Muddy Mutt Farm

Blue (one of our Easter Eggers) turns 6 next month. Amazingly, she still gives us 2-3 eggs a week! While they’re shaped a little funny and the albumin is thin, the fact that she’s laying pretty regularly is a gift. We don’t sell her eggs anymore but they’re good enough for our table. 🩵🩵

Love these boys 🩵
Lil’BitOfHeaven Nittany Pride *B
Frogtown Cedars MB Whatchamacallit *B

I think Abby here is the sweetest goose we’ve ever raised. I probably owe the credit to Aubrey (our 3.5 year old) as she’s been extremely hands on with them since day one!

I started this homestead as a passion project for the sake of the animals and to contribute to our local community. As our family has grown it’s morphed into something even more beautiful - a chance to share those passions with my girls. The excitement we see in them to participate in otherwise mundane chores is so rewarding. We are slowing down this summer to savor those moments!

Unbelievably close call! 😳🫣

This huge oak tree was damaged during that last snowstorm in April. It split down the middle but was still standing.

Well, today half of the tree fell and it barely missed our coop! So thankful none of our chickens were harmed (zoom in on the 2nd photo, they’re checking it out 😂) and nothing was damaged.

Guess we’ll add this to our project list. 😅😬

Acadia Queen Wilhelmina F4 American Mini Nubian

I have 2 pairs of Sebastopol goslings up for discussion! ❤️🪿

2 are female based on sex-linked color (buff)
2 look lavender & have DNA samples in the mail 💌

Pairs will either be female/male OR female/female pending lab results. 1 pair is reserved so please PM me if you’re interested.

Picture of one of the buff females and my adults.

🥚 pick up is pending! 🥚

I’ve got a generous dozen hatching eggs available this week. Heavy on the Swedish Flower Hens but also includes Olive Eggers, Marans and Legbar. Will discount if picked up in the next few days!

Deposit required to hold. Please PM me if interested!

✨ s o l d ✨

I’m late on this one (told ya May was crazy 🤪) but we have 2 chicks available from our last hatch!

1 Black Copper Marans (unsexed)
1 Olive Egger (female)

2️⃣5️⃣ takes them home. Deposit required to hold. Thank you!!

Heads up! My calendar in May is pretty hectic and my availability will reflect that.

Our last scheduled chick hatch is Friday 5/3/24!! Breeds include Legbar, Olive Eggers and possibly some Black Copper Marans. ✨Deposit received✨so be on the look out for any extra chicks posted!

Sebastopol goslings to follow. 🤞🏻

Otherwise, we’ll be switching gears to focus on family fun! 💙

Sold out - thank you friends 🫶🏻

Happy Friday!! ☀️🌷💛
We have a a couple offerings on this beautiful spring day!

👉🏻 a generous dozen “hen’s choice” hatching eggs for 4️⃣5️⃣ includes:
3 Olive Eggers (100% green eggs!!)
3 Swedish Flower Hens
7 Cream Legbars (my pride and joy)
2 Blue/Black Copper Marans

👉🏻 All chicks have sold!

Deposits are required to hold. Please PM me. 🤗

Introducing Abby and Jojo, our first ever sex-linked Sebastopol goslings!

It’s one thing to study genetics. It’s a whole other game to put them to the test. I’m thrilled that this pairing produced just as expected! C**t is a dilute lilac gander and he partnered with our grey goose Poppy. Buff is a sex-linked color in Sebbies, so C**t passes his color to all female offspring (making them buff or lilac) while male goslings inherit grey or blue from Miss Poppy.

Now, selling sexed geese has pros and cons. The demand for females is high, but then what about all the males??

What is the consensus among locals? Do you only want female geese or would you be happy with female/male pairs? Please let me know! 👇🏻

We are LOADED with fresh eggs right now. If you’re interested in stocking your fridge with colorful, delicious eggs please message me!

New layer 🤩🫒

Aside from the “oops” brown gene sneaking in there these F1 olive eggs have been 🔥!! My Marans is throwing some really neat speckles. I can’t wait to see what you all get from your pullets!

Spring cleaning ☀️🧼

Every coop is getting a total refresh! My preferred substrate in our chicken yards is wood chips or hog fuel. There are definite pros and cons to this but it works here, for the most part.

Pros ✅
1. Organic material breaks down overtime, allowing you to reuse it in the compost or simply add more on top.
2. They absorb and retain moisture, reducing or even eliminating the build up of ammonia and preventing mud/poo accumulation.
3. Chickens love to scratch though it! Over time, the decomposing materials invite insects to move in, which means free enrichment for your birds.
4. If you have a willing local arborist you can get them in bulk for free.
5. They are well suited to wet conditions i.e. saturated ground and/or open-top yards.

Cons 🚫
1. They break down over time…which eventually means more mud if you don’t keep adding more material.
2. Finding them locally has been challenging. If you can’t find them for free, buying bulk could be an option but it’s not always budget friendly.
3. Knowing what species of wood are present is crucial. Black Walnut and Cedar are toxic.
4. Splinters may cause an issue, but realistically chickens can get bumble-foot from anything. I have not seen a correlation with wood chips.

All that said, I would not go back to any other material in my runs! Pine pellets work in a pinch to quickly absorb standing water, but then they compact and need to be cleaned out (as pictured 😷).

Outside of concrete, anything you use for your chickens will require upkeep. It’s all about finding what works best for you!

Another day, another successful hatch!

I have available: 🐥🐥
1 female Cream Legbar (blue eggs)
1 female Olive Egger (67% chance of dark green eggs

✨all have sold✨

Rain, rain, go away… 😪

We’re all dreaming of the sunny days. This weather has so been tough! Everything is a flooded, sloppy mess.

