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Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry
Livestock Guardian Dogs
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About Our Farm
- About Our Farm
- Contact
Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Shop Our Farm

Home / Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry

Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry

Our family

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -Lao Tzu

Our Heritage Breed Chickens

Ameraucana (Blue, Black, Splash)
Bresse
Cream Legbar
Isbar
French Black Copper Marans
Lavender Orpington
Silkie (Blue, Black, Splash, White, Porcelain and Mixed)
“Olive Egger” (Blue Ameraucana x French Black Copper Marans)
“Easter Egger” (Barnyard mix of many heritage breeds)

Hours & Info

P.O. Box 3105
Shepherdstown, WV

917-727-2039

By appointment only

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Hatching Eggs
Baby Chicks
Juvenile & Adult Birds
Livestock Guardian Dogs

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betterwiththyme

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After much thought and consultation with others who have had experience with Great Pyrenees for 20+ and 30+ years, we decided to go with our hearts and keep this sweet boy on our farm.

Mint has grown on us so much during the five months that we were looking for the right home for him and we can’t imagine giving him up now. He’s even won over Moonbeam, who doesn’t tolerate any other dogs getting near her. (Check out our story for a video!) Mint is loving to all the animals and people here and growing into a fantastic guardian. His bark is already getting deeper than his dad’s and we suspect he’s going to grow up into a big, solid guy.

Beau and Mint have a fantastic relationship so far but we do realize that two adult male Pyrenees can’t always stay together. If the time comes, we are prepared to have them in separate areas. For now, Mint looks up to his dad and has a very similar easygoing personality and we’re so happy he is staying with us.

#mintofbetterwiththyme #livestockguardiandog #akcgreatpyrenees #greatpyrenees #greatpyreneespuppy

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Sharing three of our white silkies for #meetmychickenmonday with @17chickensandcounting and @sheenawall_ today.

Chino is the rooster and the hens are Chenille and Chintz!

Porcelain was my favorite silkie feather color for a long time but these white silkies are just the absolute fluffiest and might be my new favorite. Whatever their color, I love these sweet little birds!

What’s your favorite silkie color?

#silkiechicken #bwtsilkies

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Did you know that we ship hatching eggs all over the country? We do not use any plastic in our packaging. All of our packing materials are reused and recyclable or compostable.

We currently have silkie eggs available because we are letting all of our other breeds free-range for the winter.

Sign up for the waitlist for any of our other breeds on the product pages on our website. No obligation, just notification when they’re available.

Which breeds do you want to add to your flock next year? Do you have any hatching egg questions?

#smallbusinesssaturday #hatchingeggs #heritageandrarebreed #betterwiththymechickeneggs

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Our ruminants are still feasting on fresh pasture on November 27th. Who would have thought?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving feast of their own tomorrow!

#moonbeamofbetterwiththyme #minijersey

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We’ve had these two boys for a couple of months now, and all the warnings we’ve been given about how hard it is to keep them fenced where you want them are turning out to be true for us.

We started out with cattle panels in a small circle that we moved daily while they got used to us and the dogs got used to them.

Then we tried moving them into a Premier1 electrified sheep and goat fence so they could have more room - about 20,000 square feet. The area included a lot of small trees they could reach leaves from, rose bushes, goldenrod, etc (all things they love). Even with that set up, and moving them once a week they somehow figured out a way to get out and then there was no keeping them in that type of fence.

Next we tried moving them into an electrified poultry net that is 6” taller and the spacing of the strands are much closer. Again it only worked for a short while and then they started getting out again.

I really wanted to have them in the Premier1 netting since it is so easy to move them to fresh ground regularly but for now they are back in the cattle panels. We are still dragging the panels to fresh ground daily but it’s harder work/heavy and their overall space is much smaller.

Does anyone have success with Nigerian Dwarfs and Premier1 fencing?

Happy #meetmygoatmonday @theyounghomestead

#nigeriandwarfgoats #pasturerotation #permaculture

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“Mr. Turkey” needs a better name. We finally decided names for the girls - Buttermilk, Sour Cream and Kefir.

What would you call this guy?

