Each of us came to poultry breeding by a different route. But we each share a deep love of raising healthy, happy birds in ways that allow them to live natural lives. Add to that a strong desire to be part of a local food economy and to encourage our community to think of how the animals providing their eggs and meat are raised and treated.
Raising poultry this way is not a get-rich quick scheme. It is an investment in time, resources and effort. We have a deep commitment not only to our birds, but to the families and individuals who buy them. We offer on-going support to new poultry owners and provide free resources on raising and caring for your birds.
Raising poultry this way is not a get-rich quick scheme. It is an investment in time, resources and effort. We have a deep commitment not only to our birds, but to the families and individuals who buy them. We offer on-going support to new poultry owners and provide free resources on raising and caring for your birds.
Our Farmers
Linda Hayes
Belle Mae Heritage Farm
Linda always knew that one day she would have a small sustainable farm. While attending college for a nursing degree, her bookshelves contained far more books about organic farming than nursing! In 1996 she bought the 11 acres in Port Townsend that is now Belle Mae Heritage Farm. She started with 25 hatchery chicks, a livestock guardian puppy, and a garden.
Belle Mae’s diversity has grown and transformed it into a pasture-focused farm for recovering Heritage Breeds of Livestock. Linda's initial focus is standard-bred Delaware Chickens. Linda has recently added a line of heritage turkeys, sourced from Gold Mountain Turkeys in Kitsap County and hopes to offer poults in coming seasons.
Linda's work experience is in nursing and research, while her passion is saving heritage breeds of livestock for the future.
Belle Mae Heritage Farm
Linda always knew that one day she would have a small sustainable farm. While attending college for a nursing degree, her bookshelves contained far more books about organic farming than nursing! In 1996 she bought the 11 acres in Port Townsend that is now Belle Mae Heritage Farm. She started with 25 hatchery chicks, a livestock guardian puppy, and a garden.
Belle Mae’s diversity has grown and transformed it into a pasture-focused farm for recovering Heritage Breeds of Livestock. Linda's initial focus is standard-bred Delaware Chickens. Linda has recently added a line of heritage turkeys, sourced from Gold Mountain Turkeys in Kitsap County and hopes to offer poults in coming seasons.
Linda's work experience is in nursing and research, while her passion is saving heritage breeds of livestock for the future.
Core Values
All members of the Peninsula Poultry Breeders Collaborative agree:
- To treat our birds with compassion and respect at all times of their lives.
- To provide our birds access to outdoor living and allow them the opportunity to perform natural and instinctive behaviors essential to their health and well-being.
- To breed to a standard of excellence that includes vigorous health, high productivity, breed conformation and stable temperaments.
- To follow humane breeding and hatching principles, including no culling of male chicks at hatch.
- To encourage a humane, environmentally sound, and sustainable poultry production model in our local community.
- To follow farming practices that strive for true sustainability.
- To breed purebred poultry identified by, and exhibiting traits of, a Poultry Standard. Responsible crossbreeding for a specific production goal is done using standard bred birds as the foundation.
- To guarantee the health of our birds at purchase.
- To provide the highest level of customer service to our clients, both before and after sales.
- To follow current bio-security protocols in all aspects of our farm management.
- To never knowingly sell birds with any known pathogen exposure without full disclosure to all parties, including the Peninsula Poultry Breeders steering committee.
- To keep accurate records on the production values of our flocks, especially rate of lay among pullets/hens and weight of cockerels at processing age.