NORTHERN California!

[wilbilt]

HI! I'm a new northern CA member also...I am in Palermo, CA. Small town about 1.5 hours north of Sacramento. I am just starting my chicken venture

Coop is almost complete and will be adopting a rooster and some hens from a locasl rescue group within a week or so. Excited about all the great info here! Already been of great help while building my coop!

I'm about 10 miles south of Palermo in Honcut (aka "The Middle of Nowhere"). Hoping to get started with some chicks in the next week or so.

 

[capayvalleychick]

I'm about 10 miles south of Palermo in Honcut (aka "The Middle of Nowhere").

I know some people that may be in that area. Pam, who raises Dexter cattle and Lisa, who has Muscovies and some of the Buckeyes I used to have.
Their address is Oroville, but I had to drive up the hill past the town, turn south and drive a looooonnng way into the woods on a dirt road. It was very remote, definitely the middle of nowhere. They have mountain lion and predator problems, so make sure that you lock up your chickens to be safe.
Kim

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:
I'm about 10 miles south of Palermo in Honcut (aka "The Middle of Nowhere"). Hoping to get started with some chicks in the next week or so.

Great to see everyone in the area. Those of you looking for eggs or chicks, we have Polish and EE's. I'm sending a bunch of eggs to Reno with Sunnydawn today but I'm still waiting for someone to go broody so I can get some chicks. I sold my bator, anyone want to hatch some eggs for me?

 

[wilbilt]

Quote:
I have an Oroville Zip Code and a Marysville phone number. Nobody wants to claim us LOL.

Yes, coyotes, mountain lions, raccoons, skunks and opossums are common here. There was even a report of a small bear about 1/4 mile away last year.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

We're off lower Pentz by Lime Saddle Marina and we use to be in the same situation. We had an Oroville phone number and a Paradise address. My parents live next door and they had a Paradise phone number so it was long distance to call next door! Years ago, they finally gave us a new town, Butte Valley but we kept the Paradise address since I had an established business with the Paradise address.....and I didn't like the name Butte Valley.

We have all the listed predators including the bear. After losing my whole flock (over 20) last year, we built new coops that are predator safe...so far. It was well worth the money spent. I hope to have some chicks as soon as someone goes broody. After hatching this group from my lost flock, I decided it was too stressful unless I get a more reliable incubator. I had two broody girls hatch last year and I definitely prefer to let the girls do it! Now someone just needs to get on the nest!

I have an Oroville Zip Code and a Marysville phone number. Nobody wants to claim us LOL.

Yes, coyotes, mountain lions, raccoons, skunks and opossums are common here. There was even a report of a small bear about 1/4 mile away last year.

(edited for repeat info

)

 

[wilbilt]

We're off lower Pentz by Lime Saddle Marina and we use to be in the same situation. We had an Oroville phone number and a Paradise address. My parents live next door and they had a Paradise phone number so it was long distance to call next door! Years ago, they finally gave us a new town, Butte Valley but we kept the Paradise address since I had an established business with the Paradise address.....and I didn't like the name Butte Valley.

We are within Butte county by about 1/4 mile. There is no local post office, hence the Oroville zip. What is strange is that Palermo is between here and Oroville and has a post office so it would make more sense to have a Palermo address. The other problem is that the ATT service area boundary is not the county line, but about a mile north of it. I can call next door and it is local, but if I call a mile up the road it is not only long distance, but in a different service area (Sacramento vs. Chico), so the rates are the same as calling another state! Gotta love rural living.

 

[JP101010]

Hello Everyone , My hubby and I have a micro farm here in Florida but we may be moving to north CA . We will know for sure within 3 weeks ,I am awaiting test results for a neuro-degenerative , slow progressing terminal illness and may have no choice but to move to a prop 215 state >as this is the only known treatment to delay onset.(trying to keep this post family friendly) not that i would mind , I love CA and spent 2 months out of every summer growing up around orange county where my aunt lives. we want to stay north in Cali and would be wondering if you all would be able to share with me some thoughts on different areas , weather , chicken keeping etc.
BTW we would be moving 9 chickens , 2 ducks , 1 peahen , a Pot belly pig , a giant aquatic turtle and 9 dogs.... eeekkkk ... anybody have experience with going cross country with livestock.. I read that CA needs a health cert for poultry entering the state but thats going to be super expensive .... sooo

lets just say they are southern exotic ground dwelling parrots while they are crossing the California border

