Hale Family Farm
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Our Chickens

We are now in the 5th year of our chicken project and have varieties you won’t find anywhere else!

Starting from heritage chicken breeds in 2019, we have selectively bred and raised our flock to be beautiful, Missouri-climate hardy and predator savvy.

Fertile hatching eggs and baby chicks from our breeding groups will be available for a limited time in the spring. After that, throughout the summer and fall, we offer free-range fertile hatching eggs while all our roosters are out with all the hens. Check out our Facebook page for updates: @halefamilyfarm.farmington

The Chicken Project

 
flock.JPG

In 2019, we set out to develop a flock of Missouri climate hardy, predator savvy chickens who lay a rainbow of colorful eggs.

Starting from heritage chicken breeds, we have bred and raised our flock to be beautiful, Missouri-climate hardy, and predator savvy. Our birds and fertile hatching eggs are certified NPIP clean. We are having lots of fun learning about chicken genetics, and experimenting to create unique chicken varieties that you won’t find anywhere else. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

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By 2020, our flock was producing at least 6 egg colors.

 

Our Original Heritage Breed Roosters

 
 

Cream Legbar

We selected the Cream Legbar as our blue-egg breed because they are auto-sexing (male and female chicks look different), good free rangers, and clean-legged (no feathers). Unfortunately, their large comb and wattles are prone to frost-bite. This is something we are working to correct in our blue and green egg layers.

Golden Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben (“Gold Spitz”)

We got lucky when we received this rare breed as a substitution in one of our chick orders. We call them “Gold Spitz”, for short. They are excellent flock protectors with highly frostbite-resistant comb and wattles. As a bonus, they add beautiful feather colors, patterns and crests to their hybrid offspring.

 

Our Original Heritage Breed Hens

 

Dominique

Dominique chickens, also known as Dominickers, are the oldest American chicken breed. They are friendly and intelligent, and lay a large light brown egg with a pink tint.

Silver Spangled Hamburg

Hamburgs have been in America since the early 19th Century, and lay medium sized white eggs.

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Cream Legbar

Cream Legbars were developed in England in the early 20th Century to be auto-sexing (male and female chicks look different). They lay medium sized blue eggs.

Spitzhauben hen

Golden Spangled Appenzeller Spitzhauben

This breed, from Switzerland, went nearly extinct after World War II and was imported into the United States in the 1950s. They lay medium-to-large sized white eggs.

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Welsummer

Welsummers were developed in the early 20th Century in Holland. They lay large dark brown eggs and are commonly used to create Olive Egger hybrids.

 

First and Second Generation Cream Legbar Hybrids

 
 

Mint Egger (crossed with Dominique)

Mint Eggers hatch from a tan/pink egg, and lay green eggs. They look and act like Dominique chickens.

MInt Egger Pullet

MInt Egger Pullet

Mint Egger Rooster

Mint Egger Rooster

Olive Egger (crossed with Welsummer)

Olive Eggers hatch from a dark brown egg, and lay green eggs. They look much like Cream Legbars, but with higher egg production, larger eggs and bolder personalities.

Olive Egger Hen

Olive Egger Hen

Olive Egger Hen

Olive Egger Hen

Olive Egger Back Cross

When we breed Olive Eggers back to a Cream Legbar rooster, we get eggs in a wider range of more vibrant greens. The chicks are also easier to sex than first generation Olive Eggers.

Olive Egger Back Cross Hen

Olive Egger Back Cross Hen

Olive Egger Back Cross Hen

Olive Egger Back Cross Hen

 

First and Second Generation Gold Spitz Hybrids

 

It is quite difficult to tell the various Gold Spitz Hybrids apart, as chicks and as adults. So, in most cases, we will refer to them all as “Rainbow Eggers”. However, we did manage to track a few of these hybrids from hatch to lay, to better understand the genetics.

 

Cream Egger (crossed with Dominique)

Cream Eggers hatch from a tan/pink egg, and lay light cream or pale pink eggs. Chicks are sex-linked, so males have a white head spot and females are solid black.

Cream Egger Hen

Cream Egger Hen

Cream Egger Hen

Cream Egger Hen

Cream Egger Rooster

Cream Egger Rooster

Cream Egger Rooster

Cream Egger Rooster

Blue Egger (crossed with Cream Legbar)

Blue Eggers hatch from a blue egg, and lay blue eggs. Chicks are sex-linked, so males have a white head spot and females are solid black or brown.

Blue Egger Pullet

Blue Egger Pullet

Blue Egger Pullet

Blue Egger Pullet

Rainbow Egger (crossed with Olive Egger)

When we breed Olive Eggers to a Gold Spitz rooster, we could get eggs ranging from light cream to green or blue. Chicks are sex-linked, so males have a white head spot and females are solid brown or black.

Rainbow Egger Hen

Rainbow Egger Hen

Rainbow Egger Hen

Rainbow Egger Hen

Rainbow Egger Hen

Rainbow Egger Hen

Spring 2023 Fertile Hatching Eggs

Here is the range of colors from our fertile hatching eggs in Spring 2023.

Here is a sample of the gorgeous birds producing fertile hatching eggs for Spring 2023…

Here are the varieties of baby chicks produced in Spring 2023…

Stay tuned for photos of these beautiful babies all grown up! We’re beyond excited about the breeding groups for Spring 2024, which will be our 5th generation.

Colorful rainbow chicken eggs