April 25, 2024 • 21 mins
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Nikki hatched her first chicken egg in 2006 and has been obsessed with chickens ever since! She has her masters in education and loves teaching others. She left a career teaching kindergarten to stay home with her kids and now teaches others about chicken keeping through her social media channels and her book, Chicken Keeping Pure and Simple. She also just released a children’s book about her rescue goose. You can find her on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube as @purelychickens
From a kindergarten classroom to the coop, Nikki from Purely Chickens shares her heartwarming transformation into a chicken maven and published author. Her narrative is a plume of inspiration, revealing how a single hatched egg evolved into a bustling hub for poultry enthusiasts. As we chat with Nikki, her devotion to animal care and education is palpable, reinforcing the essence of pursuing one's true calling. Join us as we celebrate the threads of social media that weave chicken keepers together during these unparalleled times, highlighting the importance of community and connectivity.
This episode is a treasure trove for budding chicken keepers and seasoned fowl friends alike. Nikki guides us through the essentials of starting your own flock, from thoughtful planning to selecting quality materials, and the candid work involved. While the chatter of TikTok's uncertain future clucks in the background, we emphasize the wisdom of spreading your wings across multiple social platforms. And as our conversation comes to a close, Nikki unveils her journey to authorship, sparked by a viral coop clip, reminding us that social media can be more than a showcase—it's a place to hatch connections and spread knowledge among like-hearted animal lovers. Don't miss this episode; it's sure to ruffle some feathers in the best way possible.
“Where education fuels compassion.”
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melissa (00:00):
Hey y'all, welcome back to Willma the Wonderhands
podcast.
I'm Mel and today's guest isNikki of Purely Chickens.
Nikki hatched her very firstchicken egg in 2006 and has been
obsessed with chickens eversince.
She has her master's degree ineducation and loves teaching
others.
She left a career teachingkindergarten to stay home with
(00:22):
her kids and now teaches othersabout chicken keeping through
her social media channels andher book Chicken Keeping, pure
and Simple.
She also just released achildren's book about her rescue
goose.
It is very, very cute.
You have got to check it out.
You can find her on TikTokok,instagram, facebook and youtube
(00:44):
as purely chickens.
Hey y'all, I'm mel and you arelistening to Wilma the Wonder
(01:05):
Hen.
Are you a chicken-mouth-lovingmama or daddy?
Together we'll dive into thelatest poultry-keeping
adventures, chat about everydaylife with a generous mix of some
hilarious stories, bringing youfascinating interviews with
poultry owners from all over.
(01:25):
You'll find tips and basicadvice from your local
veterinarian, along with newchicken keeping gadgets and
reviews.
I'm gonna see what mr janglesand wilma has to say about that.
We're going to encourage andhelp you build a stronger,
healthier flock.
Let's go see what mr janglesand wilma is up to.
Let's go let these heifers out.
Hi, welcome back.
(01:48):
This is Mel of Wilma theWonderhand, and today we have
finally, finally get theopportunity to sit down with
Nikki of Purely Chickens.
It is definitely an honor tohave her on our show, so we just
want to say thank you, nikki,for taking out time out of your
day.
Nikki (02:05):
I know you're very busy, so welcome Welcome to Wilma the
Wonderhand's podcast, thank you, and it's an honor to be asked
to be here, because you knowwe're all friends on social
media.
But, yeah, I've never got tosit down and talk with you, so
I'm excited, I'm very excitedtoo.
Melissa (02:25):
I know our listeners.
In case they didn't know whoyou are, which is probably not
very true, I'm sure everyone inthe chicken community knows who
you are but could you give us alittle idea of who you are, kind
of your background?
Just tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Nikki (02:39):
Sure, I'm a mom.
I've got two young boys inelementary school and I taught
kindergarten for 10 yearsdecided to stay home with my
second son when he was born andthen just kind of got bored and
started posting random videos on.
(02:59):
Tiktok is where I started andone of my chicken coop videos
went viral and I said, oh,people want to learn about
chickens, okay, and just kind ofwent with it.
So, um, now I stay home, I dothis full time, I educate others
, I'm an author, um, and I justspend a lot of time making sure
that you know I'm getting thecorrect information out there
(03:21):
and sharing my experience andcreating a community of
open-minded chicken keeperswhere everybody can feel welcome
.
So that's pretty much what I do.
Melissa (03:30):
Oh, that's pretty awesome, Was that something?
Let's kind of step back alittle bit.
Did you have chickens andanimals when you were little?
Nikki (03:39):
I did.
Yeah, I talk about that in mybook.
I've always been like obsessedobsessed with animals, I don't
know what it is.
I was always bringing homesomething I remember in high
school I bottle fed baby mice inmy locker during during the
breaks of you know, when you, um, I, my neighbor, started their
grill, a nest of mice fell out.
(04:00):
The mom didn't make it and Iwas like I have to rescue these
pink little mice.
Um.
So ever since I was younger Imean my first pet, I think that
I was personally, given I wasabout three or four years old
yeah, I just always have lovedanimals.
And then I started hatchingchickens with my kindergarten
class back in 2006.
And I became just enamored withchickens in general.
(04:22):
So that's where I got my start.
