FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We use "coop ready" to denote a young chicken or other type of fowl that is fully feathered and ready to be outdoors, with consideration given to the climate and season. It also means the bird has reached an age where it is no longer fragile like chicks are, and when it can be sexed easily. For most of our birds, that is 6 weeks of age during our typical sales season (March to October). A few of our breeds which are hard to sex, like Silkies or Polish, may not be ready for delivery or pick-up until closer to 8 or 10 weeks of age, to ensure the sexing is accurate. 

To make sure we're adhering to our transparency guarantee, we won't ever promise the exact personality of any one single bird, as it would be inaccurate and irresponsible. However, we do handle our birds regularly and spend plenty of time in the brooding barns with them while they grow, meaning that they are used to human interaction. In addition, because some breeds will always be naturally friendlier than others due to genetics, we will work with each individual customer as needed to make sure the breed they've chosen is a perfect fit for their family and flock. 

We are not a hatchery - we do not hatch our own birds. We work with select, high quality commercial hatcheries to purchase day old chicks. We receive these chicks at approximately 48 hours of age via USPS shipping and raise them on site in our state-of-the-art housing facilities until they are ready for their new homes. In time we do hope to vertically integrate hatchery operations and become a full-fledged hatchery; however, this is still a few years away from happening.

At this time, all of our birds come from:

- Cackle Hatchery in Missouri.

All of the hatcheries we work with are NPIP certified. We never purchase chicks from any facilities which are not NPIP certified, nor do we ever bring in birds which are not day-olds, to ensure our flock is never exposed to any disease.

All of our chickens are Marek's vaccinated by the hatchery before they are sent to us. Marek's is one of the most common poultry diseases worldwide and is a very large issue in California due to our climate; it is often referred to as "ubiquitous" in this area by veterinary professionals familiar with the disease, because it's simply so widespread. As such, we see no reason to risk losing healthy birds by not vaccinating them. The Marek's vaccine is developed using a turkey strain of the virus which is harmless to chickens. It is not a live vaccine and cannot spread Marek's to unvaccinated chickens. We do not vaccinate for any other diseases.

Most of our birds we purchase as sexed day olds, which means they come to us pre-sexed with an 80-95% rate of accuracy. As they grow, we use years of experience to pick out any roosters which sneak past the hatchery's sexers using visual cues such as comb and feather development, size, personality, bone structure, and growth rate. Our accuracy historically and currently sits at close to 98%. In a case of mistaken identity where a customer ends up with an "oopster", we will either replace the bird with a brand-new pullet of the same breed, or offer a full refund/return, depending on customer preference and what we have available at the time the male is discovered.

We take biosecurity very seriously. One of the greatest crimes of unscrupulous poultry sellers is to sell sick birds, since many contagious diseases common to poultry CANNOT be cured, meaning infected flocks become carriers for life.
We use a veterinary grade disinfectant on our feeders, waterers, sheds, and transport vehicles daily. We also disinfect vehicles and transport boxes between each and every delivery.
Once a bird has left our property, it is never brought back into the flock. (*Roosters returned under our 100% female guarantee are held entirely separate from our existing flocks until they find new homes).
We never purchase birds from anywhere except NPIP-approved commercial hatcheries. We also never purchase birds more than one day of age, even from NPIP approved facilities, as the likelihood of a bird picking up a disease increases drastically with age. 

A common question we get is "What happens to the roosters, if you sell only pullets?"

We believe in honesty, and in treating our birds ethically and with respect from the moment we get them until the moment they leave our care and go to their new homes. This includes the cockerels we end up with as either the result of mis-sexing by the hatchery, or from straight run (unsexed) orders, particularly bantams.

Our cockerels have a few options once they are identified: well-mannered boys we hold onto as long as possible and attempt to find homes for, where they can be protectors and guardians for their own little flocks. Ill-tempered males typically go straight to the soup pot, either our family's or another's, often as part of bartering agreements. Birds that can't be used for meat, like bantams, and can't be rehomed, are typically humanely euthanized and used to feed our other animals such as dogs, cats, and snakes. We make every effort to get as many roosters to new homes as possible, but the sad truth is there are simply too many roosters and not enough homes. However, even those we can't rehome are given happy lives, respectful ends, and NEVER go to waste.

We have no official minimums or maximums. However, we highly recommend a minimum purchase of 2 birds to ensure your new pullet has a "buddy" to stick with during introduction to an existing flock, ad introducing a single bird can be extremely difficult and hard on the bird. For new owners with no existing flock, we recommend a minimum of 3 birds, because chickens are highly social creatures and you don't want to risk having a single lone bird should something happen to one of them.

We deliver to different regions on different days of the week - this is how we ensure low delivery fees for all of our customers. You cannot choose what time of day the delivery will occur - several days before delivery, an approximate time of arrival will be texted to your mobile phone. Please make sure that either someone will be home to accept the birds, or if no one can be home, that we have clear directions and access as to where we to leave them. The area must be secured from both people and other animals, and temperature controlled if the weather is excessively hot or cold.  

The regions shown on our website list only major towns/cities in a particular region. If your address is anywhere between any two listed towns, or within 15 miles outside of them, you can still select delivery to that region and there will be no additional charge. For every additional mile between 16-50 miles outside the delivery region, our standard mileage charge of $0.50c/mile will apply. For deliveries more than 50 miles outside any listed region, contact us directly to determine your delivery fee. 

As of 2024 we are now offering in-person pick up on location in Shingle Springs! You can find more information about our drop-in hours or scheduling a pick-up appointment on our hours and location page.

We take the utmost biosecurity precautions when operating our pick-up area. All equipment and the general area are regularly disinfected; the pick-up stand is located entirely separate from our growing barns and we unfortunately cannot allow any customers to visit the barns themselves to ensure total biosecurity.