Meet the Birds

We raise a variety of poultry here at Pleasant Valley Farm. We are passionate about raising heritage breeds of poultry. These are breeds that have been around for a long time and were developed on family farms such as ours. Unfortunately, many are in literal danger of extinction because they do not do well on factory farms, where the majority of today's livestock and poultry are raised. Raising these endangered breeds of poultry not only helps preserve a piece of our farming heritage, it also strengthens the genetic diversity of our food system. For more information on the importance of heritage breeds as well as information on all the wonderful creatures we refer to as heritage, please visit the Livestock Conservancy's website. They are a nonprofit dedicated to preserving heritage breeds, and we are members and support their mission.

We have a large incubator to hatch our own chicks and offer day old chicks for sale from early March through early June each year. Currently, we sell a variety of chickens, Bourbon Red Turkey, Cayuga and Khaki Campbell Ducks, Coturnix quail, and peafowl. All photos are of our own birds here on the farm, and some of the facts and dates were taken from Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds, a great book for anyone wanting to learn more about all the different varieties of poultry. More information about all the heritage breeds is available from The Livestock Conservancy as well. Please see our Chicks for Sale page for current information about buying live birds.

All photos here are our animals and taken here on the farm.
They are our copyrighted property, please contact us if you would like to use them in any way.

Heritage Breed- Buckeye

Buckeye chickens were developed in Warren, Ohio in the 1890's. Buckeyes are the only American breed developed by a woman and also the only American breed with a pea comb. They are a great dual purpose breed, having meaty thighs and dark meat that is darker than most breeds. They have a calm, friendly disposition and are good foragers. Hens lay brown eggs and may become broody. Buckeyes are the most cold hardy breed we raise, the snow does not faze them and the pea comb is more resistant to frostbite. A great breed for new chicken keepers and experienced chicken people alike! These are a heritage breed currently considered Threatened by the Livestock Conservancy.

Heritage Breed- Delaware

Delaware rooster, left, with 3 hens

These personable birds are Emily's favorites here at the farm. This breed was created in the 1940's by crossing Barred Rock roosters with New Hampshire hens. They lay a medium to large deep brown egg and are also commonly used for meat production. It was the number one meat bird breed in America for about 20 years, up until the invention of the Cornish-Rock hybrid. It shares many good qualities with the Barred Rock; Delawares are also cold hardy, dual-purpose, calm, and can be raised either in confinement or free range. Despite all of these wonderful qualities, the breed is in danger of becoming extinct. Pleasant Valley Farm is proud to be one of the breeders of this chicken, and we do offer chicks for sale in the spring from these birds. It is considered a breed to watch, improving from its status as critical, on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priorities List.

Heritage Breed-Gold Laced Polish

Polish chickens are best known for their appearance, a crazy topknot of feathers that makes them seem as though they are wearing a wig. They are an old breed which was recognized by the American Poultry Association in 1874, but Polish chickens show up in European paintings as far back as the 1400's! Polish chickens come in a variety of colors. We raise the Gold Laced variety, which have golden feathers with striking black outlines. Our Polish are the standard (large) size, not the smaller bantam variety. Polish are a smaller chicken even at the standard size, so they will weigh less than our larger breeds such as the Delawares and Buckeyes. They lay medium sized eggs which are white in color. They also make wonderful pets and backyard chickens as they are such fun to watch and are a docile breed. Polish are listed as a breed to Watch on the Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priorities List.

Black Copper Maran

Maran chickens are primarily known for their dark brown eggs, which are darker in color than any other breed of chicken. While not currently recognized as a heritage breed in America (they were not recognized as a breed by the APA until 2011), the origins of this breed trace back to France in the late 1800's. The name of the breed comes from the French town where they originated by crossing Langshan chickens with local game-type chickens. Marans come in a variety of colors. We have the Black Copper Marans, which have black feathers with an iridescent green sheen with reddish copper accents on the neck of both sexes as well as the hackle feathers. Our Marans have some feathering on their legs as well.

Please note that the hens in the photos are not fully mature.

Other Poultry

Heritage Breed-Cayuga Ducks

Cayuga ducks are a breed developed in the Finger Lakes region of New York state in the early 1800's. It was recognized as a breed by the APA in 1874. They are best known for their striking beetle-black plumage. The feathers are black but have an iridescent sheen, much like the wings of our Black Shouldered peacock! Both drakes and hens have this beautiful luster. Originally developed as a meat breed, they grow to 7-8 pounds (live weight). They fell out of favor in the 1890's when Pekins became the standard duck raised for meat. These ducks are well adapted to our climate and are one of the hardiest ducks in the cold. They are great foragers and also can be easily tamed to make wonderful pets. Hens lay 100-150 large eggs a year which are good to eat and wonderful to bake with! They are listed as a breed to watch under the Livestock Conservancy Conservation Priorities list.

