try automatic coop doors – you won’t regret it!

We created an automated watering system which delivers water to multiple chicken runs from one rain barrel. This watering system is very easy to setup and saves us from hauling heavy water buckets every day to provide fresh water. Read more about our automatic watering system.

We keep our chicken feeders outdoors in the run and provide high quality free choice feed at all times. We use weather proof chicken feeders from Rent-A-Coop that can hold 25 pounds of layer feed. This feeder significantly reduces feed waste because chickens don’t scratch the feed onto the ground. The design of the feeder keeps the feed dry when used outdoors. We have also had good success using treadle feeders. Treadle feeders are a good choice if you have problems with outdoor pests getting into your chicken feeders. Note: Make sure your chickens are large enough to operate the treadle to open the feeder – chicks and very lightweight breeds may not be able to open it.

Automation should never take the place of spending time with your flock. Automation can improve the quality of the time you spend with your flock. We still check on our flocks multiple times a day to ensure they have fresh water and food, and to make sure everyone looks healthy and happy.

Healthy Flocks

We participate in the National Poultry Improvement Program (NPIP) and our flocks are tested regularly for Pullorum-Typhoid (P/T) and Avian Influenza (AI). We are licensed to ship chicks and hatching eggs out of state.

We believe that a robust immune system is key to the overall well-being of our flocks. Raising heritage breed chickens which are naturally more hearty and disease resistant can give anyone a great head start to raising a healthy backyard flock. We spending time with our flocks and monitor our flock’s health every day to help keep them healthy and free of diseases.

Here are some ways you can help strengthen your own flock’s immune system naturally and enhance their ability to ward off diseases.