Honeychick Homestead

Homestead, Health, and Happiness

Tag Archives: Heritage Breed Chickens


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The 2015 National Heirloom Exposition – Part One

Last year, I learned about this cool event, The National Heirloom Exposition, after it happened, what a bummer!

I made sure I didn’t miss it this year because I NEED to learn more about gardening, I’m pretty much clueless about how to grow vegetables and my summer garden is pitiful. An added bonus is there are several presentations about biodynamic beekeeping.

I will say, I know how to pick a HOT year to attend, the temperatures will be 100 degrees or higher everyday that I’m at this outdoor event!

So, I’m sure you’re wondering what’s The National Heirloom Exposition?

It is hosted by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and is held every September at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. The expo also known as the “Worlds Fair of Pure Food” and it is a NOT for profit event. According to their website, “all the funds above cost are donated to school gardening education and other sustainable food programs.” I totally support that and the cost for a 3 day pass was only $30. It is great for families because kids under 17 are free!

I found this quote from Jere Gettle, the founder of Baker Creek, that explains why they host this expo “the motive was to provide an opportunity for growers to display the variety of fruits and vegetables that can be grown, and to give consumers, gardeners and farmers a chance to see them up close at a time of burgeoning interest in locally grown, organic foods, sustainable production and food security.” Continue reading →


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Introducing….My Egg Laying Ladies!

I FINALLY have hens! If you follow my Facebook page, this is old news 🙂

It’s taken me 2 years to add these ladies to my little homestead and I felt this summer was a good time to take the plunge. I’m glad I waited until I was ready, because the 30 days since their arrival kept me busy and it’s be huge learning experience.

In my humble opinion, I think bees are WAY easier and I’m so glad I started with bees!

I decided to skip the cute, cuddly chick part, and instead get 16 week old, ready to lay hens. I chose this option because I don’t believe in supporting factory farms and it seemed like most hatchery’s are baby making factory farms for chicks. One hatchery I felt comfortable buying from (Sand Hill) had a minimum order of 25 chicks. Starting with 25 felt super overwhelming! Sand Hill only sells chicks straight run, meaning they do not sex them, so I may have ended up with several roosters.

Even though baby chicks would’ve been cute, I thought it would be tons of work and didn’t feel like I had the time. I also didn’t want to accidentally end up with a rooster, I’d love fertile eggs but I’m not allowed to keep a rooster because of my zoning.

I contacted Live Earth Farm, a local farm who provides my vegetable CSA, to see if they had hens available. They recommended I contact Root Down Farm located about 30 miles north. I was so glad to learn about Root Down Farm, the owner, Dede is super friendly and she’s raises heritage breed Delaware, Chantecler, and Plymouth Rock chickens. Her farm is also animal welfare approved.

The day I called, Dede said she’d have ready to lay hens available in near the end of July. This was perfect timing, so we set a date and on the evening of July 26th, I picked up six hens. The rest of this post is a picture gallery sharing what’s transpired over the last month, enjoy! Continue reading →