Helbert Hens

Welcome to Helbert Hens! We are going to discontinue the store portion of the website. If you are interested in hatching eggs, chicks or goats the best way is to contact us using the contact form. I will list what is available and pricing. We have kids available now and will have more in December before Christmas. Please check out the Kidding Plan... Fall/Winter 2021 page. Our Fall breeding plan is in motion now and you can get a preview on the Kidding Plan Spring 2022 page. 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. The English Jubilee Orpington 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. We may bring on new breeds and phase out breeds as we journey through our chicken adventures. As of ...Read More