"A Chicken in Every Yard"
Ever have a pet chicken? Chickens can be a great way to bring the country into your own back yard. Chickens get the bugs in your garden (including Black Widows!), aerate your compost pile, and make every day an Easter Egg hunt! Plus, you know if your eggs come from happy chickens.
As part of the educational program for CETA, Phoenix Ranch raises Cinnamon Queens (aka Red Star, Red-Sex-linked, Golden Comets), selected for their high production of brown eggs as well as being calm and friendly. It's also easy to tell hens from roosters, even at a young age, which means you don't need to figure out what to do when the sweet little chicks grow into roosters and start waking up the neighbors.
We also carry White Rocks, Barred Rocks and Turken Naked Necks. These breeds were selected because of their friendliness. All lay brown eggs. Barred Rock in our experience are one of the most people-oriented breeds we've had, the most likely to follow you around the yard while you garden. The ones sexed at the hatchery gives better odds of getting hens than buying "straight run" though isn't 100% accurate. But if you get an accidental rooster and you let us know by four months old, we'll either trade you for a pullet if we have anything to offer or we'll give you credit for one down the road.
At Phoenix Ranch, we focus on making our chickens good pets by handling them a lot as babies. These become well-socialized hens that are comfortable with being carried around (hens are very soft!) and are easy to catch up. We are bringing in chicks from different Midwest hatcheries and seeing which ones we like best. We will have available pullets and hens of various ages in limited quantities. We are happy to answer any questions by email. Lessons on keeping back yard hens are available by appointment at Phoenix Ranch for a modest donation.
For more information on availability, see our "What's New" page.
You can also check out the following websites for more information on back yard chicken raising:
www.backyardchickens.com www.mypetchicken.com
NOTE: We have a few mixed breed hens, pullets, chicks and roosters for sale. Prices and availability vary from day to day so call Dr. Chan for the latest info. (530-219-0897)