Farm Life Spotlight: Chickens of Paradise

Meet Jonathan - the face behind his self-made brand Chickens of Paradise!

His story begins at the age of nine when his dad assigned him to take care of the new family flock of 2 White Leghorns and 7 Black Jersey Giants. The goal was to teach responsibility, but little did his dad know he was planting the seeds for something so much bigger. Within a few years, nine chickens became 50, and little Jonathan was selling eggs to the neighbors and friends at church.

The farm life was ultimately inspired by his grandparents who owned 5 acres near Grass Valley, and at one time had nearly a thousand chickens in various stages of growth! Their farm was a literal zoo with llamas, Barbados sheep, emus, peacocks, turkeys, geese, ducks, goats, cockatiels, parakeets, parrots, guinea hens, and several dozen cats. Jonathan's family acquired their first chickens and about half their flock from his grandparents who have given him much advice and laid the foundation for basic poultry care knowledge. 

A distinct moment Jonathan remembers is helping a distressed mother and her children on the hunt for easter egger chicks after accidentally purchasing a rooster. Jonathan contacted them and handed them one of his favorites to see the smiles on everyone's faces. The family ended up driving an hour and a half  to pick up the hen and since then have returned to purchase more chickens! 

Farm life is not easy and there are always challenges. Jonathan finds it difficult to leave a place where he has much invested and requires daily care. This gets in the way of going on vacations or trips away from the farm. Life directly on the farm is just as challenging due to its' unpredictability. He explains how he battles through chicken egg infertility and then finally gets a good hatch only to have 90% of the chicks grow up to be roosters. Or living for 5 years without a major chicken disease to suddenly have several diseases show up in the same year claiming the lives of over 100 birds. On top of this, dealing with nocturnal predators purposefully deciding to hunt during the daytime because they are hungry enough to risk it. 

Regardless, the challenge of the hardships keeps him coming back for more because the success of holding a newly hatched chick or admiring a fine full-grown fowl, or holding a fresh, colorful egg in his hand makes it all worth it!

His advice to other small farmers or anyone interested in poultry is to get connected with others in your field of homesteading interest on social media. "I’ve learned more from the posts, stories, and messages with these folks than anywhere else. It’s important to also realize that just because something works for an “influencer” or large account on Instagram for example doesn’t mean it will work for you. Experience is the greatest teacher, but the community is there to give you options and help solve solutions. Invest time talking with people to build genuine friendships. Make friends that will celebrate with you when your hen lays her first egg and grieve with you when your first hen dies. These are the kind of people you want around you.", Jonathan says. 

Jonathan has noticed a growing unrest with how people view the large-scale egg industry and scarcity in egg availability and pricing over the past few years due to diseases both human and avian. He reflects on how he sold so many eggs when he was young because people thought he was a cute kid, but it wasn’t until 2020 that he was able to consistently sell eggs as an adult that he realized more people just want fresh eggs from a source they trust.  

When it comes to the future of farming Jonathan hopes to see more small local farms partnering with independent individuals to supply the community with food. He hopes a greater number of people will desire to grow their own food and/or obtain it locally for health and self-sustainability benefits. 

When asked how he sees his role in the community Jonathan says "I used to want to be the go-to guy in the community for colored egg layer chicks in the spring and layer pullets in the fall. But after diseases hit me hard in the second half of 2022 and the demand for chickens continued to skyrocket, I realized I needed to be something different. A breeder? Always--but on a scale smaller and more specialized. An eating egg producer? More than ever--because I believe everyone should have access to fresh, free ranger, AFFORDABLE eggs. And most importantly I plan to continue to be an educator and helper within the homestead community." 

Follow along with Jonathan and his flock on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok