My name is Nick. I really like chickens. I started Nix Chix a few years ago with only 4 chickens. That number doubled the next week and the following year I got 100. Well, things have changed and now there are about 1000 egg birds. I am now farming with my friend Ross at Folwer Creek Farm. We have egg birds, meat birds, rabbits, pigs and some vegetables. Nix Chix are sold at a few bay area restaurants and at the Sonoma Garden Park’s Harvest Market on Saturdays.
Thank you for checking out my blog. I will do my best to keep it interesting.
Thanks
above photo by Paige Green at Green String Farm, Petaluma.
Hi Nick, I really, really want chickens but I live on the side of a mountain. Can a chicken run be uneven and slanted?
Sorry for the delayed response Anella.
Sure, They can live on the side of a mountain. Just make sure they are safe from predators.
Hi Nick,
A friend of mine passed your information to me. I raise and have Japanese bantam chickens. They are part of the family and fair well with my pugs, cat and pigeons (my husbands) in Sebastopol. However, one of our hen has become ill. We think egg bound but not sure. We have given her extra calcium, hot baths & mineral oiled her. To date she is getting back to her spunky self but is still not eating or drinking on her own. She also is still a little swollen but not like she was last Friday.
Do you have any other recommendations?
Thanks, any suggestions would be appreciated.
hmmm. Egg bound, huh? I don’t have any experience with any of my hens being egg bound.
Here’s what I would do.
1. remove her from the rest of the hens/ animals into a nice quiet place. Maybe even put a heat lamp near her. (you should remove her if she’s sick no matter what). 2. give her some yogurt with some crumbles mixed in. You may have to force feed her by dipping her beak into the yogurt/ crumbles. If you have an eyedropper or tincture bottle with a little squirter that is clean, fill it with water and hyrdrate her by opening her beak straight up and dropping some water down her throat.
3. If by the end of the day today there is no sign of improvement and she still seems egg bound and not sick (if shes sick her eyes will be partly closed and glazed and very lethargic) give her another warm bath. If she seem sick and its a respiratory (sneezing, stuffed up nose) you may have to go get some medication at the feed store. -we can discuss this later.
4.If by the end of tomorrow (tues) there is no sign of improvement take her to a vet.
I had some sick chickens living in my house for about 6 weeks. They were attacked by a bobcat and got an infection from its claws (cat scratch fever) and were really, really sick. So sick they smelled bad. I thought for sure they were all gonna die.- I even dug their graves. But with some perseverance on both our parts they got better slowly and now all of them lay me beautiful eggs everyday. Why I mention this is because I believe that sometimes chickens can take a long time to get better, even when a vet on the first day says to chop their head off, and if you take care of them (which you are, obviously) they can suprise you. However, many times they may never recover….
But! I think you can do it!
Please let me know what happens and send a pic of the beautiful little hen.
Thanks for writing,
Nick
Hi Nick,
Thanks! we do do have her in house in our brooding box with a heat lamp and have been “force” feeding.
Thanks again.
Not sure how to attach a photo. Send me an email and I will send you photos. Again, thanks.
Hi Nick, I recently started my backyard chicken flock. I have 8 hens and an awesome rooster called “the duke.” Anyway, their coop is very spacious with nesting boxes up high and a variety of roosting perches in nice dark places. However, they choose to sleep all night in the nesting boxes which means the boxes fill up with poo and eggs are getting broken. How do I get them out of the boxes and roosting where they should be? I can send pix but I am not sure where to post or send them. I also have a little blue silkie who seems intellectually challenged, even by chicken standards. She never follows the flock and chooses to sleep in the wood shavings rather than with the other birds. Is she sick, dumb, a snob, or just the poor little hen at the bottom of the pecking order? Thanks
You can discourage the chickens from roosting in the nesting boxes by letting them know where they can sleep. When they go to bed give them a few extra minutes to let the sun go down even more so and place each chicken individually onto the proper roosting perch. Repeat several times until they get to know where they can roost. If that doesn’t work, which most likely some of them may never learn, then you may need to redesign your nesting boxes. Do they have a slanted roof, about 8-10″ opening and a perch a couple inches away from the boxes? Are the perches too high – need to be 3-4 ft up-? Check out the AWA (animal welfare approved) website for their standards of design. Pics would help- email them to me at rupiper.nick (at) gmail dot com.
About your silkie- Perhaps she isn’t all there, but I doubt it. Silkies cannot fly due to their hair- like feathers (in general) and love to sleep in corners and on small landings about 8″ off the ground. I have a cinder block in the hen house that Amber (my top rooster, I thought he was a she) loves to sleep on. Bantam Silkies remind me of sweet little chewbacas that often get the short end of the stick. She’s gonna be a great mom if you want to hatch some eggs at home.
hope this helps.
Hey, I am considering getting a few sheep to graze my pastures so I don’t have to mow as often. Do you have sheep? Would goats be better? Is this even sensible?
