Our  Heritage  Breeds

Home to the largest range of quality Heritage poultry breeds in New Zealand
About Our Poultry:

We breed and have available a large variety of quality heritage poultry breeds, with pullets & eggs available from most of the larger more popular breeds and also some much rarer breeds - something for everyone’s liking, all at the one place!  

We often have spare hatching eggs to supply those that want them, as well as newly hatched chicks from most of our breeds most of the year through.

We are very pleased to be able to breed & supply poultry of such a high quality, reared not only for their good looks but also their laying ability.  We try to choose not only the best but the biggest birds that we can to breed from so that the males can be reared not only for breeding but also making excellent size table birds as well.

Orpington

The Orpington are one of the first breeds we owned here and are perhaps our most favorite breed of all time.

We have have found them to be the most gentle & docile of all the breeds, and should display a big hooped petticoat of fluffy feathers.
They also make great pets & egg
layers alike.

Generally a great forager, with medium size eggs of a lightly tinted pinky - brown colouration. . Our Orpingtons are also one of our most popular breeds we have here to date.
Being a large dual purpose bird that are greatly desired not only for their looks, but also for their easy going cruizey docile nature.

They are big, round & fluffy and are far too heavy to even consider flying once fully mature.
We keep three colour variations, being White, Black & Blue.

Coronation Sussex

The Coronation Sussex are a very pretty breed that are much like the Light Sussex in looks but with a soft blue/grey colouration around their necks and in their tails as opposed to the black colour of the light Sussex.

A delightful breed that lays plenty of good size yummy tinted brown eggs with have proven to be strong & hardy with great temperaments.

Our Coronation Sussex have proven to be both excellent layers and top quality show stock to boot.

Our lovely girls have won 1st & 2nd prizes in Auckland poultry shows. And many of our customers are having the same results with their offspring in shows around the country.


Gold  Laced Wyandotte

The Gold Laced Wyandotte is a golden color with black around the edge of every feather, and a black tail.
It was included in the Standard of Perfection in 1888.
However finding quality large size
Gold laced Wyandotte birds is becoming very hard in NZ.
This is due to many people crossing
and inbreeding many of these
beautiful birds.
A large sized heavy bird with a rose comb and clean yellow legs, with the stunning colours of the Monarch Butterfly.

Hens can be expected to lay around 240 light brown - browner eggs a year.
This stunningly beautiful breed resembles the colours of the Monarch butterfly in full bloom.. & an excellent reliable laying dual purpose breed.
We have found the Gold Laced variety  less inclined to going broody, but still make great mothers none the less.

The Silver Dorking

This breed has five toes, unlike most birds whom only have four toes on each foot.
This ancient breed was brought to England by the Romans.
Hens are a medium - large size bird,
and are good layers of lovely chalky white oval shaped eggs.
We have found this breed to be very good foragers and layers, whom are also highly sought after as a meat bird in many countries.

Males develop into a heavy bird with a large full breast & are reportedly a delicacy to eat. . however they do take quite a bit longer than some of the other breeds to develop into a good size table bird.

Silver Dorking hens seldom go broody, making them a great laying choice.

Lavender  Araucana

A smaller type of breed,
lighter - medium size, originating from Chile, which are a little more shy than their larger cousins - with a uniquely coloured turquoise egg shell.

Specific features are feathered
ear tufts, muffs and beards, with a very much reduced comb.
A breed which lack very few secondary sexual characteristics like comb, wattles or tail coverts to distinguish males from females at a young age. .
They sport a flatter type of pea comb, the males combs should have the appearance of three ridges and as they mature the middle ridge will become more highly prominent.
Both male & females should have a complete absence of wattles.

Generally good foragers, these guys are more often than not kept for
their unique looks, and for their
lovely blue/green coloured eggs.

Average - medium range layers of smaller - medium size turquoise
blue / green coloured eggs.

Buff Sussex

Our Buff Sussex breed are fast becoming one of our very best layers, with beautiful large brown-tinted eggs.

We have been getting excellent feedback & rave reviews with regards to our pullets out there from our customers whom have chosen this breed and although sometimes they can be more prone to broodiness during the warmer months, they will usually make up for this by starting to lay earlier in the season (late winter) and will usually continue to lay right through the season until molting time again.

Most lay beautiful big brown eggs,
with the odd good size lighter egg coming through as well. 

A highly productive breed which are nice quiet birds with a friendly docile nature making them an extremely enjoyable breed to own.


Speckled Sussex


We are happy to welcome our newest breeding group of Speckled Sussex which have been in the pipeline for quite some time now, and
started their first breeding season in 2016.

As per any of our Sussex breeds we would expect them to preform to
the same high laying, fast growing, large size, excellent producing stock
that we have come to expect from the rest of our Sussex breeds here.
 
The Speckled Sussex are a super- attractive, alert, dual-purpose bird. Like leopards, no two have the same spots!
They lay many large cream-tinted brown eggs.


Silver  Laced Wyandotte

The Silver Laced Wyandotte
 are the original Wyandottes originating from the United States, where they are kept as a dual-purpose breed kept for their eggs & meat. They are a docile breed & appear in a wide variety of color patterns, and are very popular show birds.

