Alchemist Farm
On a small country road on the outskirts of Sebastopol, Franchesca and Ryan Duval are on a mission to redefine the chicken-breeding industry with compassion and care for the environment. Their family-run Alchemist Farm is a pioneer of humane breeding and hatching, where no male chicks are killed on our farm as they are at large-scale hatcheries and all of their breeding groups are free to roam on their separate pastures. They specialize in beautiful chickens that lay fun and unique egg colors to add depth to your daily egg collecting baskets. In maintaining their commitment to a more sustainable planet, the farm and hatchery now run on 100% solar power and all of our shipments are 100% plastic free. In this Member Spotlight we chat with Franchesca to learn more about their one-of-a-kind humane breeding and hatching program as well as their commitment to giving back to their communities here.
Alchemist Farm, Sebastopol, alchemistfarm.com
Farm Trails member since 2023
How did you get started?
I have had a love of chickens my entire life. When I found out about the industry standard of male chicks being euthanized at hatch I knew I could not support that practice so I decided to hatch chickens for myself. One thing led to another and my small incubator that held 6 fertile eggs has turned into a full chicken hatchery with 16 fun breeds.
What do you do?
We are a humane chicken hatchery focused on unique heritage breeds of chickens that lay gorgeous egg colors. All of our birds are out free ranging on their pastures, there are no warehouses or breeding cages here. We breed for robust health, even-keel temperament, climate resilience, and of ource really fun egg colors. We believe there is a chicken breed for everyone, just like there are breeds of dogs or cats. We have breeds that are large as well as breeds that are no bigger than a pint sized mason jar for folks who would like to keep chickens in urban areas or people with small backyards. We want everyone to have the rewarding experience of having chickens in their lives.
What do you find most rewarding about your work?
My work is so much more than running a hatchery, I am constantly pushing the envelope of what is possible to run the most regenerative, kind and ecologically sound business possible. Over our decade of hatching and shipping our chicks we have become zero waste and plastic free. We run on 100% solar that we generate from our own solar array here on the farm and we offset our carbon from shipping our chicks by supporting the children’s eternal rainforest in Costa Rica. Everything we do is with A LOT of thoughtfulness and our customers appreciate that. Every day I am aiming to prove that a business can thrive while still giving animals we work with, the planet and our customers the utmost care.
What do you value about being a member of Farm Trails?
I value being a part of Farm Trails because I love the thriving network of farmers here in our area. I have been blessed to do some traveling and no matter where I visit, when I come home I am always amazed by the quality of our food, our farmers, and the local people who value food security and food quality in Sonoma County. We really have it going on here and I love being able to bring awareness to other farms by being a member of Farm Trails.
What are your hopes for your business and/or the future of ag in Sonoma County?
My hope for the future of my business and all sonoma county/national ag is to be able to better our practices. I would like for all of ag to move towards true regenerative models, our collective future depends on it and I know consumers are ready to support it!
What advice would you give to a new farmer?
If you feel a pull in your heart, a true calling to create something in the ag space, DO IT! It does not have to be perfect at first, just establish the values and principles you want to live and run your business by and use them as your north star for decision making. Make shifts/changes one small sustainable step at a time. If you continue to progress forward, you will be amazed at what an incredible business you can create that serves people and the planet.
Photos by Lisa Rose/The Farmers Photographer