The start of Dream Chicken Coop

Dream Chicken Coop Headquarters - Mad Town, California

One day, our 7-year-old came to us with a business proposal. Yes, you read that right—a business proposal. What we thought would be a casual chat about farm fun turned into a full-blown pitch meeting. She had an agenda, a plan, and even a decision deadline. Honestly, we half-expected her to slide a contract across the table!

She had clearly done her homework. She explained how chickens lay different types of eggs, how much certain breeds lay, and how many eggs we could sell. She even pointed out a gap in the farm’s productivity—after citrus season, we didn’t have much to help offset costs. Her solution? Chickens. Lots of chickens. She even suggested we look into rare and bantam breeds because, in her words, “people like fancy.” How could we argue with that logic? With a mix of pride and curiosity, we said, “Let’s do it.” And just like that, our family’s chicken journey began.

We started small, with feed store chickens, but as anyone who’s fallen victim to “chicken math” knows, it doesn’t stay small for long. Full disclosure: while her business mind was sharp, the rest of us caught the chicken math bug! We ended up buying more chickens than we could reasonably sell—oops. But as a family, we learned, adjusted, and started applying real-world business skills to turn things around. Over time, we stopped the financial bleeding, and now the farm supports itself.

While it doesn’t fund big-ticket items just yet, it gives us something far more valuable. Our family eats well, the kids have magical experiences that most people dream of, and we’re all learning old-school values by farming together. Along the way, we’ve had so much fun exploring unique chicken breeds, marveling at egg colors, and even designing chicken-inspired earrings. The farm has become more than a business—it’s a place where life lessons grow right alongside the crops.

So, while we’re still waiting for this venture to pay off in “big bucks,” it’s already paid us back in ways money can’t buy. And that, for our family, is worth every cluck, every feather, and every egg.