In our quest to find the best birds for our farm, we have tried a pretty large variety! Below are all the breeds we’ve worked with and have moved away from.
Created in Germany, the Bielefelder just might be the ultimate dual purpose bird! They are extremely docile, large for the table, lay good-sized eggs, and are autosexing. What more could a homesteader ask for? The only flaw we’ve found is that they do eat more than other breeds, probably because of their large size. None of our roosters of any breed have ever attacked us and gone on to reproduce, but these boys have been the most mellow with us and are the least likely to cause drama in the bachelor pad or with the hens.
We LOVED our Bielefelders! They were all like giant teddy bears, laid decent amounts of eggs, and we appreciated that they were autosexing. Our roosters consistently had the best personalities out of all our breeds. Unfortunately, they ate a LOT, their eggs were only medium-sized, they were prone to frostbite, and they let the other poultry bully them too much.
Along with the Queen of Chickens, we also had the King! These chickens are HUGE, standing about 2 feet tall and weighing over 10 lbs. They are known for being gentle giants and they have cold-hardy pea combs. Ours were the Dark variety, with gorgeous silver penciling on each feather.
Brahmas are so pretty and, like Bielefelders, they were all friendly! They didn’t lay very large eggs in very large amounts, though, and they also tried to eat us out of house and home. We’re considering trying them again later, but we’re pretty happy with our current breeds for now!
Known as the “Queen of Chickens,” the Bresse originated in France. Like Chardonnay, it’s not a true Bresse unless raised in the Bresse region, but our American ones did descend from their lines. Because they metabolize food in a unique way, they have delicious marbling and are thought to be the best-tasting chicken in the world!
Our Bresse were nice, but didn’t really stand out in any way. We didn’t get a chance to try eating one and we sold them before they were laying age, so that might have changed our minds about them. We were worried about their combs getting frostbite, too.
German Deathlayers are renowned for their ability to lay eggs throughout their whole lives – most breeds slow down and stop after only a few years! Chicks need more TLC than other breeds – we were working towards increasing hardiness.
Deathlayers are so much fun – we loved how smart and active they were! We only hatched hens and couldn’t find a rooster, and didn’t really want to try another hatch at the time, so we sold them. We would definitely try them again, though! Their main fault is that their eggs were smallish.
America’s oldest chicken breed, Dominiques are very winter hardy due to their frostbite-resistant rose combs. These chickens are incredibly curious and almost as sweet as our Buckeyes! We love their gorgeous barred pattern, which also helps to camouflage them from predators while they’re out free ranging our pastures. Some lines are autosexing, but ours so far has not been.
After our rooster died, we couldn’t find a new one, so we rehomed our hens. We loved them and hope to get more one day! It was so fun watching our stripey girls zip around our property. Their eggs look EXACTLY like our Buckeye eggs, which can get confusing if someone mixes them in the basket *cough* Ken *cough* haha.
Langshans are an amazing dual purpose bird. They are large and sweet, and they lay a decent amount of brown eggs that are OCCASIONALLY coated in a gorgeous pink or plum bloom. Our exhibition-quality line included stock from APA Grand Master Exhibitor Tim Ballenger. Chicks might be black, blue, or splash. Again, there is NO guarantee that they will lay eggs with a bloom, but they sometimes do!
We liked our Langshans – they were pretty birds, but they didn’t really stand out to us, and we worried about their combs getting frostbite in the winter.
Curious and spunky, Legbars do not like to sit still! Our hens loved to perch on our shoulders or get into places they shouldn’t. The roosters must have a lot of testosterone – they are feisty! We do not keep mean birds in our gene pools here, but the roosters who have caused the most drama in the bachelor pad have all been Legbars. That being said, they are also the absolute best flock protectors we’ve seen! Legbars prefer to free range, but are also happy scratching around in their run.
We tried Legbars and Ameraucanas at the same time, and we decided that we prefer Ameraucanas. The roosters are more calm, hens lay more regularly, and they’re FAR more cold hardy. Legbars did lay larger eggs and we loved how active and energetic they are! We also appreciated that they’re auto-sexing so that we could cull roosters right away.
Orloffs are so cool looking, and they’re built for winter weather! Breeders are trying to improve them, but at this time, they do not lay very many eggs at all – less than any other breed we’ve had – so we sold them in favor of more productive breeds.
