Greenfire Farms is a poultry breeding facility located in Havana, Florida. They specialize in rare chicken breeds and color varieties from around the world. I was interested in visiting the hatchery since they work with two breeds that the Livestock Conservancy has on its Conservation Priority List – the Sussex and the Wyandotte. During a recent trip to Florida, I had the opportunity to visit the facility and meet with the farm manager, Jenny Taylor, for a tour of this unique facility. Here are just a few of the amazing birds I encountered and was able to photograph during the visit.
Yamato Gunkei – Despite the fierce face, this is a very sweet rare Japanese breed that can be easily tamed.
Ayam Cemani – An Indonesian breed with black skin, eyes, feathers, muscle, and even bones!
Barbezieux – A very tall rare French meat chicken. This is one of the tallest European breeds.
Bielefelder – An autosexing German breed that constantly lays very large brown eggs.
Creme Legbar – An autosexing breed that lays numerous pastel colored eggs.
Marsh Daisy – A rare British breed known for its useful free-range capabilities and its large rose comb.
Olandsk Dwarf – A small, mild mannered and very rare landrace breed from Sweden.
Swedish Black – A rare cold-hardy breed from Sweden. They are colored much like the Ayam Cemani but this breed is much more rare. They are different from the Ayam Cemani in that they have a more reddish tint to their combs & face.
White Bresse – A breed with French origins that is very popular with Label Rouge programs.
White Pavlovskaya – An ancient cold hardy breed from Russia.
For more information about endangered chicken breeds visit the Livestock Conservancy and for more on Greenfire Farms visit the Greenfire Farms website.