Here at Birch Run Farm we encourage our stock to reproduce naturally and raise their own young. This gives our young birds a great start with their protective parents. Our oldest hens are our best biddies.
A word about pricing: All of our breeding stock is selected for the highest quality and breed characteristics. You are making a good investment with birds bred to APA Standards.
These are not mass produced hatchery birds and thus you will find that they cost more. Pullets and hens will always demand the highest prices as hatch ratios are approximately 50-50 on sexes. Your egg laying birds are going to be productive for many years. They will molt each fall and stop laying eggs at that time. Once they have completed growing a new set of feathers expect delicious eggs to start appearing again!
Disclaimer: We realize most of you do not want roosters but in most cases we do not know the sex of individual chicks until they are several months old. We cannot make guarentees on the sex of chicks. Females always sell very quickly but don't discount the boys! Extra males can be raised and once mature added to your freezer for delicious home grown meals. There are several operating mobile livestock processors here in Vermont who will come to your home to process your birds very professionally. We can offer very good discounts or barter for those wishing to purchase extra males for meat. Ask for availability!
ARAUCANA
We have true Araucana, this breed was developed from native stock kept by an indigenous mountain tribe in Chile. These birds are in the large fowl class but are smaller than most laying breeds. Araucanas are bred to have no tails, called rumpless, have a pea comb and often have tufts of feathers growing out of the sides of their heads. No other breed has this feature! Araucanas lay blue shelled eggs and the color is complete through the entire shell.
Araucanas are a very rare breed, they are friendly calm birds and have recognized standard colors for showing but also come in many color varieties. Some are hatched with tail feathers, smooth faces or rumpless with smooth faces. Show quality birds are quite rare and have specific plumage colors, are rumpless and have bilateral tufts. We breed for the standard but very few birds are actually hatched to meet it. This is a colorful breed and are good egg layers and mothers.
Our araucanas took Best of Breed at the 2010 Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, Mass!
AMERAUCANA
True Ameraucanas are also a specialized breed that lays colored eggs. This breed differs from Araucanas notably with tails and they have bearded and muffed faces. No wattles show through their facial feathering. Show quality birds have specific colors.
We have large fowl sized birds who lay blue shelled eggs. These are a calm and friendly breed to have around the farm. Our color varieties are Blue Wheaten (BW)/Wheaten (W).
My birds took Best of Breed at the 2010 Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, Mass!
MARANS
This is a French breed and they come in feather legged and smooth legged forms. There are several color varieties and we have true French standard Cuckoo with feathering on their shanks. Cuckoos have a blurry barred color somewhat similar to a barred rock. This breed is noted for very dark brown shelled eggs, it is a large breed and good for dual purpose- both eggs and meat. Hens are often broody and are very attentive mothers.
BUFF LEGHORNS
We have added some very beautiful buff leghorn breeding stock for 2010. Our birds come direct from Dan Honour and are nothing shy of the best in buffs. We will begin hatching in spring once the pullets start laying. So far our buffs are nice well behaved birds and much larger than hatchery stock leghorns.
EASTER EGGERS - Rainbow Layers, EE
Easter Eggers (EE) are cross bred birds that look similar to true Ameraucanas. All hatchery stock listed as Araucanas or Ameraucans are in fact EE's. EE's lay colored eggs with green, blue, pink, brown or stone colored shells and birds may have beards and muffs, pea combs or can have straight combs and no beards. EE's usually have wild colored leg shanks. In other words, they have greenish/yellow skin on their legs. They are generally mixed colors and nice birds to have in the barnyard.
BROILERS
We raise our own Cornish Cross meat birds for our freezer and hope to offer for public sale soon!
