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 have 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 are 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 are 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 includes 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 love 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 select 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 pull 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 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.
We have a mix of Wheaten, Blue Wheaten, and Splash Wheaten chickens and they will produce 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.
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 have 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.
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 is geeking out and we are incredibly excited to have started our flock from APA Grand Master Exhibitor Nate Rynish!
We’ve gone 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.
This weekend, we sorted most of our poultry breeding groups for the season! We still have to add the youngest pullets, but they need a little while to start & get used to laying anyway. Around March 1, as long as everyone is laying well, we’ll test for fertility and then start running through our waitlists.
We have a few pet-quality .5-2 year old hens up for grabs - mostly color flaws and a couple are a little smaller or have more narrow heads than we’re looking for. One Buckeye limps after she dove under the moving tractor when she was young.
Ken is almost done with some awesome new breeding coops for this year, too! We’re hoping that our new setup will help the Partridge Chanteclers lay better than they did in 2024 🤞
#chickens #ducks #geese #rarebreeds #rarebreedchickens #heritagebreeds #coldhardy #layingeggs #exhibitionpoultry
Feb 3
We`ve seen a few great supply charts floating around the interwebs, so we thought we`d add ours to the mix - check out our Super Ultra Mega Shopping List (link in bio) for our favorite farm-related purchases!
One is the pictured @coopworx Feed Silo - it prevents a ton of waste, plus the chickens seem to enjoy it!
#chickens #pasteuredpoultry #feedingchickens #homesteading #shoppinglist #ameraucana #wheatenameraucana #goats #dairygoats #beekeeper #farmsupplies #shopping
Feb 1
This guy is our spirit animal! All the other chickens are out scratching around, but he’s just chilling alone in his chair, quietly watching the field.
#chickens #rooster #chanteclerchickens #partridgechantecler #rarebreeds #rarebreedchickens #heritagebreed #endangeredbreed #pasturedpoultry
Jan 31
We`re gearing up to do this year`s first round of fecals and thought we`d write out our process - it sounds intimidating, but it’s super easy! We use a Modified McMaster technique recommended by the University of Minnesota.
--- Supplies ---
• TWO cups that fit at least 5oz
• Scale that measures at least .1 g
• Fecal float solution
• Large syringe or measuring cup that fits at least 28 ml
• Tongue depressor
• Gauze or tea strainer
• Pipette
• McMaster slide
• Microscope with 10x objective lens (total of 100x with eyepiece)
--- Performing a Fecal ---
1. Label both cups with animal name
2. Tare one labeled cup on the scale
3. If manure is pelleted, crush & knead to mix
4. Measure 2 g of fecal matter into the cup on the scale
5. Measure 28 ml of flotation solution & pour into the cup
6. Mix the sample & solution using a tongue depressor and let sit for 5 minutes
7. Mix again, then immediately pour it through a strainer or gauze into the second cup, using the tongue depressor to press fluid through
8. Immediately use a pipette to entirely fill both chambers of the McMaster slide with the strained fluid, taking care to avoid leaving large bubbles
9. Let the slide sit for at least 5 minutes to allow eggs to float to the surface – do not let sit for more than an hour
10. Place the slide onto the microscope and bring the grid lines into focus
11. Starting at one corner on one side of the slide, work down one grid area and back up the next until all the way through both chambers, counting all eggs that sit over halfway inside the grid & excluding any outside – "Animal Fecal Microscopy – Farm & Livestock" is an excellent group on FB for help IDing eggs
12. Multiply the count of each seen species` eggs x 50 – this is the Eggs Per Gram (EPG)
ACSRPC currently recommends that a fecal be used to ID species & determine dewormer efficacy, but NOT as a guideline for starting treatment. A goat should generally only be treated if it shows signs of overload; although honestly, if we see a count over 500 EPG for kids or over 1000 for adults, we’re probably going to treat before it becomes a bigger issue.
#fecaltesting #herdhealth #ParasiteControl #goats #deworming #chickens
Jan 29
FINALLY! After months and months of nothing, we have a few eggs again! We found out the other night that part of the reason for the dearth was a family of opossums that we caught yolk-handed. They’ve been booted from that part of our pasture into a hopefully safer area!
#eggs #pasturedeggs #farmfresh #chickeneggs #backyardpoultry #chickens
Jan 26
It’s time to replace our milk machine hoses & liners, and we couldn’t resist trying these ones from Parts Dept! Definitely *not* because they’re purple and match our milk stand mats 💜
Okay, maybe that’s part of it, but not the only reason - They’re also antibacterial! It might be a gimmick, but they’re only a couple bucks more than the standard clear silicone, and we’ll take whatever extra help we can get.
#milking #milkmachine #goats #dairygoats #goatmilk
Jan 23
Aha! Mystery solved - DNA has now confirmed that Diana is the daughter of Ober-Ridge Gatsby’s Arrogance, who has sired a whole bunch of consistently nice goats; including the 2024 ADGA National Premier Sire, Ober-Boerd T Vance (who is the sire of our young dude, Sublime OBV Son of a Sinner) 😍
Diana and her daughter Moonie’s pedigrees will be corrected soon, and we’re now set for her to kick off our kidding season in a couple weeks - fingers crossed that we get allllll doe kids 😅
#goats #dairygoats #performanceherd #oberhasli #oberhasligoats #guernseygoats #mininubians #kiddingseason #goatmilk
Jan 23
Diana is our first doe due in just a couple weeks, with our true love Maui’s kids! We had created a nice ad buuuuut we ran DNA on a bunch of the goats to see their aS1-casein & threw in parentage since we get 3 freebies per year, and yesterday we learned that Diana here may not be who she seems 🧐
Oopsies happen, even for the best of us 😅 We’ll keep the folks who are interested in her kids posted. Her breeder narrowed it down to 2-3 possible sires, and they’re all equally amazing! We’ve already seen that Diana has one of the nicest udders in our herd AND we now know that her milk & that of her kids might be helpful for people with milk sensitivities - her genetic markers indicate low/no aS1-casein.