Heritage Breed-Khaki Campbell Ducks

Khaki Campbell ducks were developed in the late 1800's in England to produce roast duckling as well as for their attractive light brown plumage. By the 1920's, Khakis were best known for their laying abilities as a single hen could lay as many as 340 medium sized duck eggs per year! Hens typically begin to lay at 5-7 months of age, like most chickens. Khaki Campbells are a very energetic duck and do best with plenty of room to move and forage. They are also listed as a breed to watch by the Livestock Conservancy.

Coturnix Quail

These are the jumbo quail raised for meat or eggs. They grow incredibly fast, reaching full maturity at just 8 weeks of age. They will weigh 10-12 ounces at that time, one of the largest varieties of quail available. They also begin laying eggs at that time. Eggs are brown and white speckled. They do fly and need a pen with an enclosed top to keep them in. These quail are calm and almost friendly.

Heritage Breed- Bourbon Red Turkey

Gobbles, Our Bourbon Red Tom

In 2010 we entered the world of heritage turkeys. These birds are long lived, slow growing, naturally reproducing, and all heritage breeds were on the verge of extinction due to the use of the Broad Breasted White turkey. The BB White is the dominant meat breed, making up 99% of all the turkeys raised, sold and eaten in the US today.

The Bourbon Red is currently the most popular heritage breed of turkey. It was developed around the turn of the century in Kentucky and Pennsylvania and is featured on Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste program for its exceptional flavor and its relative rarity. We are excited to be a breeder of these relatively rare birds, as we began hatching our first poults in early April, 2011. Bourbons are a beautiful reddish-brown with white accents on their wing & tail feathers. They are currently considered a breed to watch on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priorities List.

Heritage Breed- Narragansett Turkeys

The Narragansett turkey was developed in the 1600s from crosses of wild and domestic European turkeys, possibly Norfolk Blacks. This breed is named for Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island and was the foundation breed for the turkey industry in New England. It was admitted to the APA in 1874. These turkeys are known for good meat quality, calm disposition, egg production, broodiness and beautiful plumage. The numbers of this breed plummeted in the 1950's as new commercial breeds developed, and by 1997 only 6 breeding birds could be located in the Livestock Conservancy's census. Today this breed has rebounded into the Watch category, meaning there are thought to be more than 1,000 but less than 5,000 breeding birds today.

Narragansett gobbler

Narragansett hen

Peafowl

Emily holding a Black Shouldered peahen

Most people know peafowl as peacocks, but that name really refers only to the males. The females are called peahens. While peacocks most commonly come in shining blue or albino white, there are actually 185 recognized color variations that exist. We have two color varieties. Most of our peafowl are the Blue India variety, the typical blue and green males and the females are mostly brown. We also have the Black Shouldered variety. The males look similar to the Blue India, but have black shoulders while the females are nearly white. Our peafowl were hatched in July of 2008, and we were very excited to collect our first eggs in late May 2010. Peafowl live longer than most birds and it is not uncommon for them to live into their 50's (yes, in human years!) so they start laying eggs at a much older age than most birds. Also, it can take three years for the males to grow the full tails for which they are known. Each eyespot on the male's tails is a separate feather. Each year, around early August, they molt and lose each and every one. With three males, this can be over 500 individual feathers! This also means the feathers you see for sale in the farm stand and in our jewelry was painlessly harvested, as they were done with it. It takes approximately 6 months for the males to regrow their tails each year. The best times to view the peacocks putting on a show is late May through the end of July, with the best displays usually occurring in the morning or evening on hot summer days.. The pen is viewable from your car, so you can drive by anytime! If you do, please DO NOT BLOCK TRAFFIC OR EXIT YOUR VEHICLE, we live on a small but well traveled road.

Toulouse Geese

A goose with her newly hatched gosling

The Toulouse is a very old breed of barnyard geese. They originated in France, were brought to England in the late 1700's and to America in the mid-1800's. They are one of the largest domestic geese, weighing over 20 lbs, and are sometimes used for meat production. They are cold hardy and good foragers, finding all their own food except in the hardest months of winter, when we supplement their diet. They are sometimes called the "watchdogs of the barnyard" because their loud honking will alert farmers to anything out of the ordinary, be it visitors in the driveway or coyotes near the livestock. Our geese are not aggressive unless defending their nests in the spring. A Toulouse goose can lay up to 20 eggs in the spring, and must sit on them for a month to hatch goslings. The goslings can swim from birth and the entire flock spends much time on our pond. While the young will mature in less than a year, these birds can live to be over 100 years old.