examples of what questions i have:
where in norcal is there agriculture land , chicken friendly mountain people? from what we google we are thinking stockton or redding ,i always thought i would find mobile homes with a little land for reasonable prices (reasonable in this market) in humboldt county but i seem to only be finding properties close to the ocean which naturally is more expensive , we found lots of affordable homes in mariposa and one in lake county - between 50- 89k (even saw some awesome off the grid homes) we want to be secluded , possibly in a fixer upper (a house in need of tlc) , and in a place where neighbors are far and livestock is plenty lol
weather wise- im clueless?
bear wise im even more clueless??? we are used to raccoons being the biggest threat so im sure we will need the scoop on bear proofing
any other important considerations on location or livestock issues?
any and all advice is appreciated!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Hello Everyone , My hubby and I have a micro farm here in Florida but we may be moving to north CA . We will know for sure within 3 weeks ,I am awaiting test results for a neuro-degenerative , slow progressing terminal illness and may have no choice but to move to a prop 215 state >as this is the only known treatment to delay onset.(trying to keep this post family friendly) not that i would mind , I love CA and spent 2 months out of every summer growing up around orange county where my aunt lives. we want to stay north in Cali and would be wondering if you all would be able to share with me some thoughts on different areas , weather , chicken keeping etc.
BTW we would be moving 9 chickens , 2 ducks , 1 peahen , a Pot belly pig , a giant aquatic turtle and 9 dogs.... eeekkkk ... anybody have experience with going cross country with livestock.. I read that CA needs a health cert for poultry entering the state but thats going to be super expensive .... sooo

lets just say they are southern exotic ground dwelling parrots while they are crossing the California border

examples of what questions i have:
where in norcal is there agriculture land , chicken friendly mountain people? from what we google we are thinking stockton or redding ,i always thought i would find mobile homes with a little land for reasonable prices (reasonable in this market) in humboldt county but i seem to only be finding properties close to the ocean which naturally is more expensive , we found lots of affordable homes in mariposa and one in lake county - between 50- 89k (even saw some awesome off the grid homes) we want to be secluded , possibly in a fixer upper (a house in need of tlc) , and in a place where neighbors are far and livestock is plenty lol
weather wise- im clueless?
bear wise im even more clueless??? we are used to raccoons being the biggest threat so im sure we will need the scoop on bear proofing
any other important considerations on location or livestock issues?
any and all advice is appreciated!

It just depends on the topography you are looking for.

Stockton really gets beat with the heat in the summer. 115 is not uncommon there.

I'm in the Foothills, near Auburn, and we get some of the heat but not as much or as long. We do get snow though in winter.

Redding is nice - it would be cooler than in the valley in the summer.

Davis is agricultural as well - might be worth looking into. Lincoln is on the outskirts of Roseville.




Bears are here, but usually they are not an issue - my dog keeps them away. I'm in mountainous terrain here and we have bears, mountain lions, skunks, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, snakes, etc. Though the most issues here are from hawks, bobcats, raccoons and foxes.

A lot of places have CC&R's that prohibit poultry - so if possible, you'd want to look for land zoned agricultural. You would also want to check into the City ordinances.

 

[mendocinosunris]

well, c'mon over, JP!

What Happy Chooks said, X2.

There's a lot of variability in the weather. One way to research it is to go to http://www.weather.com and check the average rainfall/temperatures.
The basic rule of thumb is the farther inland you go, the more variable the weather. And the higher you go, the harsher the winters get.
If you're above 2000 feet, expect snow every winter. I'm at a whopping 600 feet & 45ish miles inland, as the crow flies. We've gotten snow maybe twice in 10 years.

As far as moving with livestock, I've moved horses, but not poultry. I made sure to get the proper vaccinations & health checks ahead of time. The only problem I had was when I was crossing the Arizona/New Mexico border in the middle of the night. I was stopped and detained for a while because I couldn't produce a purchase receipt for a horse. Apparently livestock theft had been an issue. So I'd advise not crossing state borders at night. Also, make sure you keep all paperwork handy during your trip.

 

[mendocinosunris]

Oh - - here's the link to CA FDA:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov//ahfss/Animal_Health/Entry_Requirements.html

If I read it correctly, you need an entry permit & a certificate of veterinary inspection. No clue on the cost, tho.

Just a warning: with the budget cuts, the border stations are sometimes closed, and no inspections happen. But it's random. And if they inspect you, they WILL confiscate items or turn you back if you don't have your paperwork in order. I had some hay confiscated at the CA border. They let me keep any hay that was enclosed within the horse trailer, but I had to give up the hay that was in the open. Their "logic" was that any unwanted insects could blow out of the open hay and cause an infestation.

*edit* apparently you don't need an entry permit for poultry. And apparently i can't read. Back to kindergarten for me...