Ohio Heritage Poultry

06/03/2026

04/19/2026

As a reminder:
Poults are $15 each. Minimum of 2.

Poults cannot be safely sexed like chicks. So there is no way to guarantee you will get males or females. They are sold unsexed.

It is fun to guess though.
Males generally have a square shape head and females a narrower shape. In a group hatched the same time, those with bigger bodies and thicker legs might well be boys.
- BUT. .. mine hatch 1 -2 -3 days apart. Or a week - and all end up in the same brooder.

Call or text for further information. The cell is 254-644-6367 in HIRAM, OH. NE OH ( ( not Texas 🥴) LLC no These are all HERITAGE , no broad breasted. Depending on color variety, they mature ftom 22 # to 34 # for males. ( that’s at 2 years Folks- not this fall. They WILL breed and lay eggs next year though they continue to put on muscles and size longer)
The “decorative“
varieties like palms tend to run smaller ( 22 #) vs Bronze and other tradition “meat quality” which hit closer to 30 #.

04/19/2026

And then there are ????
POULTS😁

A number of colors are hatched “white” ( or yellow). Sweetgrass, palms ( royal palm, or the red, blue or chocolate variations) are two that will take a few weeks to determine what the color is. With my flock all together, anything is possible. I will add “ painted” to this group as well as I have one new hen if this variety, who was also yellow at hatch.

04/19/2026

Two of the more unusual colors of poults hatching now:
Barred black will have the glossy black body, but stripes on the wings and maybe other bits of white. True blacks have a very large white face mask. Barred birds have a smaller mask and sometimes brown head spots as well.
Rusty blacks have that red gene to create a hard to describe color that’s black “but not exactly”. They are super cute poults as generally their very dark eyes also appear quite large. The baby fuzz can range from quite chocolate-y to very dark almost black.

04/19/2026

IT’S TURKEY TIME!!

Poults have started hatching! Several each of standard Bronze and Crimson Dawn Bronze.
Standard bronze have a browner background with black stripes and head spots. This is the common “wild turkey” as adults.
CD Bronze are hatched with a lighter background - pale tan/ yellow. As adults the color is similar to standards but has an amazing deep burgundy shimmer in the sun.

04/14/2026

It’s Hatching Season
😆🤪😵‍💫
Small house and 7 incubators hatching 24/7 this time of the year.

HERITAGE Farm Mix CHICKS available now!
These are primarily a cross of the ancient English DORKING breed and the “equally old” Landrace breed of ICELANDIC. (Next year I should have purebred peeps of both available , but my girls are old so enjoy just being part of the general population …So no pure peeps this year. )
Periodically Sandhill Preservation …my source for many heritage … has sent a few endangered breed chicks with an order. These have been assimilated into the group.
Briefly ( I hope😖) Dorkings are a large quiet dual purpose breed going back to Julius Caesar. They are slower growing but considered one of the finest meat birds in the world. They also are excellent broodies, although hatcheries have tried to eliminate this trait. They forage very well and lay best thru the cold weather. Summers they prefer to raise peeps - and can be difficult to change their minds. White/ pale tan eggs.
Iceys are smaller, 4-5 # and unless handled as peeps, tend to be more skittish. They are top notch foragers who don’t want commercial feed if they have good forage. White eggs. Excellent mothers. And very tasty despite the leaner body type.
The farm mix chicks tend to be between the 2 parent sizes. With all the “plus” for an easy keeper, good layer and eliminate the need to buy new birds every year. The pure as well if farm mix have proved to be long lived and healthy.

04/03/2026

Time for the next peeps to learn about mother boxes! The red chicks are now 4 weeks, black ones are 2 weeks.

Updates on “mother boxes”:
Cardboard doesn’t last long 😖. They sag as chicks sit on top, but also I think chicks inside create both warm and moist air - and cardboard just isn’t great with damp. Not something you easy to describe - but they feel “ softer”. Something to consider if raising lots of peeps.

Otherwise - group one has grown very fast. They seem less affected by chilly weather. And super sociable! No one has fussed about the new “group 2”. The new ones are a bit shy of course, but the older ones act like they all belong - eating, drinking, and cuddling together.

I’d also like to introduce “Pirate”. Pirate is a pure Icelandic rooster. Icey roosters are well known to be excellent with their families and it’s not unusual to have several males happy together with no aggression.
Several years ago we had a severe drop in winter temperature. I noticed several days later he had a frost bitten comb so he came in for care. Within days, it became obvious he also had damaged feet.
Despite lots of care and being a “house chicken”, Pirate lost everything on one side leaving a “peg leg” ( now you know how he got his name 😁)
The other foot has short stumpy toes.

The decision always would be for his best life. He continues to eat and be a happy inside pet. He has a permanent girlfriend who shares his cage.

BUT: with the new growout pen Pirate and Spaz now have a FAMILY!! They are living in deep bedding with free choice feed, being Mom and Dad to an ever changing pile of peeps.
Pirate calls his kids over for goodies and they sleep on his back. His lady, Spaz, is very gentle with the little ones as well. At night they can be found up high on the brooder, snuggled together, watching over all their family.