Melissa (04:29):
So do you live in a place?
Nikki (04:31):
now where you can have as many chickens as you want.
Are you limited?
Yeah, so, um, we live, um in atown that doesn't have any
restrictions, other than, youknow, the coop has to be so far
away from the property line, soyou're not, you know, close to
your neighbor's house, but we'reallowed to have roosters where
there's no limit on hens, whichis good, because I have a lot.
Um, the only thing that I findrestricting is we do live like
(04:52):
in an allotment, like aneighborhood, and so I don't
want to be intrusive toeverybody.
Uh, so we do have goats andgeese, and they are the loudest.
Melissa (05:02):
Um, I concur.
My geese are definitely theloudest in the whole
neighborhood.
Nikki (05:08):
Yeah, and then they're fine, unless they see you coming
.
Then they're like hey, we needtreats.
Melissa (05:14):
Yeah, what are your geese favorite treats?
I'm just as a sidebar here.
Nikki (05:20):
Grubs.
They love grubs, dried grubsand peas, of course, and mostly
they.
They just want to scream forfood, I think, cause I come out
and feed them twice a day and Ihave to feed them separately
from my goats, and my goatsdon't eat their feed, so they
know if they see me it's mostlikely time to to just eat.
Melissa (05:37):
In general, I know that , uh, you have, like you said,
you, started posting um yourboard.
I think a lot of us, you knowmaybe it was during the COVID
era, I'm not sure, but a lot ofus that had chickens for many,
many years we just kind of likestepped on to the TikTok thing
and maybe that was justsomething we really resonated
(05:59):
with.
We really, like you know, sothat's kind of what we started
posting about.
We really, like you know, sothat's kind of what we started
posting about.
But prior to that, or well, inaccordance, with that?
Nikki (06:14):
where did you find your information to learn about
chicken keeping Books?
There's.
You know there's tons of greatchicken books out there.
Social media groups are kind ofhit or miss because you get
people with completely differentopinions than you.
I feel like there's some placesonline that you know.
You find the crowd of peoplewho are like it's just a chicken
, it doesn't matter, their lifedoesn't matter.
(06:38):
So you know, those kind ofthings are hard to find, like in
a community where people,people have the same viewpoints
on animals that I do.
The Chicken Health Handbookthat book is like a Bible over
here for health issues.
I love Poultry DVM's website.
They've got so many goodresources and information about
(07:04):
different illnesses and you knowhow to find a poultry vet, all
that kind of thing.
Sorry, my dog just sneezed.
Hey, come here.
Are you going to be bad?
Come here, that's okay, we like, we like bad, we like bad dogs
bad chickens, that's okay.
Melissa (07:23):
We like bad.
We like bad dogs.
Bad chickens, it's fine.
Nikki (07:27):
I've been helping too long.
I need to pester my sister dog.
Melissa (07:31):
What kind of dog do you have?
Nikki (07:34):
He is an English setter.
He's a bird dog, which was amistake.
Melissa (07:42):
Yeah, they're very rambunctiousious and they
definitely have a very highdrive, and yeah, with birds for
sure.
Nikki (07:48):
Right, he's bringing the house.
He's super lazy.
We go outside and he has tonsof energy and then he just
points at my chickens.
He's super obsessed with mychicken.
So that was a probably not inhindsight it wasn't the best
decision, but we love him andhe's.
They have a fence so they'resafe.
But yeah, he just he'll stareout the way to cover our window
that faces the coop so he can'tsee, so he'll just obsess over
(08:12):
them.
But he's pretty dog.
He's just kind of crazy.
Melissa (08:14):
Yeah, how did you get started?
Did you think that was going tobe what you have?
Now?
We can go back, take a fewsteps back.
When it first happened, wereyou prepared?
Was it something that youwanted anything to do with,
really?
Nikki (08:29):
No, I wasn't trying to go viral, I wasn't trying to
gain followers.
Actually, before I started this, I was kind of quiet on social
media.
Actually, before I started this, I was kind of quiet on social
media, even like on my personalFacebook page.
I didn't post my kids a lot, Ijust kind of stayed, you know,
kind of quiet.
This video went viral.
I remember we were leaving forvacation.
I posted it.
(08:50):
I didn't even think about itafter that.
We were sitting by the pool onvacation and my sister-in-law
said have you seen your videothat you posted on TikTok?
And I go no, she's like it isgoing viral.
And just like overnight I had10,000 followers and back then I
was like 10,000 people likewhat in the world?
And the whole vacation she waslike super excited.
(09:12):
She kept like opening it up,going oh my gosh, look how many
you have now.
Oh my gosh.
And then I just kind of startedanswering people's questions
from that video, just makinganother video answering a
question about chickens, and itjust kind of took off.
And I had no plans to write abook to.
You know, grow my social mediato what it is now.
I just didn't.
That wasn't like in the plans,but once I figured out that,
(09:36):
like I didn't have to go back toteaching this could be a career
oh yeah, right, absolutely, andyou can make use of it then
that's kind of what I did.
But yeah, my TikTok went fromthat zero to 10,000.
And now I think it's at 350,000.
And I grew on Instagram and I'mon YouTube and everywhere else,
(09:57):
so it's a lot of fun.