The only truly Norwegian chicken, the Jaerhon or Jaerhons is a small autosexing breed that lays large white eggs. They are active foragers and prefer to free range. We have two lines – one from Ideal Poultry and one from a private breeder who imported her birds directly from her family’s hometown in Norway back when it was legal. Chicks need a bit more TLC and are more fragile than other breeds – we are working towards increasing hardiness.
We loved these tiny birds SO much, but just couldn’t handle how fragile they are as chicks. And they had a LOT of trouble with frostbite, even with fully enclosed coops – they kept wanting to sleep and stand outside in the snow and would get depressed locked inside.
The preferred egg-layer of Julia Child (and James Bond), Black Copper Marans are a French breed famous for their chocolate-colored eggs. We selected for both SOP and egg color here, with SOP having the edge. Egg color varies from season to season, but if one of our hens lays lighter than a 4 on the color scale more than once, we pulled her from our breeding pen.
We tried a few different lines and had the same problem with each – most of the roosters were giant jerks! They’re the only breed that has regularly had roosters attack us. There were a few nice ones in the mix, but we’re over it. We adored the hens, though! We kept a few from Skip Bittner’s line to use in our Olive egger pens. They have gorgeous conformation, although their egg color is lighter than most people expect from Marans.
We had a mix of Wheaten, Blue Wheaten, and Splash Wheaten chickens and they produced any of those colors. One pen started with genetics from Rachel Heldermon and the other from Brad Hensen. As our starter group of Wheatens from two lines grew, we removed two that had feather stubble on their legs, two whose combs were too large, one that didn’t have a high enough tail angle, and three that didn’t have beards.
We loved our Wheaten Ameraucanas and hope to get them again one day – we had to downsize due to companywide salary cuts at both of Jess’ jobs, and had to decide between the Wheatens and the Self-Blues/Blacks that we’ve been working with longer. We chose to keep the latter, only because their eggs are a tiny bit more vibrant.
We were very excited to find our Welsummers – they come from an autosexing line and we are working to strengthen that feature. A Dutch breed, they are friendly and great foragers. They lay gorgeous speckled dark brown eggs – some even darker than our Marans! We breed more for SOP than egg color with this line because we want to keep our beloved autosexing trait. It’s so convenient! Our stock came from Deer Run Farm, who purchased the line from Will Morrow & Kent Ozkum at Whitmore Farm when they retired in 2017.
Our Welsummer roosters have consistently been among our favorites – they’re all so calm, keep other roos in line, and really look after their females. The females are more flighty – not totally feral, but they like to do their own thing. We love them and hope to get more one day, but unfortunately had to downsize due to companywide salary cuts at both of Jess’ jobs.
Originating in Canada, Chanteclers are THE chickens for northern climates – they’re cushion-combed and have tight feathering for severe winter weather, are sweet as can be, love to free range, lay a ton of large brown eggs, and roosters grow to about 9lbs for those who have a freezer camp. We started out with the Partridge variety and love them so much that we added Buff! Our Buff Chanteclers came straight from the aaaamazing Mike Gilbert, who keeps absolutely stunning birds.
Parting with these guys physically hurt – we badly wanted to keep them, but had to downsize due to companywide salary cuts at both of Jess’ job. We sold them to a local farm and hope to buy more from her one day! They lay much better than the Partridge, but their eggs are almost identical to our Buckeyes and we kept mixing them up, so we picked them over others to part with.
Bourbon Red Turkeys are generally docile and curious, and they’re also great foragers when allowed to free range! With light-colored pin feathers, they make a clean-looking and tasty meal. The biggest perk is that, unlike modern commercial turkeys, the heritage breeds can all reproduce without artificial insemination. During breeding season, we had hatching eggs, poults, hens, and toms from an APA standard line available.
Selling these guys was rough, but we couldn’t find a vet willing to come draw blood for our NPIP testing while HPAI is still around. Their testing requirement is more complex and more expensive than it is for other poultry breeds, which just need a swab and small drop of blood. Since we couldn’t test them, we could only sell in-state and would have had to house them far away from our other birds, which just isn’t feasible at this time.
We liked the female Muscovy, but the males were giant sex fiends and kept going after ALL the other birds. After they killed a couple favorite females and hurt one of our geese, we had enough. The girls also regularly flew over our fencing and straight into our dogs who, although trained, can’t resist a meal that yeets itself straight at their faces. Their major pro was that they were our quietest birds. We hear they taste amazing, but never got a chance to try them. The dogs sure seemed to enjoy them, though!