The Silver laced have a base coat of white feathers with black edging, giving them their stunning lacy look..
A medium-large sized bird with a rose comb and clean yellow legs. The chicken feathers are broad and loosely fitting, with a fluffy bum area around the vent.
The hens can be expected to lay around 200 eggs a year with an exceptional hen laying up to
240 eggs a year..
The eggs have a light tinted - pinky colouration..
The Silver laced hens also make great sitters and are devoted mothers.

Welsummer

A lighter - medium breed, that is both  friendly and intelligent with rustic-red and orange colouring, known to be moderately good layers of lovely brown eggs.

The Welsummer are a rare breed and it can be hard to find very good examples of this breed here in NZ.

Originally developed in a small village called Welsummer in the Eastern Netherlands at the beginning of the 20th century from local fowls' of mixed origin, including  Rhode Island Red, Wyandotte, Barnevelder, Leghorns
and Cochin's.

A beautiful classical looking bird with golden - brown tones - often the type of breed seen in many old time
farm yard paintings!

Buff Orpington Ducks

The Buff Orpington duck - affectionately known by us as
our ' peanut butter ducks ' a name our children called them.

Originally created by the famous poultry breeder 'William Cook' from Orpington, Kent, this breed of duck reaches good weights @ 7 to 8 lbs. and has much to offer breeders who are looking for an attractive, dual-purpose bird.

A good layer, typically laying about
150 - 220 eggs per year and usually gains weight relatively rapidly,
making it ready for market @ approx 10 weeks of age when kept in ideal conditions.
They are also very protective mothers & who could deny, they are a very pretty duck to have around.

We have found them to be an excellent productive med-large size duck, which are easy care, taking advantage of them being flightless.. They also look great on anyone's pond & grassy paddock.!

The Plymouth Rock

Perhaps more commonly known & often sold as 'Barred Rocks'

This is one of the most popular favorites with many poultry keepers. Well known as an excellent dual purpose breed in many backyard flocks in New Zealand.

Originating in New England in the 19th century.
A heavy breed kept not only for their Zebra striped appearance,
but also as an excellent utility bird for both eggs and meat.
They are great layers of cream - light brown eggs, and have yellow skin
& legs with a single comb.

A very heavy, large friendly bird, who are very good foragers. 
You can't go past this stunning
breed with their beautiful black & white
appearance, which certainly makes them a very striking breed to
have around the farm or back yard.!

Light Sussex

Our Light Sussex are now one of our best Sussex breeds, having improved so much over the last couple of years here, with the most stunning show quality stock hatching out from our beautiful breeding flock.

We are happy to report they are now some of the best producing birds we have. These guys are hard to pass by and are very highly rated by many other poultry breeders whom have sighted them here - having recently sold one such special lad at the offered price of $200.00

A breed that have been known to go broody, however we have not found this to be a problem here at Poultry Valley.  We have found them to be a very productive and a highly sought after utility breed

Blue ( Buff ) Laced Wyandotte

Blue & Buff laced Wyandotte
another Wyandotte with
stunning lacing & great looks.
The Blue laced Wyandotte carries the same sort of blue gene as any blue poultry such as the Andalusian & Orpington a like, therefore not all chicks will hatch out blue laced. Resulting chicks will hatch out blue [blue laced] black [gold laced]
& splash [blue/Buff laced]
with blue - blue mating pen's.

They are none the less a very stunning laced bird, just as their other painted cousins are. . This colour was quite rare in NZ up until resent years.
Like the other Wyandotte breeds, they are a large sized bird with a rose comb and clean yellow legs.
Hens can be expected to lay up to 220 brownish coloured eggs a year.
Another stunningly beautiful,
docile dual-purpose breed worthy
of keeping in the back yard.

Blue Leghorn

Leghorns are prodigious egg-layers, laying up to 300 eggs in their first years, and perhaps one of the best known breeds of chicken the world over, although the brown & white verities are known to be more flighty, the blue coloured leghorns are proving to be a much more calm bird, while still maintaining their excellent laying status.
Our blue line are very inquisitive chatty characters, great foragers and while in general not as docile as their larger cousins, still very easy to keep.
Nothing comes close to the Leghorn for egg laying popularity, they are bright, alert & active, so if you are looking for a reliable, prolific producer of eggs, you cannot go past this breed.. An excellent choice if you want great layers with an almost seemingly complete lack of broodiness.

Muscovy

Muscovy..
Originally native to Mexico, this large tropical bird adapts well to colder climates and thrives here in New Zealand and other countries such as Fiji..
A favorite with those that want a large dual purpose bird, males reaching large weights for the table.
Muscovy can & do occasionally fly, usually only short distances, choosing not to venture far from their feed source!

These birds are not a duck at all, they are simply 'Muscovy' & are more closely related to a Goose than a duck - they do not Quack, making only gentle hissing sounds, & live in family groups communicating with wagging tails & gently hissing sounds, with beak mimicking head movements!

They have proven themselves to be both excellent layers & extremely prolific breeders. .
With females making excellent mothers, hatching & rearing their own ducklings well into adulthood.!