Melissa (09:59):
Yeah, it is a lot of fun and yeah, that's a lot to
handle in that time span.
Do you see anything likenegative that came out of that?
Nikki (10:08):
I didn't.
I know I didn't find anynegativity and I don't know if I
just got lucky, but I feel likethe people who have decided to
follow me and the people whocomment on my stuff are, you
know, really decent good people.
Um, I've had, you know,occasionally some negative
comments here and there, butnothing that my followers don't
all, just, you know, comment onit and say that you're wrong,
(10:33):
like it's.
It's a chicken.
Melissa (10:35):
It matters you know that kind of thing.
Nikki (10:37):
Um no, but I haven't found any negativity and um yeah
, just it's been positive so far.
Melissa (10:43):
What do you think about the TikTok ban?
I know this is completelyunrelated, but I just thought it
.
Nikki (10:48):
Yeah, I don't know what to think about it.
I still hope that something'sgoing to come of it.
I feel like somebody out therewith a lot of money is going to
buy it and take it over.
I don't know.
I'm just I'm hopeful that itall works out, and I've been
listening to other people talkabout it, how it may be six
months, it may be five years,you know, you really don't know
what's going to happen with itand how it's going to go.
So, trying not to think aboutit too much, I think my
(11:11):
followers that I resonate withthe most are on Instagram.
Um, my following there is, likeI don't know, 270, some
thousand or something, and soit's not as big as my TikTok
following, but I get moreengagement there, I get more
views there, I can communicatebetter in my stories there.
I feel like I answer mymessages there better, so I just
(11:32):
I feel like that's my home base, even though I started on
TikTok, so I'm trying not toworry about it too much.
Yeah.
Melissa (11:38):
I mean that makes sense .
I mean you can't really.
I think the mistake is likekind of putting all of your
dreams and hopes in one platformand then forgetting about.
You know you can look at TikTokand IG and all them as like
short form content, and then youhave long form like blogs and
obviously books and you knowpodcasts and things like that.
(12:01):
That's where your long form umanyway, that's like we went
complete left.
But I was just curious yourthoughts on that um.
Do you have uh tips for someonewho is just starting out, like
the basic tips um to help them?
Nikki (12:16):
I think.
I think it's probably the sameas what every experienced
chicken keeper would say isbuild bigger than what you
anticipate.
You're probably not going tostop at the three to six
chickens you said you were goingto.
So aim for bigger unless youwant to know in the back of your
mind you might upgrade later.
Don't start with cheapmaterials.
Yes, you can definitely raisechickens with cheap materials,
(12:39):
but I feel like that's justgoing to be a pain in the end.
You're going to, you know, haveto, and I don't mean like cheap
as in price, quality wise.
I mean I have a metal roof onmy chicken run, but it was all
free for me.
Like I salvaged those.
You know so, but it wasn't.
You know they're not, it's notgoing to fall apart.
It may not look the prettiestbut it's not going to fall apart
.
So I just mean like, getquality stuff, whether you have
(13:02):
to scrounge for it or, you know,pay for it, and just know that
you're not going to get freeeggs.
I know All the things People toknow ahead of time that there
will be trouble, there will beillnesses, there will be
chickens who get hurt.
You know you want to have astrong stomach and I always say
start small I think five is agreat number just to kind of get
(13:25):
your feet wet and understandchickens and you know, know what
they need and then see what youcan handle.
Personally too, I think people,you know, sometimes they jump
in head first, get 27 chickensand realize I don't like
cleaning chicken coops, or I,you know, don't have the time to
collect eggs and my chickensare breaking them.
Or you know all these thingsthat come up that you realize
this was too much for me, didyou immediately once your
(13:48):
following started growing.
Melissa (13:49):
Was that something that popped in your mind?
Nikki (13:51):
Hey, I'm going to write a book about this, that
something that popped in yourmind hey, I'm going to write a
book about this.
No, I never had any intentionto write a chicken book.
I have always because I'm akindergarten teacher by trade
like I wanted to writechildren's books.
And there's even like anarticle in the newspaper about
me back in like early 2000s whenthey were interviewing the
teacher like the new teacher ofthe district, and I had said my
(14:12):
dream is to write children'sbooks.
So it's always been in the backof my mind, just never
something that took off and apublisher reached out to me
because of my social mediapresence and said hey, do you
want to sit down?
We have some interest inpublishing you and writing a
chicken book.
My head went to oh my gosh, theyare going to help me write my
children's book.
This is my chance.
(14:33):
And when I sat down with themthey were like oh no, no, that's
not what we're talking about.
We want you to write the how tochicken keeping book.
And I'm like, okay, let methink about this.
Um, and so I didn't say yesright away.
I kind of just like molded overwith my husband.
You know, what do we have in,you know, the next year going on
with our lives that?
Can I take time to like sit andwrite this book and it just we
(14:57):
decided I decided I was going togo with it and kind of wrote
out a plan for what would thechapters look like and then back
with the publisher and then itjust kind of snowballed from
there.
So it was never in my plans butit was kind of a fun twist.
My family and my kids thinkit's pretty cool that you know
mommy has a book.
Melissa (15:13):
So yeah, I mean that is pretty cool.
