Online Classes

We are now offering pre-recorded, watch at your own pace classes. Read the descriptions of the three offerings below to see which class(es) are best for you. We have beginner chicken keeping, advanced chicken keeping and quail keeping. 

Register Here

 We are all feeling the pressures of food insecurity right now and being able to raise and work with your own birds is a physical, mental and emotional comfort. Each of these online classes have been lovingly prepared and recorded so that you can watch them at your own pace and enter into the chicken and or quail keeping journey with confidence.
Part of the fun of having classes in person is receiving questions from you all. To accommodate this during this time of national lockdown we are setting up a special online video conference classroom for each class sections (beginning, advanced and quail keeping) for a live Q & A if you have any questions above and beyond what you learned in the pre recorded classes.
We will offer the Live Q & A three times each year (a spring, summer, and fall session) for class participants who have watched the pre-recorded classes they register for. Each class participant will be sent the login information for the Q & A  for their specific class they registered for a week in advance of each session. Each section will be open for 45 minutes in which we can all learn and come together.

See below for full descriptions of each class. 

Beginning Chicken Keeping Class Outline

  • All about the egg, store bought vs. pasture raised
  • Overview of breeds of chickens, choosing the right breeds for your back yard be it breeds for pets, strong egg producers, meat producers, or dual purpose.
  • Purchasing chicks.
  • Brooding chicks (including all equipment needed).
  • Building and or purchasing a predator proof coop with a chickens well being and optimal comfort in mind.
  • Equipment for feeding and watering your chickens.
  • Correct feed for the various stages of your chickens life, where to get it and how to properly store it.
  • Proper bedding for your coop, how to clean your coop and sustainable reuse of the bedding from the coop.
  • Setting yourself up for success in how you relate to your flock and daily interactions.
  • Normal chicken behavior vs. basic signs of illness.
  • Collection and proper storage of eggs.

Advanced Chicken Keeping Class Outline

  • Home breeding and incubation.
  • Overview of various incubators on the market.
  • Proper incubation technique, what temperature and humidity to be aiming for.
  • Incubating with a machine vs. a broody hen, health benefits of both methods.
  • Selecting eggs to incubate, testing for fertility and viability.
  • Candling of eggs
  • Feather and egg color genetics of breeds, how to create your own breed
  • Holistic health management of the flock.
  • Setting up proper biosecurity and how to maintain it.
  • Proper wing trimming technique
  • Signs and symptoms of sickness, overview of various common illnesses.
  • What to keep in the home veterinary kit.
  • Treatments for common ailments.

Quail Keeping and Processing Class

  • How to properly incubate and hatch quail eggs
  • Brooding of quail, setting yourself up for success
  • Proper housing, feeding, protection from predators
  • Group harmony
  • Proper nutrition for egg vs meat production
  • What to keep in your home veterinary kit
  • Humane and swift processing of a quail with Ryan Duval

Registration can be made here. 

 A complete list of chicken and quail raising supplies can be found here.

alchemist_farmOnline Classes