I am so excited, we are expanding our flock. In the next couple of weeks we will be receiving the following baby chicks, for a total of 70, which are Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Marans (chocolate colored eggs!), and Buff Orphingtons. As our current flock gets older, these new girls will be the back up "second string" layers to supplement our egg supply. And don't forget, all of our girls live out their natural lives here on Happy Chick Farm and are not "culled" when they get old. Not to mention, chickens lay throughout their lives, just not as much as they do when they are 1 to 2 years old. But that's OK! Their eggs just get larger and more wonderful. All of our girls are an invaluable contribution to the farm.
In one of my next posts I will talk about building our own chicken "tractor" for free ranging our chickens. And the benefits of chicken manure for your garden!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Happy Easter!
Fresh eggs are available today (as always) in our self serve fridge at the farm, if you still need eggs to complete your Easter Sunday festivities. Enjoy the day!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Answers to the Top 10 Chicken Questions
Here they are!
1. Do I need a rooster for my hens to lay eggs? The answer is no. But if you want to produce baby chicks, you do need a rooster.
2. How long do chickens live? The answer is from 8 to 15 years.
3. What do I need when my chicks arrive? The answer is a container (at least 18 inches high) to hold the chicks that gives them ample room, pine shavings for the floor, food and water containers, and most importantly 250 watt red glass infared heat lamps to maintain the temperature at 95 degrees for the chicks (that temprature will decrease as they age).
4. At what age do hens start laying and how many eggs will they lay? The answer is that they will start to lay around 5 to 6 months old and will lay approximately 200-300 eggs per year, depending on the breed. Peak production occurs at 2 years old and diminishes there after.
5. How much feed do chickens eat? The anser is a typical laying hen will eat 4 to 6 ounces of feed each day. This increases in cold weather and decreases during warm weather. If you free range your chickens you can expect that amount to decrease significantly.
6. How big does my chicken coop need to be? The answer is 2-3 square feet per chicken. You also need space for the chickens to roost at night and for nesting boxes. Think of the coop like your bedroom, you spend most of your day outside of that room.
7. How many nest boxes will I need for my hens? The answer is one nest box for every 5 to 6 hens.
8. What is the best way to deal with internal and external parasites? The answer is you want to use natural products assuming you eat the hen's eggs. Food grade diatomaceous earth can control both. You can dust the chickens or put it in their food. There are also natural products on the market that will take care of parasites.
9. What is the best way to protect my chickens from predators? The answer is a well built chicken coop. You need to prevent predators from crawling in small spaces and digging under the coop.
10. How do I get my chickens to go into the coop at nights? The answer is that chickens instictively go into the coop at night. You may need to help in a few stragglers and most importantly, you need to remember to shut the door for them at night.
I hope you enjoyed this Q&A from Backyard Poultry magazine. I encourage anyone interested in raising chickens to pick up an issue. It has been extremely helpful and informative for me.
1. Do I need a rooster for my hens to lay eggs? The answer is no. But if you want to produce baby chicks, you do need a rooster.
2. How long do chickens live? The answer is from 8 to 15 years.
3. What do I need when my chicks arrive? The answer is a container (at least 18 inches high) to hold the chicks that gives them ample room, pine shavings for the floor, food and water containers, and most importantly 250 watt red glass infared heat lamps to maintain the temperature at 95 degrees for the chicks (that temprature will decrease as they age).
4. At what age do hens start laying and how many eggs will they lay? The answer is that they will start to lay around 5 to 6 months old and will lay approximately 200-300 eggs per year, depending on the breed. Peak production occurs at 2 years old and diminishes there after.
5. How much feed do chickens eat? The anser is a typical laying hen will eat 4 to 6 ounces of feed each day. This increases in cold weather and decreases during warm weather. If you free range your chickens you can expect that amount to decrease significantly.
6. How big does my chicken coop need to be? The answer is 2-3 square feet per chicken. You also need space for the chickens to roost at night and for nesting boxes. Think of the coop like your bedroom, you spend most of your day outside of that room.
7. How many nest boxes will I need for my hens? The answer is one nest box for every 5 to 6 hens.
8. What is the best way to deal with internal and external parasites? The answer is you want to use natural products assuming you eat the hen's eggs. Food grade diatomaceous earth can control both. You can dust the chickens or put it in their food. There are also natural products on the market that will take care of parasites.