You know, hey, you're the coolmom, so you just let them know
and remind them of that.
I know a lot of our listenerslike to know do you have a
favorite breed of chicken?
Nikki (15:27):
And if you do, why I always say Orpington?
They're the ones I got startedwith and I think they're the
ones I have the most of rightnow.
I love Orpington's for a fewreasons.
One you can't resist a big,fluffy chicken.
They're booties, the big.
The big fluffy thing is youcan't get them they.
They lay eggs pretty decently.
They make wonderful mothers.
(15:48):
They come in so many differentcolors, like I love that you.
You know you could get all thesame breed, but that you can.
My dog in the back, oh my gosh.
So I like that you can get allthe same breed but they can all
look so different.
I love when the flock is likemixed and it looks different,
(16:11):
because I feel like you knowthat, you know their names and
you know their personalities andyou can tell who's who.
Do you have any future?
Melissa (16:18):
plans for your brand, anything different, something
you want to brand down into, orare you just happy where you are
?
Are you just going to let it?
Nikki (16:26):
Yeah, I'm happy where we are right now.
I have a new product out withmy face on the bag with, as a
co-branded product with EatonPet and Pasture.
We've got some other stuff inthe works coming down the line,
so I think continuing along thatpath of just coming out with
stuff that makes chicken keepingeasier for people and more
enjoyable because that's where Iget joy out of it I'm not the
(16:48):
traditional chicken keeper thatwe know from the past, where you
just have some chickens in thebackyard, you throw them their
scraps and they give you eggs.
My chickens are my pets, likethey are all named I.
They all know me.
I know every single one of them.
So you know I like to spoil mychickens, but I want to make
chicken keeping easier forpeople too.
Melissa (17:06):
So, um, things coming down, I can't talk too much
about them, but things comingout, you know, eventually, yeah,
I think that's pretty typicalwith most of the people that are
in our little circle anddefinitely most of our guests,
you know they don't think ofchickens, like they did in the
past, as just food, which I mean.
Some people still, you know,think that way and we we was
(17:29):
never to judge.
So you know, to each their own.
You have to do what's best foryour family and your flock and
we would never never, do that.
But yeah, I tell a lot of peopleand I definitely want you to
speak into our vet.
You know that chickens are thenewest or newest in quotation
mark companion pets.
They are just, they are beyond.
(17:51):
You know laying eggs and oncethey stop laying eggs they
retire.
You know that kind of they stoplaying eggs, they retire.
You know that kind of thingright, and and that's not always
true in other places becauseyou know you can't afford the
resources to feed the animalcontinuously and you know not
like get a benefit from it.
But, like I said, that's nothow we think.
But if that's how you think,that's okay too.
Nikki (18:09):
You know we're not here to oh yeah, you know there's a
place for that and that people.
If you want to get fivechickens in your backyard to
provide your family eggs for abenefit and you're not like one
to bond with chickens, that'stotally cool.
Like, as long as your chickensare treated well and you know
you're keeping them healthy andnot abusing them, I have no
problem with that at alldefinitely 100, I agree.
Melissa (18:30):
um, okay, so can you tell us how our listeners can
find your book and I believeit's books.
Now you have a children's bookcoming out, so can you tell us a
little bit about that themthere.
Nikki (18:42):
It's the easiest place.
Barnes and Noble has both ofthem and then you know you can
go to the website where they'republished and find them there
too.
But those are all linked on mywebsite, purelychickenscom.
My second book, my children'sbook, is called Benny and it's
(19:04):
about my rescue goose, who Ialways said and my followers
will.
You'll see comments.
I thought you said you werenever getting waterfowl and I
said that from the beginning.
I'm never getting waterfowl.
Um, because I just didn't wantthem mixed with my chickens.
I didn't want water with mychicken.
You know, I just I just didn'twant the mess.
I didn't have a pond.
I felt like it was going to bea bigger undertaking.
(19:25):
But somebody on Facebook posteda goose like last chance,
before we call this goose, whowants wants him.
They called it a he.
They said it was a he.
They were like he's gone afterthis, nobody wants him.
And I said, oh, my gosh, dangit, bring me the goose.
So this really nice gentlemanbrings me this goose.
(19:46):
He was really sweet.
He was really grateful that thegoose was given another chance
His flock was bothering him wasgiven another chance.
His flock was bothering himpecking on him.
He had some scoliosis going onand angel wing, maybe he wasn't
fed the right stuff.
Five months after kind ofrehabbing this goose, and after
(20:08):
naming it Benny, he laid an egg.
So she's a girl and she'sreally happy.
Now we got her a sister andthat's it for us until I scroll
Facebook again.
But no more waterfowl here.
They live with our goats,though, because I didn't want my
rooster pecking on Betty withher.
You know issues, so yeah, sothe children's book is all about
(20:30):
her.
My sister and I illustrated it.
I think she did a beautiful joband we self published that one.
So, um, that's a littledifferent experience, but it was
fun.
Melissa (20:38):
Awesome and we can and our listeners can.
That book is already out,correct, and they can find it on
your website as well.
Nikki (20:44):
Yep, or you can just search Benny by Nikki Houston or
purely chickens, and it shouldpop up.
Melissa (20:48):
Can you tell all of our listeners where they can find
you?
