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We’ve been “trying out” various poultry for the last 10 yrs and feel fairly settled now on our poultry priorities. These on our current breeding list have all been robustly healthy, able to endure our weather extremes without coddling, forage for much of their own food, and are highly competent in hatching and raising their young. We’ve looked for poultry that are reasonably productive, but not at the expense of their health, longevity, and the bird sense necessary to thrive and reproduce in a old fashioned farmyard environment. We have nixed breeds, (and the occasional individual) with aggressive tendencies toward humans or our other animals, choosing birds that are assertive enough to protect their babies and hold their own in a mixed flock without being a danger to others. In addition to eggs and meat far tastier than the grocery store options, they keep our insect pest populations to a reasonable level, and clean up spilled grain that otherwise would attract rodents. In our orchard they spend much time under the shade of trees or build nests among brambles, fertilizing in the process of course. They take care of the clean-up of fallen fruit that may harbor insects or diseases. In addition to all this utility, we find them beautiful, pleasant, entertaining, and downright admirable creatures. Our replacement breeding stock is generally hatched and raised by our birds to assure that we don’t loose those instincts, but we do some incubator hatching also to better assure a predictable supply of young birds for sale. Check with us for availability and pricing if interested. More detailed info is in the works.

Icelandic (landrace) chickens:

Narragansett and Spanish Black Turkey:

Pilgrim Geese:

Muscovy ducks, mixed color: