Due to the rise of avian influenza in surrounding states, farm visits are restricted.
We expect to set eggs beginning in February for chick orders, and we will ship hatching eggs in non-freezing temps.
Focusing on farm to fork foods, we raise hard working dual utility poultry and goats for our family's needs, and... we share!
We searched for the American Bresse breed for quite some time before coming across an available mini flock online. With the help of a friend, we were able to bring them to Happy Joyous Farm, and then select our preferred breeders from the group. Only setting the heaviest of eggs, we have been able to bring our Bresse into a big production, pun absolutely intended.
The American Bresse gets its name from the former French province, Bresse. The Bresse is lauded for it's rich, flavorful meat when finished out with dairy added to their diet. It's definitely worth a Google. The dairy, as well as their forage and feed, behaves this way in this breed because their genetics allow them to metabolize their food differently than most poultry. They're also a great egg layer, offering 250 eggs per year. Since this breed matures quickly, the hens tend to reach POL (point of lay) at around 5 months of age if they're well cared for, healthy, and properly nourished. The stags reach 5+ pounds, while the hens come in around 3.5-4 pounds.
The French Duclair has become a phenomenal utility bird at Happy Joyous Farm. Our ladies lay all through the fall and winter for us on top of their peak laying in the warmer months. The breed is well known for its exquisite flavor, and that stands true for us. The jerky is outta this world!
While the color is non-traditional, we have invested in a pure white strain to ensure beautiful birds for the table, as white feathers leave you with much cleaner looking skin, perfect for crisping. We have selectively bred ours to mature hastily, and have received eggs from 4 month old ducks! They grow as quickly as a Pekin, reaching 5-6 pounds as young as 7 weeks. This means less time, labor, and feed invested in a roast duck dinner. or rich duck eggs for baking.
We have been raising silkies and showgirls according to the Standard of Perfection for several years, and our silkies and showgirls are just awesome, simply put. We have several blue ribbons behind some of the birds in our selective breeding programs for these breeds, and others have gone on to take Grand Champion purple ribbons. We've pared down from our more expansive programs to place great focus on perfecting our black and chocolate silkies and showgirls this year. We utilize individual breeding pens during the peak season to pair up our best conforming birds to offer the most beautiful silkies we can muster.
We are members of the American Silke Bantam Club.
We raise our Silver Sebrights in covered pens, as they are quite flighty, and will absolutely take to the trees to roost. This allows us to breed them the way we like by picking the best looking birds to group together in each covered pen. Being ornamental, they don't lay a ton of eggs, which works out in their favor as they're known to be terrible mothers. These true bantams are not the snuggly or broody type, and prefer to be out of your hands, and enjoyed with a little personal space.
The Sebright breed is on the Watch list with The Livestock Conservancy.
A farm friend was selling out of their long-running line of exquisite Crested Cream Legbars, and we snatched them up, lickety split. We are deeply honored to carry on that line here at Happy Joyous Farm. We have since imported stags from other impressive fanciers, and will be offering some of the best CCLBs in the area this year. Our current breeders have taken blue ribbons at each show they've entered.
They have a sweet disposition, and don't mind health and wellness checks at all, so feel free to get hands-on with them. They're fairly alert and aware of their surroundings for a crested bird. Our experience with crested birds prior to this was they're virtually blind to the sky, but the CCLBs do pretty well to tell each other when something's flying overhead, and love to talk amongst themselves about it, being a fairly vocal breed. The cockbirds do get a bit randy during breeding season, but it's nothing you can't handle.
Our registered Nigerian Dwarves are selectively bred with that sweet sweet milk in mind first, and adorableness second. Luckily, ours offer both. Being able to view their lineage in their registration papers and records has been greatly appreciated by our clients, and we like folks to know exactly what they're getting when they purchase a Happy Joyous Farm goat, so we offer that information freely.
Livestock Guardian Dogs (commonly shortened to 'LGD' in writing) are a different breed of dog entirely than what folks know as a farm dog. With phenomenal scruff around the neck, they're designed to win in a fight. We run 3 of them now, one with our does, one with our bucks, and a central LGD who also lives in the house, and have had no predator losses since incorporating them on the full perimeter. Our preferred breed of LGD is the regal Great Pyrenees, but we're also partial to the hybrid Anatolian Pyrenees. With a little direction, and diligent correction, your loyal LGD should successfully guard your animals until their dying day.
We do not hatch year round for even our most loyal clients, no matter how much they beg. Instead, you can expect sweet li'l fluffy chicks to start popping outta their shells around March-April. We will announce the beginning dates for pre-orders to come in on our Facebook page before anywhere else, so keep an eye on that to get your wish list fulfilled.
We do not breed our goats year round as we prefer to offer our does some lengthy recovery time between kiddings. This puts us in a position of having kids from some does in the spring, and some in the fall. We announce all does' pregnancies on our Facebook pages, and the kids' availabilities will be announced there as well. Our goats are bred with dairy in mind, and the registered Nigerian Dwarves have their dairy marks in writing for clients to view upon request.
We only breed our dogs after a wellness check to ensure optimal health for the bitch during pregnancy, which we've learned will offer the hardiest whelps. They receive regular prenatal care, routine ultrasounds performed here on the property, and daily prenatal vitamins during pregnancy for everyone's benefit. Our LGDs are genome mapped to scientifically test for any possible health concerns or allergies to common veterinary medicines, and we refuse to breed any dog who doesn't pass those tests with the highest of marks.