Nikki (20:52):
Yep, just Purely Chickens.
I'm TikTok, instagram, youtubeand Facebook under the name
Purely Chickens and my website'spurelychickenscom.
If you want to go there anyway,instead, find me that way.
Melissa (21:04):
So we are so grateful that we got to spend some time
with you and your dogs and wedefinitely like your insight.
We can probably talk a lot more, but I know our time is limited
on both sides.
But yeah, we are very, verygrateful and we've been
following you for a long timeand we appreciate everything
that you share and do for ourcommunity.
Nikki (21:23):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Same goes for you.
Thank you for having me andjust love and respect.
Melissa (21:27):
Thank you.
Bye, nikki, bye, I'm Mel andyou're listening to Wilma the
Wonderhand.
Hey y'all, welcome back to Willma the Wonderhands
podcast.
I'm Mel and today's guest isNikki of Purely Chickens.
Nikki hatched her very firstchicken egg in 2006 and has been
obsessed with chickens eversince.
She has her master's degree ineducation and loves teaching
others.
She left a career teachingkindergarten to stay home with
(00:22):
her kids and now teaches othersabout chicken keeping through
her social media channels andher book Chicken Keeping, pure
and Simple.
She also just released achildren's book about her rescue
goose.
It is very, very cute.
You have got to check it out.
You can find her on TikTokok,instagram, facebook and youtube
(00:44):
as purely chickens.
Hey y'all, I'm mel and you arelistening to Wilma the Wonder
(01:05):
Hen.
Are you a chicken-mouth-lovingmama or daddy?
Together we'll dive into thelatest poultry-keeping
adventures, chat about everydaylife with a generous mix of some
hilarious stories, bringing youfascinating interviews with
poultry owners from all over.
(01:25):
You'll find tips and basicadvice from your local
veterinarian, along with newchicken keeping gadgets and
reviews.
I'm gonna see what mr janglesand wilma has to say about that.
We're going to encourage andhelp you build a stronger,
healthier flock.
Let's go see what mr janglesand wilma is up to.
Let's go let these heifers out.
Hi, welcome back.
(01:48):
This is Mel of Wilma theWonderhand, and today we have
finally, finally get theopportunity to sit down with
Nikki of Purely Chickens.
It is definitely an honor tohave her on our show, so we just
want to say thank you, nikki,for taking out time out of your
day.
Nikki (02:05):
I know you're very busy, so welcome Welcome to Wilma the
Wonderhand's podcast, thank you, and it's an honor to be asked
to be here, because you knowwe're all friends on social
media.
But, yeah, I've never got tosit down and talk with you, so
I'm excited, I'm very excitedtoo.
Melissa (02:25):
I know our listeners.
In case they didn't know whoyou are, which is probably not
very true, I'm sure everyone inthe chicken community knows who
you are but could you give us alittle idea of who you are, kind
of your background?
Just tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Nikki (02:39):
Sure, I'm a mom.
I've got two young boys inelementary school and I taught
kindergarten for 10 yearsdecided to stay home with my
second son when he was born andthen just kind of got bored and
started posting random videos on.
(02:59):
Tiktok is where I started andone of my chicken coop videos
went viral and I said, oh,people want to learn about
chickens, okay, and just kind ofwent with it.
So, um, now I stay home, I dothis full time, I educate others
, I'm an author, um, and I justspend a lot of time making sure
that you know I'm getting thecorrect information out there
(03:21):
and sharing my experience andcreating a community of
open-minded chicken keeperswhere everybody can feel welcome
.
So that's pretty much what I do.
Melissa (03:30):
Oh, that's pretty awesome, Was that something?
Let's kind of step back alittle bit.
Did you have chickens andanimals when you were little?
Nikki (03:39):
I did.
Yeah, I talk about that in mybook.
I've always been like obsessedobsessed with animals, I don't
know what it is.
I was always bringing homesomething I remember in high
school I bottle fed baby mice inmy locker during during the
breaks of you know, when you, um, I, my neighbor, started their
grill, a nest of mice fell out.
(04:00):
The mom didn't make it and Iwas like I have to rescue these
pink little mice.
Um.
So ever since I was younger Imean my first pet, I think that
I was personally, given I wasabout three or four years old
yeah, I just always have lovedanimals.
And then I started hatchingchickens with my kindergarten
class back in 2006.
And I became just enamored withchickens in general.
(04:22):
So that's where I got my start.
Melissa (04:29):
So do you live in a place?
Nikki (04:31):
now where you can have as many chickens as you want.
Are you limited?
Yeah, so, um, we live, um in atown that doesn't have any
restrictions, other than, youknow, the coop has to be so far
away from the property line, soyou're not, you know, close to
your neighbor's house, but we'reallowed to have roosters where
there's no limit on hens, whichis good, because I have a lot.
Um, the only thing that I findrestricting is we do live like
(04:52):
in an allotment, like aneighborhood, and so I don't
want to be intrusive toeverybody.
Uh, so we do have goats andgeese, and they are the loudest.
Melissa (05:02):
Um, I concur.
My geese are definitely theloudest in the whole
neighborhood.
Nikki (05:08):
Yeah, and then they're fine, unless they see you coming
.