Originating in New York, Cayuga are considered one of the hardiest domestic ducks, especially in harsh winter climates! They were the #1 breed used for meat in the US before the Pekin took over and are also famous for their eggs, which start out black and lighten over the laying season, like a printer running out of ink. Our line originated from Pete Dempsey and Master Breeder Laura Kershaw.
We liked the Cayuga – they and their eggs were both gorgeous! We only had 5 and they weren’t as friendly as the Welsh Harlequins, though, so we sent them on their way.
One of the newest heritage duck breeds and under Watch by the Livestock Conservancy, Welsh Harlequin Ducks are friendly, good foragers, and excellent egg layers. They’re small but have tasty meat that is leaner than most other ducks. And they are autosexing!
We loved how friendly our WH were, plus they were excellent layers! But they were just SO messy and the hens were aerial predator-magnets, for some reason. The last straw was that nobody local seemed interested in eating their eggs, and we couldn’t even give male ducklings away for free – they were just a massive financial drain for our farm. We’d love to get them again one day after we move to a better area and if we can find time to exhibit them!
Critically endangered in the US, this is one of the oldest goose breeds in the world! In Roman mythology, they were the Goddess Juno’s sacred animal, and they are historically credited with saving the city during the invasion of the Gauls. Jess was a Classics major, so she geeked out over them and we were incredibly excited to have started our flock from APA Grand Master Exhibitor Nate Rynish!
We went back and forth a LOT about selling our Romans, but decided to go through with it because we want to use their pen for another Pilgrim group. We’ll probably get more later! We love that they’re quieter than the Pilgrims are, and the males are less overprotective during mating season. The Pilgrims are just so much more curious and outgoing when it’s not mating season, though. Plus, it’s great to be able to ID genders easily!
Here’s a summer milking hack that we’ve mentioned a few times - adding sanitized stainless whiskey balls or lunchbox ice packs to the pail! They keep milk a little cooler while it’s 100000 degrees outside 🥵
Might be worth checking on Prime now that they’ve got deals running!
#goats #dairygoats #milking #goatmilk #lifehack #farmlife
Jul 8
Today, we took a break from the critters so Ken could see the House on the Rock for the first time!
… and then picked up some Partridge Chantecler eggs for a slight outcross with ours 🤞
#breaktime #midwest #houseontherock #hatchingeggs #rarebreedchickens #heritagepoultry #partridgechantecler
Jul 7
Dexalicious says he has noooo idea how our nice wool blanket made it from the laundry room into his den outside. Must’ve been some other dog 🤔
#dog #troublemaker #farmdog #shepherdmix #huskymix #colliemix #supermutt
Jul 1
We thought the crazy amounts of rain lately had rendered the eggs under our broody geese unviable, but we thought wrong! Sweet Pea has hatched two goslings so far today - one male (available) and one female (not available).
Sweet Pea is an awesome broody mama but doesn’t quite fit Pilgrim color requirements, so she’s moving to a new home soon.
#geese #babygeese #domesticgeese #pilgrimgeese #farmlife
Jun 30
We had to pull our pasture milkweed when we got the goats, but we always try to keep some around in other areas of our property. It looks like our local Monarchs were able to find the big one in our backyard 🧡
#butterfly #saveourpollinators #milkweed #nativeplant
Jun 30
We had our first Linear Appraisal yesterday, and it was super informative! We haven`t taken decent pics of the girls after we clipped them because it`s been raining pretty much 24/7 for the past two weeks, but we`ll hopefully get a few soon - in the meantime, here`s Kirlia with some yearlings trying to take down our last semi-healthy ash tree😅
It`s the first time we`ve brought our girls anywhere and showed us that we’re on the right track - most of our preferences were spot-on with our does’ scores. They`re all still young and developing, and we can`t wait to see how they grow over the next couple years! We’re so honored to be working with these ladies as our starting point & hope to make their aaamazing breeders proud as we integrate them into our own lines 💜
Oberhasli:
Ober-Boerd Diana of the Amazon (3 yr old 2F) GVVG 85
Autumn Acres RT Riesling *M (3 yr old 2F) GVVG 84
Windscape JB Last Call (2 yr old FF at 1 month fresh) VVVG 85
Ober-Boerd Kirlia (2 yr old FF at 2 months fresh) VVGG 84
Heaven’s Hollow Sharp (2 yr old FF at 2 months fresh) GAAA 80
Guernsey-Type Experimental:
Hillaire Farm Tipperary Tulla (2 yr old FF at 3 months fresh) GGVG 82
#goats #dairygoats #linearappraisal #performanceherd #adga #oberhasligoats #guernseygoats
Jun 26
Sheila says that she’s over this hot, muggy summer business and is ready for winter to come back 🥵
#hot #toohot #goats #hairgoat #guernseygoats #rarebreeds
Jun 22
As promised, here’s the bane of nearly every goat breeder’s existence: a coccidia oocyst!
