About Our Birds
The five heritage breeds of chicken we raise are: Ameraucana, Copper Marans, Delaware, Olive Egger and Welsummer. Each of these breeds helps to contribute to our egg rainbow as they each lay a different colored egg.
Our hatchery is unlike any other in the U.S.!
All of our breeding flocks are hatched and raised right on the farm and are offered a life of pasture grazing all year around. In order to ensure their health while in an open air environment with potential exposure to wild birds, we test our flocks every 90 days for Mycoplasmas and Avian Influenza. At the end of every winter our flocks are tested for Pullorum Typhoid (Salmonella) to be able to continue our participation with the National Poultry Improvement Program (NPIP #MD 51-578).
We implement a combination of flock breeding and selective breeding to maintain genetic diversity amongst our flocks while still being able to hatch a larger quantity of birds than most other farm hatcheries. All of our breeding stock is hand selected and carefully reviewed and critiqued before earning a place in our breeding program. Customers can be assured that our breeding program is designed specifically to breed birds of high quality that maintain their heritage roots, that can compete in shows, and carry strong emphasis of proper egg color for their breed.
We know how much value lies within knowing the genetic make up of the birds one wishes to breed. We spend a lot of our time evaluating our birds and making breeding decisions to improve the genetics for future generations. We believe in the importance of sharing the breeding history of our lines so that the success of our flock doesn't end with us. This allows customer's to make informed decisions on how to continue to breed with our birds in their own flocks moving forward. It also allows us to give credit where credit is due to those breeders that came before us and have helped in the conservation of each breed. A brief breed history can be found on each breed's individual breed information page.
Our Breeds:
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Ameraucana
Learn MoreAmeraucana lay the most beautiful blue eggs. They are a uniquely American breed derived from South American Aracaunas, but improved for fertility and lay rate. The APA recognizes 9 color varieties of Ameraucanas including Deer Run Farm's Black, Blue, Wheaten, Blue Wheaten and Self Blue birds. The splash color variety is in the process of being recognized currently.
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Copper Marans
Learn MoreKnown for their famous dark chocolate egg color, the Copper Marans were developed in France in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were approved and accepted into the APA's Continental class in April 2011. Deer Run Farm's flock includes black copper, blue copper and splash copper color varieties.
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Delaware
Learn MoreThe Delaware were once known as the preferred meat bird prior to the creation of the Cornish Cross. Through several years of selective breeding, Deer Run Farm (with their predecessor, Whitmore Farm) has continued to restore the breed to it's original dual purpose where birds can be processed as early as 14 weeks.
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Olive Egger
Learn MoreThe Olive Egger is not an APA recognized breed. Rather, it is the intentional offspring from a breeding pair of a brown egg layer and a blue egg layer. Deer Run Farm's Olive Eggers are a Welsummer and Ameraucana mix. The offspring of this mating will lay and olive or green colored egg, some with varying splotches or speckles.
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Welsummer
Learn MoreNamed after the village of Welsum in Holland where they originated, Welsummers are known for their large, dark, terra-cotta, speckled eggs and their ability to forage wide and far while still being a very docile breed. Deer Run Farm's line of Welsummers is known to carry both very dark solid egg layers and the most speckled egg layers in the states.