Then they're like hey, we needtreats.
Melissa (05:14):
Yeah, what are your geese favorite treats?
I'm just as a sidebar here.
Nikki (05:20):
Grubs.
They love grubs, dried grubsand peas, of course, and mostly
they.
They just want to scream forfood, I think, cause I come out
and feed them twice a day and Ihave to feed them separately
from my goats, and my goatsdon't eat their feed, so they
know if they see me it's mostlikely time to to just eat.
Melissa (05:37):
In general, I know that , uh, you have, like you said,
you, started posting um yourboard.
I think a lot of us, you knowmaybe it was during the COVID
era, I'm not sure, but a lot ofus that had chickens for many,
many years we just kind of likestepped on to the TikTok thing
and maybe that was justsomething we really resonated
(05:59):
with.
We really, like you know, sothat's kind of what we started
posting about.
We really, like you know, sothat's kind of what we started
posting about.
But prior to that, or well, inaccordance, with that?
Nikki (06:14):
where did you find your information to learn about
chicken keeping Books?
There's.
You know there's tons of greatchicken books out there.
Social media groups are kind ofhit or miss because you get
people with completely differentopinions than you.
I feel like there's some placesonline that you know.
You find the crowd of peoplewho are like it's just a chicken
, it doesn't matter, their lifedoesn't matter.
(06:38):
So you know, those kind ofthings are hard to find, like in
a community where people,people have the same viewpoints
on animals that I do.
The Chicken Health Handbookthat book is like a Bible over
here for health issues.
I love Poultry DVM's website.
They've got so many goodresources and information about
(07:04):
different illnesses and you knowhow to find a poultry vet, all
that kind of thing.
Sorry, my dog just sneezed.
Hey, come here.
Are you going to be bad?
Come here, that's okay, we like, we like bad, we like bad dogs
bad chickens, that's okay.
Melissa (07:23):
We like bad.
We like bad dogs.
Bad chickens, it's fine.
Nikki (07:27):
I've been helping too long.
I need to pester my sister dog.
Melissa (07:31):
What kind of dog do you have?
Nikki (07:34):
He is an English setter.
He's a bird dog, which was amistake.
Melissa (07:42):
Yeah, they're very rambunctiousious and they
definitely have a very highdrive, and yeah, with birds for
sure.
Nikki (07:48):
Right, he's bringing the house.
He's super lazy.
We go outside and he has tonsof energy and then he just
points at my chickens.
He's super obsessed with mychicken.
So that was a probably not inhindsight it wasn't the best
decision, but we love him andhe's.
They have a fence so they'resafe.
But yeah, he just he'll stareout the way to cover our window
that faces the coop so he can'tsee, so he'll just obsess over
(08:12):
them.
But he's pretty dog.
He's just kind of crazy.
Melissa (08:14):
Yeah, how did you get started?
Did you think that was going tobe what you have?
Now?
We can go back, take a fewsteps back.
When it first happened, wereyou prepared?
Was it something that youwanted anything to do with,
really?
Nikki (08:29):
No, I wasn't trying to go viral, I wasn't trying to
gain followers.
Actually, before I started this, I was kind of quiet on social
media.
Actually, before I started this, I was kind of quiet on social
media, even like on my personalFacebook page.
I didn't post my kids a lot, Ijust kind of stayed, you know,
kind of quiet.
This video went viral.
I remember we were leaving forvacation.
I posted it.
(08:50):
I didn't even think about itafter that.
We were sitting by the pool onvacation and my sister-in-law
said have you seen your videothat you posted on TikTok?
And I go no, she's like it isgoing viral.
And just like overnight I had10,000 followers and back then I
was like 10,000 people likewhat in the world?
And the whole vacation she waslike super excited.
(09:12):
She kept like opening it up,going oh my gosh, look how many
you have now.
Oh my gosh.
And then I just kind of startedanswering people's questions
from that video, just makinganother video answering a
question about chickens, and itjust kind of took off.
And I had no plans to write abook to.
You know, grow my social mediato what it is now.
I just didn't.
That wasn't like in the plans,but once I figured out that,
(09:36):
like I didn't have to go back toteaching this could be a career
oh yeah, right, absolutely, andyou can make use of it then
that's kind of what I did.
But yeah, my TikTok went fromthat zero to 10,000.
And now I think it's at 350,000.
And I grew on Instagram and I'mon YouTube and everywhere else,
(09:57):
so it's a lot of fun.
Melissa (09:59):
Yeah, it is a lot of fun and yeah, that's a lot to
handle in that time span.
Do you see anything likenegative that came out of that?
Nikki (10:08):
I didn't.
I know I didn't find anynegativity and I don't know if I
just got lucky, but I feel likethe people who have decided to
follow me and the people whocomment on my stuff are, you
know, really decent good people.
Um, I've had, you know,occasionally some negative
comments here and there, butnothing that my followers don't
all, just, you know, comment onit and say that you're wrong,
(10:33):
like it's.
It's a chicken.
Melissa (10:35):
It matters you know that kind of thing.
Nikki (10:37):
Um no, but I haven't found any negativity and um yeah
, just it's been positive so far.
Melissa (10:43):
What do you think about the TikTok ban?
