Black Australorp
This breed is known for its calm nature, good egg production, and excellent foraging abilities. A true dual-purpose breed, providing a fine table bird in addition to egg laying. This flock was originally sourced from Pat Whitaker's Forest Farm in North Carolina, which was one of the foundation flocks for the Sustainable Poultry Network.
Size: Cock 8.5 lbs, Hen 6.5 lbs |
Eggs/Year: 225 |
Cockerel Processing Age: 18 weeks |
Egg Color: Tinted |
Temperament: Calm |
Breed Purpose: Dual Eggs & Meat |
Delaware
Delaware chickens are among the fastest growing of the heritage breeds and the hens are terrific brown egg layers starting at 20 weeks. Prior to the 1950’s, these were the birds grown commercially for broilers across the U.S. Their calm, friendly disposition makes them an excellent dual purpose addition to a family flock. It can be a challenge to source true heritage lines for this rare breed. Our birds carry a mix of lines from Sandhill Preservation Center and Oregon Delawares.
Size: Cock 8.5 lbs, Hen 6.5 lbs |
Eggs/Year: 230 |
Cockerel Processing Age: 16 weeks |
Egg Color: Tinted |
Temperament: Friendly, Curious |
Breed Purpose: Dual Eggs & Meat |
Welsummer
Welsummers are a Dutch breed known for the abundant laying of large, terracotta brown eggs. They are a popular addition to both backyard and small scale commercial laying flocks, as everyone loves the attractive, often speckled eggs. Our Welsummer line is a production-oriented mix of Dutch, English and German bloodlines.
Size: Cock 7 lbs, Hen 6 lbs |
Eggs/Year: 200 |
Cockerel Processing Age: 18 weeks |
Egg Color: Dark Reddish Brown |
Temperament: Alert, Confident |
Breed Purpose: Dual Eggs & Meat |
Cream Legbars
Cream Legbars were developed by a British geneticist in the 1920's to provide the commercial market of that time with autosexing egg layers. The chicks are born with distinctive down patterns which allow them to be easily sexed at hatch. Attractive and lively like their Leghorn ancestors, they sport head crests and display a gentle temperament. Our birds are a mix of the imported A/B/C production lines, are true cream in color and are excellent layers of large light blue eggs, some tinted with green.
Size: Cock 7 lbs, Hen 5 lbs |
Eggs/Year: 250 |
Cockerel Processing Age: 16 week fryers |
Egg Color: Blue |
Temperament: Friendly, Active |
Breed Purpose: Egg Layer |
Seafoam Eggers
Eggs in the colors of green and blue are all the rage. But finding a line of colored egg layers that are both productive and lay gorgeous colors can be a challenge. We have combined a number of heritage breeds to produce chicks that will grow to be productive layers of eggs ranging from light blue, through shades of mint and sea green, to olive. These are not a purebred, so will not breed true. They are not a large bird, so extra cockerels are useful as fryers but don't reach roaster size. We chose the name Seafoam Eggers to reflect both the range of egg colors as well as the maritime nature of our location. Our breeding goal is to offer a healthy, friendly chicken that produces abundant seascape colored eggs.
Size: Cock 7 lbs, Hen 6 lbs |
Eggs/Year: 240 |
Cockerel Processing Age: 16 week fryers |
Egg Color: Shades of Green & Blue |
Temperament: Friendly, Active |
Breed Purpose: Egg Layer |
Breeds with Limited Availability for 2020
Heritage Hybrid Red Sexlinks
2020 will be the initial, and limited, release of two new dual purpose, sexlink hybrids from our heritage lines. While we are still in the testing phase of these birds--with a number of volunteer farmers raising out chicks to record lay rates and weight gains--we feel confident they will be excellent layers and meat birds for homestead flocks based on the record of each parent line. Our Red Sexlinks are a cross of Delaware and Welsummer, and the pullets are gorgeous red birds with black tails and wing tips, along with gold/black highlights in their hackles. The pullets are an excellent choice for those who are not able to grow out roosters, but want a healthy, heritage-line layer for the family flock. The cockerels are perfect as a heritage meat bird, and will be white with black markings, along with yellow skinned. We will be offering cockerels at a very reasonable price to those wishing to grow them for the family table, or for small farms looking to pursue a niche market for heritage meat.
Size: Cock 7.5 lbs, Hen 6 lbs |
Eggs/Year: ~230 |
Cockerel Processing Age: 16 week |
Egg Color: Brown |
Temperament: Friendly, Curious |
Breed Purpose: Dual Eggs & Meat |
Barred Plymouth Rocks
With roots tracing back to the 1800's, our line of Barred Plymouth Rocks is the epitome of a heritage breed. Once the most popular chicken on American farms, traditional Barred Rocks have largely been replaced by their hatchery relatives who no longer sport the large size, excellent fleshing, precise barring and calm temperaments of our birds. Our emphasis is on safeguarding the lineage of this old American breed, while also concentrating on increasing production of eggs to help restore them to their once well deserved status as the ultimate dual purpose chicken. Note: Egg production rates are important to our breeding goals, as we feel it is only by being part of a viable food system that these heirloom breeds of poultry will be preserved. For 2020, we will only offer a limited number of chicks from this project flock as we work to increase the number and size of eggs. These chicks will be suitable as a backyard layer or excellent heritage meat cockerel, but will not be breeding quality.
Size: Cock 9 lbs, Hen 7 lbs |
Eggs/Year: Currently under 200/year |
Cockerel Processing Age: 16 week |
Egg Color: Tinted |
Temperament: Friendly, Calm |
Breed Purpose: Dual Eggs & Meat |