Contrary to popular belief, coccidia ≠ cocci - coccidia are protozoan parasites and cocci are spherical-shaped bacteria, like strep or staph.
Coccidia are scary because they can easily overwhelm and destroy the intestinal linings of their hosts, causing coccidiosis. Most adults eventually develop immunity, but kids can be hit super hard, and many are permanently stunted - if they survive.
The guy this sample came from is an adult, but his count is borderline & we’re keeping a close eye on him because we’re afraid he might have cancer, so we’ll be treating him!
#goats #parasites #parasiteprevention #parasitemanagement #coccidia #coccidiosis #fecalfloat #farmlife #herdhealth #goathealth
Jun 21
RIP our best bud, the chillest rooster ever!
He never caused any trouble and loved to just sit in his chair overlooking our orchard, while the growouts scratched around him.
This will hurt our already slow Partridge Chantecler order fulfillment a bit, but we’ve got a few younger guys who can eventually step in!
#chickens #rarebreedchickens #heritagebreeds #rarebreedpoultry #chanteclerchickens #partridgechantecler #partridgechanteclerchickens
Jun 20
Sorry these are a little blurry, my phone camera didn’t want to cooperate!
This right here is a sign of the enemy - a strongyle worm egg in a goat fecal sample. We wouldn’t know which species it is without hatching it, but they can all be dangerous. Strongyles are one of the top causes of death in goats, so it’s super important to stay on top of them.
We run fecals every few months and treat as needed. We do NOT treat the whole herd on a schedule, only those with high loads or obvious signs that they’re struggling - automatically treating everyone all the time is a massive contributor to dewormer resistance.
This doe’s sample only had one egg, so she’s good for now!
For the most up-to-date guidelines, visit wormx.info
We’ll try to post more pics the next time we see coccidia oocysts or other types of worm eggs! Last year was the Year of the Tapeworm, but we haven’t seen more of those this year yet, *knock on wood*
#goats #dairygoats #goathealth #pastureraised #deworming #farmlife #homesteading
Jun 20
You guys! You know how we thought that our heart doe Dolly might make the MDGA TopTen list in Butterfat %? Well, she sure did - in the top spot!
We’re excited that Swiss and Candy both made the cut, too! They ended up moving to new farms because we desperately needed hay money 🙃 - but we have multiple daughters and a son, and they have lots of nearby relatives at Green Gables, Homeward Bound Farm, Mosaic Menagerie, and more!
Massive props to everyone who participated & thanks to Green Gables MiniNubians for breeding our girls 💜
#goats #dairygoats #performanceherd #mininubian #mininubiangoats #milktesting #goatmilk
Jun 18
We weren’t going to keep another gosling this year, but CLEARLY we have to now 😍
#geese #babygoose #domesticgeese #waterfowl #pilgrimgeese #heritagebreeds #rarebreeds #livestockconservancy
Jun 17
We’re in the home stretch of Pilgrim Goose hatching season! The first of around 15 eggs we left under the mamas has hatched, and it looks like it might be one of verrry few females this year! All females are claimed, but we have a zillion males hatched between April and now, if anyone local is interested 🐣
#geese #domesticgeese #pilgrimgeese #pilgrimgoose #gosling #babygoose #babygeese #hatchingeggs #rarebreeds #heritagebreeds
Jun 15
This right here is an example of why we`re not shipping live poultry via USPS this year. We ordered stamps directly from USPS early last week, and we`re pretty sure at this point that we`re never going to get them - if they can`t even get their own product to us, there`s NO WAY we can trust them with live animals!
#USPS #USPSsucks #shipping #smallbusiness
Jun 13
The good news is: some new Buckeye and Partridge Chantecler outcross chicks have arrived to help us reduce the genetic bottleneck that is starting to form here!
The bad news is: the farm we ordered from is also apparently having PC trouble - we only received 4 out of 15, and they wrote on the shipment form that they’re way behind 😬
They substituted with a bunch of Black Langshan chicks that we unfortunately have no use for. Reach out if you’re local and interested in them!
#chicks #chickens #heritagebreeds #rarebreedchickens #buckeyechicken #chanteclerchickens #partridgechantecler #langshanchicken
Jun 11
Jess is down for a while after finally going through with the surgery we were avoiding, so she’s making some updates to our poultry waitlists in between bouts of googling Asherman’s Syndrome.