I know this is completelyunrelated, but I just thought it
.
Nikki (10:48):
Yeah, I don't know what to think about it.
I still hope that something'sgoing to come of it.
I feel like somebody out therewith a lot of money is going to
buy it and take it over.
I don't know.
I'm just I'm hopeful that itall works out, and I've been
listening to other people talkabout it, how it may be six
months, it may be five years,you know, you really don't know
what's going to happen with itand how it's going to go.
So, trying not to think aboutit too much, I think my
(11:11):
followers that I resonate withthe most are on Instagram.
Um, my following there is, likeI don't know, 270, some
thousand or something, and soit's not as big as my TikTok
following, but I get moreengagement there, I get more
views there, I can communicatebetter in my stories there.
I feel like I answer mymessages there better, so I just
(11:32):
I feel like that's my home base, even though I started on
TikTok, so I'm trying not toworry about it too much.
Yeah.
Melissa (11:38):
I mean that makes sense .
I mean you can't really.
I think the mistake is likekind of putting all of your
dreams and hopes in one platformand then forgetting about.
You know you can look at TikTokand IG and all them as like
short form content, and then youhave long form like blogs and
obviously books and you knowpodcasts and things like that.
(12:01):
That's where your long form umanyway, that's like we went
complete left.
But I was just curious yourthoughts on that um.
Do you have uh tips for someonewho is just starting out, like
the basic tips um to help them?
Nikki (12:16):
I think.
I think it's probably the sameas what every experienced
chicken keeper would say isbuild bigger than what you
anticipate.
You're probably not going tostop at the three to six
chickens you said you were goingto.
So aim for bigger unless youwant to know in the back of your
mind you might upgrade later.
Don't start with cheapmaterials.
Yes, you can definitely raisechickens with cheap materials,
(12:39):
but I feel like that's justgoing to be a pain in the end.
You're going to, you know, haveto, and I don't mean like cheap
as in price, quality wise.
I mean I have a metal roof onmy chicken run, but it was all
free for me.
Like I salvaged those.
You know so, but it wasn't.
You know they're not, it's notgoing to fall apart.
It may not look the prettiestbut it's not going to fall apart
.
So I just mean like, getquality stuff, whether you have
(13:02):
to scrounge for it or, you know,pay for it, and just know that
you're not going to get freeeggs.
I know All the things People toknow ahead of time that there
will be trouble, there will beillnesses, there will be
chickens who get hurt.
You know you want to have astrong stomach and I always say
start small I think five is agreat number just to kind of get
(13:25):
your feet wet and understandchickens and you know, know what
they need and then see what youcan handle.
Personally too, I think people,you know, sometimes they jump
in head first, get 27 chickensand realize I don't like
cleaning chicken coops, or I,you know, don't have the time to
collect eggs and my chickensare breaking them.
Or you know all these thingsthat come up that you realize
this was too much for me, didyou immediately once your
(13:48):
following started growing.
Melissa (13:49):
Was that something that popped in your mind?
Nikki (13:51):
Hey, I'm going to write a book about this, that
something that popped in yourmind hey, I'm going to write a
book about this.
No, I never had any intentionto write a chicken book.
I have always because I'm akindergarten teacher by trade
like I wanted to writechildren's books.
And there's even like anarticle in the newspaper about
me back in like early 2000s whenthey were interviewing the
teacher like the new teacher ofthe district, and I had said my
(14:12):
dream is to write children'sbooks.
So it's always been in the backof my mind, just never
something that took off and apublisher reached out to me
because of my social mediapresence and said hey, do you
want to sit down?
We have some interest inpublishing you and writing a
chicken book.
My head went to oh my gosh, theyare going to help me write my
children's book.
This is my chance.
(14:33):
And when I sat down with themthey were like oh no, no, that's
not what we're talking about.
We want you to write the how tochicken keeping book.
And I'm like, okay, let methink about this.
Um, and so I didn't say yesright away.
I kind of just like molded overwith my husband.
You know, what do we have in,you know, the next year going on
with our lives that?
Can I take time to like sit andwrite this book and it just we
(14:57):
decided I decided I was going togo with it and kind of wrote
out a plan for what would thechapters look like and then back
with the publisher and then itjust kind of snowballed from
there.
So it was never in my plans butit was kind of a fun twist.
My family and my kids thinkit's pretty cool that you know
mommy has a book.
Melissa (15:13):
So yeah, I mean that is pretty cool.
You know, hey, you're the coolmom, so you just let them know
and remind them of that.
I know a lot of our listenerslike to know do you have a
favorite breed of chicken?
Nikki (15:27):
And if you do, why I always say Orpington?
They're the ones I got startedwith and I think they're the
ones I have the most of rightnow.
I love Orpington's for a fewreasons.
One you can't resist a big,fluffy chicken.
They're booties, the big.
The big fluffy thing is youcan't get them they.
They lay eggs pretty decently.
They make wonderful mothers.
(15:48):
They come in so many differentcolors, like I love that you.
You know you could get all thesame breed, but that you can.
My dog in the back, oh my gosh.
So I like that you can get allthe same breed but they can all
look so different.
I love when the flock is likemixed and it looks different,
(16:11):
because I feel like you knowthat, you know their names and
you know their personalities andyou can tell who's who.