Tell me, how are you handling it?

Tonight I set eggs for our last scheduled chicken hatch this year, expected by 5/3/24. 🥹🙏🏻

We started early and you all showed up in an unbelievable way! In the next few weeks I anticipate having extra chicks, so keep an eye out if you want to snag some.

Our personal lives get b u s y in May. This break gives me the time I need to focus on my family. I’m continuing to evaluate our flocks and will be hatching for myself, so started birds and project culls are possible later this year.

Thank you all for loving our birds as much as we do! ✌🏻❤️🐔

Introducing this little gyspy… SKM Carolina Dream Farm Esmerelda.

She is the most difficult goat to get good photos of (one of many bloopers in comments). If she’s not in my lap she is busy running around! 😂🩵

Esme is a genuine sweetheart with impressive milk lines behind her. We’re so excited to have her here with us! Huge thank you to Kathy at SKM Carolina Dream Farm for making it happen!

Ah, mud season. 😅🩵

Many of you have met Aubrey this year when you came to pick up. I hope her enthusiasm to help continues!

Deposit received 💖

I have 2 leftover chicks! 🐥🐥
1 female olive egger (67% chance of dark green eggs)
1 female cream Legbar (blue eggs)

3️⃣5️⃣ for the pair. Deposit required to hold. Please PM!

Have you ever seen a more photogenic goat!? This buckling from Lil'Bit of Heaven Homestead is AMAZING. April told me so, but once you meet him it actually feels like an understatement!

Welcome home, Nittany! 🖤
More to follow on the others!!

I am THRILLED to announce our Legbar flock tested homozygous (O,O) for the blue egg gene outside of 1 new layer I added this spring. Not coincidentally, that gal was hatched at the same time as my other sneaky (o,O) birds.

Honestly, I would've been fine with any results as long as my rooster was (O,O). Once I opened the report and saw that he was, I felt like I could finally breathe again. As I kept scrolling through the reports (we tested 7 birds) it just kept getting better and better! 💙💙💙

The heterozygous Cream Legbar is offered for sale to a pet flock. She's just turned 1 year old, laying blue eggs. 3️⃣5️⃣

Lovingly dedicated to my grandparents, Barb and Kenneth (aka Gram & Bumps), who’ve been here with me from the beginning and will be here with me indefinitely. I see big parts of myself in both of you; tenacity, compassion and a strong sense of family values.

Thank you, sincerely, for always supporting this crazy kid, no matter how far-fetched the dreams become!

Coming soon… 😁❤️

Meet the Ducken!

We’re so excited to announce our next project breed. This unique hybrid has everything you love about ducks AND chickens compiled into one adorable package. The best part? They’ll be able to destroy your flower gardens with their tiny dinosaur feet PLUS create giant mud holes in your lawn with their built-in face shovels.

Limited quantities available - this creature is very hard to breed. 😉

Drum roll part 2 🥁

This perfect little doeling is also joining our homestead in just one week!!! Introducing Life is Golden Acres Stella Luna. ⭐️🌙 Stella is a purebred miniature Nubian with loads of milk behind her!

Thank you to Nancy at Life is Golden Acres for helping me build my dream herd. If I’m off-grid after April 6th it’s because I’m busy snuggling baby goats. 🤩♥️

Drum roll please 🥁🥁

In 2 weeks we’re bringing home this gorgeous herd sire!! Nittany is a purebred (F6) *B miniature Nubian bred by April at Lil'Bit of Heaven Homestead. He brings so much to the table for our small foundation herd and I can’t thank April enough for trusting me with him!

Big thank you to GEM Construction LLC: Sheds, Greenhouses, and More for helping me custom design his shelter. It came out perfect!

Next spring…goat milk!!! 🤞🏻🥛💕

Another 2024 F1 Olive Egger laid today and her egg is GORGEOUS. After the can of worms that was opened this is definitely some good news!! 🫒🫒🫒

Completely ignoring all the snow outside 😩❄️

✨Deposit received! ✨
We have chicks! It’s been awhile since I’ve had any up for grabs. 2 Cream Legbar pullets hatched 3/21 can be picked up tomorrow or Monday (no driving today!)

These are your blue egg layers. PM me to claim! Deposit required to hold. 🩵

A bit of unexpected housekeeping…

I just caught one of my new F1 “Olive Eggers” laying a brown egg. This means that at least one of my Legbar hens is not homozygous for blue eggs (as they should be) and is hiding a sneaky recessive brown gene. 🫠😭
I have samples from each of the 3 layers in that pen on the way to a lab (IQ Bird Testing) to genetically test for the blue eggshell gene. Any bird that comes back heterozygous (o,O) will be removed from the flock to correct the problem. Hopefully it’s just one hen, but time will tell. I expect results early next week.

I have played with this cross for many years and it always resulted in green eggs. These girls, however, were all hatched in spring 2023, presumably from the same hen, who originated from a different line. Despite being a well respected line (I am always careful when sourcing new birds) issues can pop up anytime you bring in “new blood.” Apparently this is one of those issues I now have to diligently w**d out.

For the time being, I have to assume all “Olive Eggers” have a 50% chance of laying a brown egg OR green. Believe me when I say no one is more disappointed than I am and it will be promptly corrected. Chick prices will remain the same for female day-olds (for now) but any outstanding orders are welcome to be changed. Once the problem is rectified I will be hatching FREE chicks for customers who ended up with brown laying “olive eggers” from us. Time for that is TBD - possibly this summer or fall.

Please remember, at the end of the day an egg is still an egg. They’re all delicious on the inside!

Respectfully,
Jessica 🫶🏻