Chicken Mike and Nicole will be introducing the audience to the unique cultural aspects of Houston, highlighting Food, Art, and Urban Chicken Farming.
Cast: Chicken Mike, Nicole Graham, Bob Mclntosh Produced by: Chicken Mike & Ryan M. Sloan Written by: Ryan M. Sloan
Executive Producer: Ryan M. Sloan & Chicken Mike Direct of Photography: Michelle Loper – Directed by: Craig Loper.
Born and raised in Houston Texas, Chicken Mike represents his a home town like no other. He and his wife have grown their education chicken business from the ground up. They have quickly become the it couple when referring to Urban Farming and keeping City Chickens in Houston Texas. Besides the education and coop building, Chicken Mike developed a premium layer feed called Chicken Chew. They have sold their feed in each state of the U.S. and plan on developing more urban chicken products.
Chicken Mike loves volunteering his time surprising folks with his therapy hen Pinecone and putting smiles on people’s faces.
If you talk with him you will find out one thing real quick! Chicken Mike is extremely proud of his wife, 3 daughters, and their chickens!
This cowboy is one kool kat or should we say “chicken” ….
Born and raised in Houston in a home full of fashion. Nicole always beat to her own drum. In her youth she would bring home and rescue various animals. I’m sure her folks never Imagined she’d grow up owning a chicken business. Nicole has really been the inspiration of their families chicken business, which really started as a hobby. Around the same time Nicole got chickens, The Graham’s also learned to raise quail. Farm raising quail for Houston’s finest restaurants, linking up with the cities best chefs. Nicole was Texas Quail Project & Conservation’s Hatchery Manager. She was in charge of incubating 5,000+ per hatch.
Taking those experiences and Implementing them in her current Chicken Business, she is extremely proud of being self-taught!
With such a genuine spirit you will find Nicole to be a quasi animal whisper. This skill is how she has been able to train chickens, master incubation of quail/chickens, and be able to understand what It takes to go from egg to table. Nicole is also a fantastic baker, gardener, and mother! She is …. The Garden Hen
Bob aka “Boog”, aka “Bob The Builder” is a true red blooded American. His background is with the government in border control security and is currently a high school shop teacher in Cypress Texas. He has a wonderful passion for teaching and building! Bob is a master builder and can pretty much hand-make anything. He started with The Graham family and working as their coop builder from almost the beginning.
More than Just a builder, Bob has extensive knowledge about chickens, and helps raise the chickens for fertile eggs. The Garden Hen uses these eggs for promotional use at restaurants and in its life cycle education programs they conduct year round. Bob is funny, and will keep you on your toes! When he’s not working, you will find him spending time with his wife and two beautiful children!
Nine years ago, Nicole Graham purchased five baby chicks and a small coop kit. Nicole quickly named all five chicks, then assembled and painted the coop all by herself because her husband Mike Graham did not want to have anything to do with it. Shortly after naming the chicks their personalities developed and peaked Mike’s interest. Mike would find himself tending, talking, and taking care of the chickens more and more, completely unbeknownst to Nicole.
When you look up to the term “Chicken Math” you will understand why their flock grew from five to twenty in a matter of a few short months. Mike thought they had too many chickens, so he painted a sign and they sat out on the side of the road with fifteen chickens, ten dozen eggs, a coop-in-a-box, and some herbs. They sold out that day, and Mike and Nicole went into business.
The Garden Hen was born shortly thereafter when Mike and Nicole began developing a Lifecycle Hatching Program to roll out in elementary schools all over Houston. In a few short years, they have educated over 15,000 students on the lifecycle of an egg, sustainability, and everyone doing their one thing to make life better for all of us. Along with the education program, The Garden Hen builds custom chicken coops for families, organizations, and businesses in the Greater Houston Area. To date they have built over 100 custom coops in all shapes and sizes.
Over the last several years, Mike Graham has been developing relationship all around the community with Educators, Business Owners, Chefs, and Government Officials. One of the corporate sponsors eventually nick named him Chicken Mike, and a star was born. Chicken Mike and his manager Ryan M. Sloan created the concept behind the show City Chickens and began developing it.