#blueslateturkey

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Hunting season is the best for a #rawfeddog pack. Bria (in the last video) was a little skeptical of me getting so close after I gave it to her - she kept looking at me sideways, trying to figure out if I was going to take it away when I just wanted a video. 😂

The first photo is #mintofbetterwiththyme, next is a video of #beauofbetterwiththyme and last is #briaofbetterwiththyme

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Is it just me or does this baby suddenly look like a little kid?

Adelaide is 18 months old and her current favorite thing to do is whatever big sister is doing, especially trying to dress herself. She can wear anything from 24 months to 5T and is so proud of herself when she gets something on without help. She’s also putting together two and three word “sentences.” So exciting!

#adelaidemaemonthlyphoto #18monthsold

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Pretty please, can’t we come too?

Seriously though, these guys have reached the stage where they are exploring their boundaries, as they begin to patrol and bark along with the adult dogs. Their barks are at a really cute in-between stage, deeper than a little puppy but not quite as deep as Beau and Bella but definitely as serious as a full grown livestock guardian dog.

I’m so thankful Peter worked hard for the last couple of weeks to figure out how to get the perimeter fence fully electrified. We kept the front wood fence cleared most of the year but the other three sides got more and more overgrown.

While trying to cut back all the growth from the year, we discovered the problem - the old barbed wire fence that was rusty and falling down wasn’t removed when the new fence was put in and the growing plants pushed the old metal into the electric strand, grounding it out in many places.

Now it’s on and makes a clear limit so the dogs know where to patrol and we don’t have to worry about expanding territory or wandering. Whew! ⁣

#blossomofbetterwiththyme (On the left)
#mintofbetterwiththyme (In the middle, sitting upright)
#briaofbetterwiththyme (On the right)
⁣#livestockguardiandog #greatpyrenees #akcgreatpyrenees #greatpyreneespuppy #akcgreatpyreneespuppies

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Nearly the middle of November and there was some (slight) panting going on today. Definitely a hang out in the shade kind of day for these guys.⁣
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⁣Mint, in the middle, is still seeking the perfect match for his forever home. We are going to miss this sweet, affectionate boy so much! He has great potential as a livestock guardian dog or family pet. He has great manners and is friendly and outgoing with visitors. He gets along with all the people and animals on our farm and has been with his working parents since birth.⁣
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⁣He’s going to make some family so happy. If you think you might be a good fit for Mint, please check out our website for more information and get in touch with us!⁣
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⁣The puppies in this litter are from AKC Registered parents and can also be registered with the AKC.⁣
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#blossomofbetterwiththyme (left) #mintofbetterwiththyme (middle) #briaofbetterwiththyme (right)
⁣#livestockguardiandog #greatpyrenees #akcgreatpyrenees #greatpyreneespuppy #akcgreatpyreneespuppies

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All the animals are still enjoying grazing and we had another beautiful day working outside.

The forecast after tonight is going into the 20s overnight for the next week. I’m working on planting all the tiny shrubs and trees we have so they can hopefully establish some good roots over the winter (any time the soil temperature is 40+ roots grow). Next we need to make sure we have the fences where we want them for a little while in case the ground freezes and we can’t move them.

Moonbeam has refused any hay so far this year, preferring to stick to the pasture. The person who helps us with making hay said he has never had a problem with his cows and Johnson grass after frost, so we’ve just kept her going on her pasture paddocks.

We planned for 6 months of hay (October through March) and wondered if we would have enough. Looks like there will be plenty since we’re so late into the season now.

#moonbeamofbetterwiththyme #minijersey #grassfed #rotationalgrazing #permaculture

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This week I received a request for #silkiechicken photos from a potential hatching egg customer and I realized how little I’ve been posting about chickens and eggs/hatching eggs lately.⁣
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⁣This year we blended some of our silkies in mixed feather color groups because I think it’s a fun surprise to wait and see what color they hatch out and it makes it easier to tell them apart since we have so many silkies.⁣
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⁣The first photo is Alice (a buff and black mix), second is Almanzo (a splash who was named as a chick but turned out to be a hen) and the hen in the third photo isn’t named. She’s the darkest of the blue silkies we have and we were thinking of naming her Smoke. What do you think we should call her?⁣
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⁣#bwtsilkies

© 2019 Better With Thyme Farm LLC

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