9. What is the best way to protect my chickens from predators? The answer is a well built chicken coop. You need to prevent predators from crawling in small spaces and digging under the coop.
10. How do I get my chickens to go into the coop at nights? The answer is that chickens instictively go into the coop at night. You may need to help in a few stragglers and most importantly, you need to remember to shut the door for them at night.
I hope you enjoyed this Q&A from Backyard Poultry magazine. I encourage anyone interested in raising chickens to pick up an issue. It has been extremely helpful and informative for me.
Monday, March 29, 2010
New Location to Sell Happy Chick Farm Eggs!
Many of you may know that on Saturdays every week, the Gonzales Market operates in Orland on the corner of South Street and Highway 99. It is a very popular market and attracts a lot of folks. Vendors there offer everything from produce to home made foods, retail items, etc. Like a fun swap meet. Well by chance, I happened to meet Mr. Gonzales this week and he asked me to come and sell my eggs at his market! So depending on the weather, I may be selling my eggs there as soon as this Saturday, April 2. The market begins early (7 or 8 a.m.) and lasts until late in the afternoon. Sounds like a wonderful new opportunity to sell eggs until the farmers market season arrives.
Oh and by the way, yes, I will be posting the answers to the 10 most asked questions about chickens soon. That is as soon as I have time to type it all up!
I want to thank all of my wonderful customers again for making my egg business a sucess. I am truly in this business to make you happy and ensure that you are able to enjoy locally raised food that you know the source of. What a wonderful thing!
Oh and by the way, yes, I will be posting the answers to the 10 most asked questions about chickens soon. That is as soon as I have time to type it all up!
I want to thank all of my wonderful customers again for making my egg business a sucess. I am truly in this business to make you happy and ensure that you are able to enjoy locally raised food that you know the source of. What a wonderful thing!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Free Ranging/Fresh Easter Eggs
I am pleased to announce that our chickens are now not just free roaming, but free range! Since I have retired I now have the time to let the girls out, keep an eye on them and make sure they return to their coop at night. This will only enhance the flavor and beauty of our eggs.
Come and visit our self serve fridge or call us for your fresh Easter Eggs!!
Come and visit our self serve fridge or call us for your fresh Easter Eggs!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Top 10 Chicken Questions for Spring!
Backyard Poultry Magazine (a great magazine for all poutry lovers, I recommend it highly!) recently published an article about the top 10 chicken questions asked by folks purchasing their first chickens, with the help of the Randall Burkey Company who sell poultry equipment and live chicks. Here they are:
1. Do I need a rooster for my chickens to lay eggs?
2. How long do chickens live?
3. What do I need to do when my chicks arrive?
4. At what age do hens start laying and how many eggs will they lay?
5. How much do chickens eat?
6. How big does my chicken coop need to be?
7. How many nest boxes will I need for my hens?
8. What is the best way to deal with internal and external parasites?
9. What is the best way to protect my chickens from predators?
10. How do I get my chickens into the coop at night?
The answers will appear in my next blog entry. Stay tuned!
1. Do I need a rooster for my chickens to lay eggs?
2. How long do chickens live?
3. What do I need to do when my chicks arrive?
4. At what age do hens start laying and how many eggs will they lay?
5. How much do chickens eat?
6. How big does my chicken coop need to be?
7. How many nest boxes will I need for my hens?
8. What is the best way to deal with internal and external parasites?
9. What is the best way to protect my chickens from predators?
10. How do I get my chickens into the coop at night?
The answers will appear in my next blog entry. Stay tuned!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Glenn County Farmers Market Update
The farmers market in Glenn will begin in June and end in September. The market will rotate between locations in Orland and Willows each month, beginning in Orland in June. The market will be open every Saturday from 8:00 a.m and 1:00 p.m. The proposed site for Orland is Library Park and Memorial Park in Willows. As I have mentioned before on the site, I plan to sell my eggs at the market. Depending on demand/sales, I also am planning on selling at the Gridley farmers market in Butte County this year as well. When I know the starting month, time and place of that market, I will post that information as well. I hope to see you there!
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