Welcome to Helbert Hens and 2021!
We do not have a facebook page any longer! We do not have twitter! We have email, a phone and a website.
Welcome to our website. If you don't know who we are; we raise poultry and goats and work full time jobs. We also are beginning to put together some items we think make chicken and goat husbandry better for the small/hobby farmer. Watch the for Sale page for those items.
Shipping chicks has gone very poorly this spring. Until the USPS is back on schedule and on track with live animal shipping we will not be shipping chicks or juvenile birds. We will continue to ship hatching eggs.
Nigerian Dwarf Goat babies started coming in February! I have 12 does freshening this year in February and March. We went on DHI test in 2020 beginning in June so a few of the does did earn their stars in butterfat and protein but I stopped milking a little too early for them to earn their star in milk volume. I do believe all the girls that earned a star in a category for 2020 will earn the milk volume as well in 2021. If you would like to reserve a kid or two please feel free to browse our Kidding Plan 2021 page then either email us or use the contact page and we will get you set up with a reservation. We continue to test negative for CAE/CL/Johne's. Our last round of test was in December 2020.
Thanks for stopping in and Happy New Year!
Helbert Hens
Where it's great to be a big chicken.
When I started breeding poultry I made the mistake of trying to breed too many breeds and too many varieties. I just wanted them all. In fact you might say I was obsessed with the beauty and personalities of each breed. There came a point where I had to sit down and decide why I wanted chickens and what I hoped to accomplish in a breeding plan. Over the years some of my favorite breeds have not been sustainable due to the cold and seemingly never ending Ohio winters. I found that keeping the breeds in separate coops was great for containing illness and keeping family groups ranging and socializing together however very difficult to maintain even with a well implemented winter husbandry plan. Some breeds lost favor and didn't flourish because they would not free range but preferred to stay in their runs and eat feed all day. They might have been happy but I was having to clean those pens and fill feeders twice as often which made me very unhappy.
To make a long story short, I decided to limit the breeds/varieties we raised. The English Jubilee Orpington worked well for us as they are big beautiful friendly birds that are cold hardy and easy to keep. Even with the limited lighting in winter we still get some eggs. I also chose the Delaware because of their cold hardness and the great flavors of their meat. The Delawares are friendly and bold and one of my best layers of large light brown eggs year around.
To make a long story short, I decided to limit the breeds/varieties we raised. The English Jubilee Orpington worked well for us as they are big beautiful friendly birds that are cold hardy and easy to keep. Even with the limited lighting in winter we still get some eggs. I also chose the Delaware because of their cold hardness and the great flavors of their meat. The Delawares are friendly and bold and one of my best layers of large light brown eggs year around.
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The AnimalsWe may bring on new breeds and phase out breeds as we journey through our chicken adventures.
As of 2021 we raise and breed large fowl English Jubilee Orpingtons, heritage Delawares, WLR Cornish, New Hampshire, White Ameraucana and the Austrian Sulmtaler. We also raise and breed the bantam breeds Serama and Porcelain d'Uccle. And of course, we raise and breed Nigerian Dwarf goats. |
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All flocks have their own coops and are allowed to free range on a rotational basis. Usually 4 to 6 pens out each day. Chicks that are 4 to 16 weeks are raised in the old horse barn until they are big enough to be incorporated into a coop. Chicks day old to 4 weeks are in the hatch room in our house.
Organizations and programs we support.
31-1112
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American Poultry Association
United Orpington Club - District 3 Polish Breeders Club - District 4 International Cornish Breeders Association Ameraucana Alliance Ameraucana Breeders Club - North East American Dairy Goat Association American Goat Society Ohio Dairy Goat Association |
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