Do you have any future?
Melissa (16:18):
plans for your brand, anything different, something
you want to brand down into, orare you just happy where you are
?
Are you just going to let it?
Nikki (16:26):
Yeah, I'm happy where we are right now.
I have a new product out withmy face on the bag with, as a
co-branded product with EatonPet and Pasture.
We've got some other stuff inthe works coming down the line,
so I think continuing along thatpath of just coming out with
stuff that makes chicken keepingeasier for people and more
enjoyable because that's where Iget joy out of it I'm not the
(16:48):
traditional chicken keeper thatwe know from the past, where you
just have some chickens in thebackyard, you throw them their
scraps and they give you eggs.
My chickens are my pets, likethey are all named I.
They all know me.
I know every single one of them.
So you know I like to spoil mychickens, but I want to make
chicken keeping easier forpeople too.
Melissa (17:06):
So, um, things coming down, I can't talk too much
about them, but things comingout, you know, eventually, yeah,
I think that's pretty typicalwith most of the people that are
in our little circle anddefinitely most of our guests,
you know they don't think ofchickens, like they did in the
past, as just food, which I mean.
Some people still, you know,think that way and we we was
(17:29):
never to judge.
So you know, to each their own.
You have to do what's best foryour family and your flock and
we would never never, do that.
But yeah, I tell a lot of peopleand I definitely want you to
speak into our vet.
You know that chickens are thenewest or newest in quotation
mark companion pets.
They are just, they are beyond.
(17:51):
You know laying eggs and oncethey stop laying eggs they
retire.
You know that kind of they stoplaying eggs, they retire.
You know that kind of thingright, and and that's not always
true in other places becauseyou know you can't afford the
resources to feed the animalcontinuously and you know not
like get a benefit from it.
But, like I said, that's nothow we think.
But if that's how you think,that's okay too.
Nikki (18:09):
You know we're not here to oh yeah, you know there's a
place for that and that people.
If you want to get fivechickens in your backyard to
provide your family eggs for abenefit and you're not like one
to bond with chickens, that'stotally cool.
Like, as long as your chickensare treated well and you know
you're keeping them healthy andnot abusing them, I have no
problem with that at alldefinitely 100, I agree.
Melissa (18:30):
um, okay, so can you tell us how our listeners can
find your book and I believeit's books.
Now you have a children's bookcoming out, so can you tell us a
little bit about that themthere.
Nikki (18:42):
It's the easiest place.
Barnes and Noble has both ofthem and then you know you can
go to the website where they'republished and find them there
too.
But those are all linked on mywebsite, purelychickenscom.
My second book, my children'sbook, is called Benny and it's
(19:04):
about my rescue goose, who Ialways said and my followers
will.
You'll see comments.
I thought you said you werenever getting waterfowl and I
said that from the beginning.
I'm never getting waterfowl.
Um, because I just didn't wantthem mixed with my chickens.
I didn't want water with mychicken.
You know, I just I just didn'twant the mess.
I didn't have a pond.
I felt like it was going to bea bigger undertaking.
(19:25):
But somebody on Facebook posteda goose like last chance,
before we call this goose, whowants wants him.
They called it a he.
They said it was a he.
They were like he's gone afterthis, nobody wants him.
And I said, oh, my gosh, dangit, bring me the goose.
So this really nice gentlemanbrings me this goose.
(19:46):
He was really sweet.
He was really grateful that thegoose was given another chance
His flock was bothering him wasgiven another chance.
His flock was bothering himpecking on him.
He had some scoliosis going onand angel wing, maybe he wasn't
fed the right stuff.
Five months after kind ofrehabbing this goose, and after
(20:08):
naming it Benny, he laid an egg.
So she's a girl and she'sreally happy.
Now we got her a sister andthat's it for us until I scroll
Facebook again.
But no more waterfowl here.
They live with our goats,though, because I didn't want my
rooster pecking on Betty withher.
You know issues, so yeah, sothe children's book is all about
(20:30):
her.
My sister and I illustrated it.
I think she did a beautiful joband we self published that one.
So, um, that's a littledifferent experience, but it was
fun.
Melissa (20:38):
Awesome and we can and our listeners can.
That book is already out,correct, and they can find it on
your website as well.
Nikki (20:44):
Yep, or you can just search Benny by Nikki Houston or
purely chickens, and it shouldpop up.
Melissa (20:48):
Can you tell all of our listeners where they can find
you?
Nikki (20:52):
Yep, just Purely Chickens.
I'm TikTok, instagram, youtubeand Facebook under the name
Purely Chickens and my website'spurelychickenscom.
If you want to go there anyway,instead, find me that way.
Melissa (21:04):
So we are so grateful that we got to spend some time
with you and your dogs and wedefinitely like your insight.
We can probably talk a lot more, but I know our time is limited
on both sides.
But yeah, we are very, verygrateful and we've been
following you for a long timeand we appreciate everything
that you share and do for ourcommunity.
Nikki (21:23):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Same goes for you.
Thank you for having me andjust love and respect.
Melissa (21:27):
Thank you.
Bye, nikki, bye, I'm Mel andyou're listening to Wilma the
Wonderhand.
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