If you do have sheep you must have good strong fencing always, 24/7/365. Also, they have a lot of problems and are quite sensitive. I would not recommend either goats or sheep, but if you choose so, good luck. They’re fun, but can be a bit much to deal with and cost $$$ if sick or injured or out of green grass. I dont know your situation, so I cant say for certain, but I say try it. If you don’t like em, eat em. If you do like em, eat em! mmmmmmm. I love em, but they’re a pain.
hope this helps
Thanks for your feedback. I think we have settled on getting a couple of sheep and a goat as lawnmowers. Should be interesting and/or delicious:)
Nick, We have 9 manacured acres and enclosed gardens. There are flower beds around the pool are that contain perinneals. The other flower beds are azaleas. We were thinking about getting 3-4 egg laying chickens for pets and would love to free range them during the day. Are they going to destroy my perinneal bed. What are your thoughts on chicken tractors? Can labradoodles and chickens co-exist? What are the best chickens to start with and we like unusual vs ordinary? I am so glad to have found your article on the internet and wish I had known about you when we were in the Sonoma area this past fall. Cathi
yes, they will destroy your perennial bed. They will scratch in it, take dust baths around the plants and trample any vegetation. Think of them as tiny dinosaurs that would destroy a jungle by running through it. Generally, especially anything doodle, I would not recommend the dogs living with the chickens. We have dogs that co exist with our chickens, but they are also good with cats, pigs, rabbits and other critters. If they don’t like cats, there is a good chance they will eat your chickens. I am not a reliable source of how to train your dogs. Try to start out with a variety. For four chickens I would recommend an Ameracauna, Polish, Plymouth Rock and Buff Orpington. That will give you a nice mix of temperments they will all look very interesting together. Stay away from anything more closely related to a jungle fowl. Hope this info helps. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions.
Hi Nick, I have a little bantam hen that has been in the nesting box for 3 days. She did lay but I am wondering if she might be sick. What is my best approach?
Most likely, you’re hen is broody. She wants to have some babies. If you reach into the nesting box and she acts a bit differently than usual, such as a new sound like a squeal, or an alarming purr/ whistle, that is a good indicator that she is broody. This will pass after a few weeks, but you can do certain things to make her not broody. google about broody hens- there’s a ton of info out there- for better or worse. This is a good time to put some fertile eggs under her and in 3 weeks you can have a mom with some chicks. Many of my chickens are broody right now, but I just let them be and collect eggs under them. Because your hen laid and egg, it makes me think that she is not sick, for that is a good sign of health. Check out how she’s breathing or her temperature to make sure though. If you have anymore questions, feel free to write. Thanks for checking out my blog.
I’m getting pinkish (almost white) eggs from one of the hens. The only white egg layers I think I have are a blue Andalusian and a silkie. The egg is large and I know what the blue Andalusian lays and this is not it. I can’t image the silkie, which is blue by the way, is the layer of said pink eggs. I also have an americauna, but I thought she was supposed to lay greenish blue eggs. I have 3 sex links (2 red and 1 black) but I am expecting brown eggs from them. I also have a speckled Sussex and I have no idea what she is laying. I am getting some small light brown eggs with speckles too but that could be anyone. This weekend I plan to stalk the nesting boxes to see if I can match the eggs up but short of that, do you have any thoughts ?
the only way to rally be able to tell who is laying which egg is to watch them doing it. Some Ameracaunas lay pinkish eggs, but most lay a light blue/ green. I have a couple that lay very dark green with grey dots, so you never know exactly which shade but I have heard of them laying pink eggs. Also, the Ameracauna may not be laying yet because they tend to be late bloomers and start a little after 6 months. Eggs may start out as one color, but with the more then hen lays, the more consistant color will appear. For example, our Cuckoo Marans started out light brown with dark brown dots and now its the opposite. But if I were to take a guess, I would think that the culprit would be the Sex Links. THey have light brown almost pink eggs and can be quite large. Like I said, you gotta watch to know for sure. Good luck with the goats and sheep- remember, proper flock/ fence management is crucial and even though you may have a bunch of grass, it may not be the right type to give them all of their nutritional needs. Easter Lamb sounds good right now too!
Hi Nick,
This is my first FULL year with chickens. It seems the girls are slowing down now with egg laying. Is this typical for this time of year? Do all hens go into a “moulton” stage? I am not sure what is going on. Thanks for your tips!!
Linda,
Thanks for checking out my blog. Yes, the chickens will be slowing down. My hens peaked in june and there has been a small and steady decline in production ever since. All chickens go through a molting stage that typically takes place in the winter/ fall months. Its a natural process of shedding old feathers and sprouting new ones for the spring time. During molting try to give them some extra protein by either adding a little 20% chick feed (organic, of course) into their feed to bump it up. Or you can do an old trick of making some scrambled eggs and feeding that to them every once in a while. Do not feed them raw eggs as they will most likely become egg eaters, which is a tough habit to break. Sounds like your hens are right on track. Don’t worry too much. As long as they appear to be healthy and not eating eggs (look for broken eggs in nesting boxes or dry yolk on their beaks) or laying elsewhere, they should be A-OK.
hope this info helps. Keep on Chickening.