We’re still making our way through our existing lists, but they’re just not working out super well due to a zillion factors beyond our control.
SO we are going back to basics for a while! All birds and hatching eggs will be First Come, First Serve, and we will keep a post on FB pinned with availability. If you’re interested in something on the post, please reach out!
If you’re on our waitlist but you see the breed you’re waiting for on the pinned post, please also reach out. Odds are high that it’s because we have more openings for local pickup than for shipping. We are having trouble with shipping - all USPS offices in our area close at least a half hour before we get out of work, and it’s rare than we can leave work early.
CURRENT AVAILABILITY:
First on the list are 15 Fibro chicks hatched 4/17 - some of these are pure Svart Hona and some are Easter Eggers. We have no idea which are which, except for the obviously fluffy one in the front, so they’re all our lower Experimental rate. They might lay green or cream eggs. It’s not 100% yet, but we can start guessing gender more or less accurately in this batch.
#chickens #waitlist #makinglifeeasier #fibrochickens #svarthona #easteregger #swedishblackhen #landrace
Jun 10
Surpriiiise! We were done buying goats for the year, but when we saw Jon list Hillaire Farm Tipperary Tulla, we jumped at the chance to snag her!
We`ve had our eyes on Tulla for a while - she’s a gorgeous 50% Guernsey/50% Oberhasli, and her sire is a super nice buck from one of our favorite lines - *B CH Ober-Boerd Vosegus! His dam GCH Ober-Boerd T Wind Valkyrie 2*M was 1st/1st Udder 3yo & Best Udder at the 2022 National Show. We love Vos and his line so much that we also have a grandson, Spitfire! And distant cousins Diana, Kirlia, Maui, and Sonny 😅
Vos added beautiful strength & substance over Tulla’s dam, Stump*hollow J&H Nacarat, and very nice udder improvement, too!
We’re stoked to add Tulla to our little breed-up program and are so grateful to Alice (and Jon & Tierney) for trusting us with her 🧡
And a big thank you to Katherine Sancuk for bringing her here tonight through all this rain!
(trimmed & udder pics courtesy of Hillaire Farm)
#goats #dairygoats #experimentalgoats #oberhasligoats #guernseygoats #performanceherd
Jun 4
One of our favorite sights - a bucket of Buckeyes!
This batch is claimed, but we’ll be setting a new set to incubate this week!
#chickens #heritagebreeds #heritagebreedchickens #rarebreedchickens #buckeyechicken #buckeyechickens #hatchingeggs
Jun 3
In today’s wildlife encounter, we just got home to see this guy eating our chicken feed - thankfully not our chickens! He approves of our @coopworx Feed Silo 😂
This is the first raccoon we’ve seen out in the open on our property in our 5-ish years of living here! A few have passed through the pasture cam here and there, but they never stay long.
#raccoon #wildlifeadventures #rural #farmlife #homesteading #coopworx
Jun 3
‘Tis the season for new milkers and learning how to milk!
We’re not at allllll experts and have made plenty of mistakes over the past few years of raising dairy goats, but we want to help people avoid a common one: buying cheap milking machines from Amazon.
We totally understand their draw - they’re super affordable and portable, while the ones everyone recommends are usually bulky and around $1500.
But those cheap ones are absolutely not worth it! They only last a year or so before breaking and needing to be replaced, they can’t be taken apart and cleaned or serviced, and most of them WILL ruin your goats’ udders.
Do you remember a few years ago when it was all the rage among kids to suction their lips into glasses to make them big?
A milking machine without correct pulsation or vacuum is like that. Using it once or twice probably won’t cause permanent damage, but doing it twice a day, every day, for however long the goat is in milk, year after year, definitely will.
You might not even notice it at first, but slowly, it might become harder and harder to milk out the goat as scarring builds up inside her orifices. Or she might even end up with mastitis.
It’s just not worth it!
The absolute cheapest machine we’d recommend is the MilkerSupply - it’s $690 right now for a package that includes everything you’d need to get started. We’re not at all affiliated and don’t have one ourselves, but they’re super nice people!
If you’re handy, you could probably save even more and build your own with comparable parts for around $500.
We have and love the Capralite Showman! We also highly recommend ones from Parts Dept and Hamby, if you want something beefier that can handle more than two goats at once.
#goats #dairygoats #goathealth #milkinggoats #goatmilk #milkmachine
May 30