Blossom Valley Homestead LLC

05/30/2026

Available
8 - F1 Sexlink Green Egger female/pullets. Hatched May 10th. Vaccinated for Marek's.
Can meet for pickup as they'll still fit in a box. Clever, Nixa, Republic, Ozark and Springfield.
NPIP & AI Clean health

05/30/2026

I haven't talked about our Light and Blue Light Brahma flock much. They just started to get some consistent egg size. I'm very excited to start hatching some babies! 🖤💙🐣

05/26/2026

Available
Green Egger and pet quality Ameraucana laying hens 💙💚 All around a year old.
Located in Clever for farm pickup only. NPIP & AI Clean
Please pm our page or see our website for more details.
https://blossom-valley-homestead.square.site/

05/23/2026

Well yesterday when we got home from being out in town there was a wild peacock in our yard. A local lady down the road had lost him over a month ago! I'm excited we could catch him for her, but he did break our biosecurity for NPIP. All sells are now on hold. Hopefully we will hear from our tester soon to take the appropriate steps forward.

Update❗️
We have been in contact with NPIP and all appropriate biosecurity measures had been met to the requirements so there wasn't any concern. We have enclosed hoop coops that the peacock did not get in or have contact with. No exchange of any fluids. He was quarantined immediately. This was no different than if a wild bird had landed in our yard. I'm happy we took all the appropriate steps in limiting exposure for the best biosecurity possible. He has been reunited with his owner. 🥰

05/22/2026

Information on breeding Blue Dark and Splash Dark Brahma varieties.

The SOP for Blue Dark and Splash Dark varieties will be the exact same as the SOP for Dark variety. Anywhere in the description it says Black would be replaced with Blue defined as a loosely used term for a bluish gray slate color, or sooty white for Splash Dark variety. All these varieties are homozygous Penciling pattern genetics.

Any bird/lines that have SOP disqualifications, poor quality type representations for the Brahma breed, or large amounts of leakage culls should be referred to as BSO NOT Blue Dark. This is in effort to protect the integrity of the Blue Dark & Splash Dark projects. A similar concept to Ameraucana vs EE.

Blue Dark and Splash Dark varieties are exactly the same genotype as Dark variety-Black based just adding the Blue dilution gene commonly referred to as BBS breeding. BBS stands for Black, Blue, and Splash. Three separate varieties created from the Blue dilution gene. The Blue dilution gene is extremely susceptible to pheomelanin red leakage and affects the crisp pattern lines. To breed forward you can only breed Blue Dark and Splash Dark varieties. Dark variety is NOT useful for anything but type improvement in Blue Dark & Splash Dark varieties. Because Dark is Black based it doesn't have the Blue dilution gene to affect the pattern or color so all Dark lineage will look cleaner in every aspect vs its Blue diluted relatives. Selective breeding only the best pattern and clean color Blue Dark, ideally Splash Dark forward to make progress. Splash Dark variety expresses leakage the same as its Blue Dark relatives but because of the sooty white phenotype it's easier for the human eye to see the leakage to evaluate your cleanest birds. Because Splash is the homozygous form of Blue dilution gene being expressed at its strongest it's hard to breed for crisp pattern line expression and can take several generations. Evaluating juvenile birds and keeping strict records early on is crucial to breed for better penciling pattern.

Because Black based birds do not have the Blue dilution gene affecting the autosomal pheomelanin red leakage expression it's hidden underneath the Black. Even the cleanest SOP Dark lines have a large amount of autosomal pheomelanin leakage. Outcrossing bloodlines to new Dark varieties always results in larger amounts of red leakage creating BSO or pet quality Blue Dark depending on type and pattern. It's good to take note that all three varieties (any bird that's homozygous Silver) are extremely susceptible to sunbleached-yellowing, an environmental factor that stains the silver color on feathers. Similar to tanning. This can easily be confused with autosomal pheomelanin leakage expression. To know if birds are sunbleached-yellowing they will molt clean Silver color every year. Autosomal pheomelanin red/orange leakage will normally get worse after molt. Very important to minimize sun exposure for exhibition Dark variety and for better color evaluation for the Blue Dark and Splash Dark varieties.

The complex expression of the Blue dilution gene makes it very important to know how to keep a closed flock and properly line breed forward. This is the only way to make progress on eliminating autosomal pheomelanin leakage. Link provided for proper line breeding methods YouTube podcast with Bred to Perfection Kinney Troiano.
https://youtu.be/ea1dbng_qxQ?si=SpjxmxClhIw67Wrm

The difference between BSO/SSO and Blue Dark/Splash Dark is the expression of red/orange leakage. BSO can be homozygous Silver base or split Golden base colors with a desired abundance of red/orange leakage. Blue Dark and Splash Dark are to be clean Silver resembling Dark variety and only homozygous Silver base color. For more details link to Feather & Fern Farmstead article
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Au7D1QC2g/

We have a group dedicated to breeders connecting and working on Blue Dark & Splash Dark projects!
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1PCHATAycS/

05/16/2026

We're getting close to 2K followers! Help us grow and we'll do a giveaway! The chance to win a dozen hatching eggs of your choice. NPIP & AI Clean MO #1216 for shipping.
•Cuckoo Marans
•BBS Ameraucana potential exhibition stock.
•Dark Brahma potential exhibition stock. Blue Dark Brahma a rare project color.
•F1 Green Egger assortment (includes Brahmacana, F1 Green Eggers, and Sexlink F1 Green Eggers.)

To enter: comment on this post (be sure it's the original on our page) tagging your favorite chicken friends and family. Make sure to follow our page so we can notify you if you win! This will be open until we hit 2K.

Please check out our website for more details on our flocks or what's currently available.
https://blossom-valley-homestead.square.site/

05/15/2026

If I put a Dark rooster from my OG line + Splash Dark hen's from my BBS Dark line = 100% Blue Dark offspring who all would be interested? The red leakage will probably express a little more from crossing bloodlines. 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ a dozen, shipping +5️⃣0️⃣.

05/14/2026

I can't be anymore clear that our prices are fair and firm. Drives me crazy especially when my Cuckoo Marans hatching egg prices match the big hatcheries! Someone had the nerve to say the marketing is down this year I'll just wait until you drop the price. News flash entitled person I know my birds worth and am perfectly content breeding just for myself. Our Cuckoo Marans and BBS Dark Brahma lines are some of the best in our country! There's less than a handful of SOP breeders working on these. I'm extremely hesitant to even share my BBS Dark Brahma line with the public because of mass producers/backyard breeders making a mess of them just using them for a flashy rare variety advertisement for profit instead of properly breeding them forward. Quality, educated, hands on loving care dosen't come from a money hungry heart.

Let's stop normalizing this...

Breeders spend years working on their lines. Many breed for SOP, something you won't get at a hatchery. Hatcheries breed for quantity not quality. When hatcheries are charging $23 for Ameraucana chicks or $57 for pet quality Ayam Cemani chicks or $7/egg for light colored Maran eggs, do not try to haggle breeders for discounts.

Whether you are buying hatching eggs or chicks, breeder quality isn't cheap. If you want quality birds then be prepared to pay a premium price.

We do NOT go to the feed store and ask for a “deal” when we purchase 10 bags of feed at $22 a bag every couple weeks. Our prices reflect not only the care we give our birds but the time put into breeding good quality lines.

If you don’t like our prices then I'm sure TSC will have chicks cheaper, but don't expect bright egg colors or high quality birds. You get what you pay for.

There are some absolutely amazing breeders out there. Respect them and thank them for the hard work they put in.

05/14/2026

This dosen't just work for Ameraucana but I've used this method for my Marans as well!