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. I promise we have not gone off-grid ha!
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.
As of January we are still planning to ship hatching eggs, chicks and live birds through the post office. There have been some issues in shipping but we are confident that things will improve and we will feel comfortable shipping at the end of February as is policy. Due to the craziness of 2020 we are going to stay conservative with our hatching numbers in 2021 so if you would like us to hatch more of a breed we offer please ask. Tolbunt Polish and Austrian Sulmtaler we currently have waiting lists on however the list are not huge so please do not let a waiting list keep you from inquiring. New Hampshire, Delaware, Sulmtaler, WLR Cornish, and White Ameraucana are all starting to come back into lay. However, no fertility confirmed yet this season. We have confirmed fertility on the bantams: Porcelain d'Uccles and Seramas. I still need to update the website for the two bantam varieties. We are current with the NPIP program and Avian Flu testing and continue to test negative giving our flocks a "clean" status.
Nigerian Dwarf Goat babies start 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 Breeding Plan 2020 page then either email us or use the contact page and we will get you set up with a reservation. No deposit needed. If you have questions ask. I do plan to add an explanation of how we price each animal and how the process works when buying a goat from us which will include what you get for your money. I'll try to have that up in a week or so. 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 to 9. The English Orpington in several colors 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 to 9. The English Orpington in several colors 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 PoultryWe may bring on new breeds and phase out breeds as we journey through our chicken adventures. As of 2020 we raise and breed English Orpingtons in several colors, heritage Delawares, standard size Polish, standard size Ameraucana and Sulmtaler.
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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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