Thanks for your tips Nick!! Whew.. I feel much better. I keep your blog on my favorites so I can read what other chicken keepers are going through. I live in Kenwood. I added four pullets to my flock this year and they are coming up to 4 months old. I am excited to have some youth in my group! Thanks for making time to field all the questions!!! Cheers
Hey Nick, I have another question for you. I have a hen that has been having some “discharge” from a spot in her feathers above the eye. I have been cleaning it with Hydrogen Peroxide. I dont see any open wounds but it’s making her feathers a bit sticky. Is there a better way to address what’s going on? Her eye seems fine.
hmmmm. not sure what’s going on. Are you sure that the “discharge” is not egg yolk? Sometimes that is how you can tell if a chicken has been eating eggs. There will be yolk on their face and beak. I have seen dried yolk right above the eyes before. If it is some discharge find out where it’s coming from. I would put the chicken in a separate pen for a couple days and make sure that it is not coming from her, but from her environment. If it keeps happening do a very thorough exam of the hen’s entire body. It must come from somewhere!
Hi Nick, When will the hens get past this molting stage? I have not had any eggs now for about a week!! I actually had to buy my first store bought eggs.
I say give it a few weeks. Although I am not buying eggs at the store, my girls have decreased their production by about half compared to the peak of the season. My chickens at the Sonoma Garden Park are only giving my 2 eggs a day- thats with 30 chickens! Give them some extra protein, maybe even buy them some Organic chick crumbles that are 20%. This time of year they need all the energy they can get to grow some feathers and get back to looking good.
Hi. I live in Sonoma and want to get a small backyard flock this Spring. I’m looking into buying a coop but everything I find is $700-$1500. I have a carport on my property that I think could be easily converted into a good coop and run. My question is: Can you recommend anyone in Sonoma who has experience building coops and could build this for me (hopefully for less than buying a pre-made coop).
Aimee,
I used to have the time to build such coops for people, but not anymore. Otherwise, I’d highly recommend myself. I know a few people that could do that job. I have one guy in mind that works for a contractor here in town that’s really good. Email me @ rupiper (dot) nick (at) gmail.com and we can discuss it further.
Good job on your blog. I love that you love your chickens, and I love their eggs. The colors are so beautiful, especially the celadon and chocolate ones. I’ve been going to the Local Butcher Shop in Berkeley. I found them through your website because I wanted to know where else you sold your eggs.
Anyway, I live in San Francisco, am 8 months pregnant, and don’t have a car, so going to Berkeley every weekend is a bit of a trek. I have 2 questions: 1. Can you (or anyone reading this post) please recommend a butcher shop in SF that is similar to the Local Butcher Shop (they buy whole animals that are sustainably raised, local meat (within 150 miles), 100% pasture raised, no anitbiotics, no hormones)? 2. What type of chickens lay those gorgeous celadon and chocolate colored eggs? Thanks!!
Lisa
Lisa,
thanks for writing! And thank you for buying my eggs. I don’t have enough at the moment to provide LBS at the moment. Hopefully, in the spring there will be enough eggs to supply those good people. That place is impressive and everyone there is really, really nice. Congrats on getting knocked up too! I think I can say that because I have a 3 week old daughter and couldn’t be more in love, so I know how it is, kinda. You’re in the home stretch. Just about another month until your own little super chicken arrives.
to answer your questions-
1. I would highly recommend Bi Rite Grocery for all your meat buying in SF. They do their best to buy as local as possible and Chili, the head butcher, is a great guy with high standards and a big concern for proper animal treatment i.e. no hormones, antibiotics, etc. If I lived in SF, I would go there for sure. You can also pick up some of my eggs while you’re there too. Also, just so you know, I raise pigs (and intend to sell some to LBS when they are ready) and sell them directly. You can buy whole or half pig and have it butchered the way you want it. They’re quite happy here and I roll around with them often. They will be available in the spring.
2. Those green eggs come from Ameracauna chickens. It’s a beautiful breed originating from South America, descendants of the Aracauna breed. They hardly lay in the winter, but production is up and I try to put at least one in every dozen. The really dark brown eggs come from Cuckoo Marans, a french breed. I, too, love both those colors.
thanks again for reading my blog.
ps- In May I will be doing a chicken workshop at 18 Reasons in SF. More info to come later.
Thanks and Congratulations Papa! I am so ready to pop – March 1st.
I look forward to eating your eggs again and let me know about the chicken workshop. I’d love to go. I went to Bi-Rite last weekend and got some eggs from another farm. They’re not Nix Chix, but they’ll do for now. Do you sell your chickens at LBS or Bi-RIte? I’ll ask for your pigs at LBS. I love pigs and love eating them, so I’m glad they had a happy life at your farm.
Lisa
I will let everyone know about the workshop through this blog. Also, once it get closer to the date (still forget what day but will find out soon) can you tell some friends that may be interested? If you could put the word out there for me, I would really appreciate it. WIth these workshops it’s hard to predict just how many people will come out. Sometimes 5, other times 50.
I don’t do meat birds anymore. I was selling them direct to customers, but killing hundreds of chickens a week got to me. I’ll let you know where the pigs end up.