#goats #dairygoats #itsalwayssomething #performanceherd #oberhasligoats #goatmilk
Jan 21
We’re down to -22°F with windchill right now, with temps decreasing through tomorrow 🥶 The goats are all snuggled and warm in their shelters, and the chickens are making short food & sunlight excursions before heading back to their shelters. A few keep trying to camp out next to the house’s furnace vent, which probably isn’t the best thing, so we’ll have to put up a little fence around that today!
#chickens #coldhardy #peacomb #cushioncomb #rarebreedchickens #heritagebreed #ameraucana #chantecler #buckeyechicken #svarthona
Jan 20
Gertie says, “Brrrrr!”
Today, we’re scrambling to get everyone ready for the 70 degree temperature swing we’re about to get! It’s about 35°F today and will be dropping to potentially -35 or colder (with windchill) over the next couple days 🥶
#winter #midwestwinter #polarvortex #dairygoats #goats #pasturedpoultry
Jan 18
We did it! Rowena, Dolly, Swiss, and Candy have all officially earned their MDGA stars 🎉 Riesling produced enough in all three categories to earn her full ADGA AR star, but Lord only knows when that`ll show up in their system!
#goats #dairygoats #performanceherd #milkstars #mininubians #oberhasligoats #guernseygoats #goatmilk
Jan 13
Soooo funny story, Jess now has to have surgery 3 days before a bunch of does are due to kid in February, including our senior Vivi here. The surgery might be easy ooor might involve a giant abdominal cut and a balloon being placed for a week or so & severely limiting movement during that time.
We hate to have to ask, but would anyone local with small hands be interested in helping Ken with kidding emergencies around 2/23 ish? Odds are very high that it’ll be in the middle of the night, in the middle of a snowstorm 😅 We do have vets on call for emergencies, too, but they sometimes take 45+ minutes to make it here.
#localhelpinglocal #kiddingseason #babygoats #goatpeople #goats #manitowoc #mishicot
Jan 11
We present to you Chinese Skullcap, an herb used in traditional Chinese Medicine (photo shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia).
We’ve seen a zillion frantic posts about Avian Influenza again lately, so we thought we’d bring up this plant. It’s one that we have in our arsenal of herbs that we might give to the critters during times of stress or if they just seem off. We’re not at all against Western Medicine, but it can sometimes use a boost from the Eastern side!
A few years ago, during the last big Avian Influenza scare in Europe, a sanctuary based in England & Wales (The Waterfowl Sanctuary) found research on this herb and used it to save many of their intakes.
Numerous studies show that Chinese Skullcap has natural antibacterial & antiviral properties, and bunch of those studies are referenced on PoultryDVM. That site also includes recommended dosages.
It does NOT fully eliminate the virus and probably won’t work if an animal is too far gone, but it might stall the spread long enough that the immune system can have a chance to learn and do its job. It also might be effective against other notoriously hard to treat poultry viruses & bacteria, including Marek’s and Mycoplasma.
#plantmedicine #naturalmedicine #themoreyouknow #chineseskullcap #birdflu #avianinfluenza #backyardpoultry #pasturedpoultry
Jan 9
In a little over a month, we’ll be meeting our first batch of 2025 goat kids! To feed them, we usually use the Caprine Supply bucket with the freaking awful little hoses that need to be pulled out and cleaned individually. This year, we’re trying out this bad boy and are hoping it’ll save us some time!
#goatkids #bottlebabies #milkbar #dairygoats #showgoats #performanceherd #oberhasligoats #mininubian #guernseygoats
Jan 9
We at JK Herd It All wish you all a Happy New Year 🎉 Here`s to hoping that 2025 turns out to be as calm as Dexalicious (pictured) is right now!
2024 has been filled with tons of ups and downs for us here - an awesome kidding season, an awful hatching season, a productive milking season with lots of pending stars, a war with poultry predators, our first unexplained goat loss, a job loss due to a company closure, trying goat AI for the first time, and four allllll-consuming human IVF cycles that only gave us three euploid embyos (which is the statistical average needed for one live birth). So yeah, 2024 was definitely a LOT!
In 2025, we`re hoping to bring our Obers and maybe CrazyTrain to Linear Appraisal, give Riesling a chance to compete for a TopTen Milk award, bring in some new birds from our parent lines to prevent inbreeding but maintain consistency, find someone to collect our bucks, and see whether any of our embryos will stick before Jess hits the big 4-0 in October 😱
Our kidding season this year starts at the end of February, so feel free to reach out if you`re interested in some really nice milkers, bucks, or bottle babies - and of course poultry, too! Our Partridge Chantecler & Pilgrim waitlists are maxed out and Buckeyes are close, but we`ve got plenty of space on the others!
#happynewyear #newyear2025 #farmdog #dog #rescuedog #shepherdmix #supermutt #fluffydog #goats #dairygoats #chickens #heritagebreeds #rarebreeds #exhibitionpoultry #showgoats #performanceherd #herdreduction #farmlife #homesteading #infertilitysucks
Jan 1