Heritage Breed Livestock & Poultry
Skara Brae Homestead focuses on heritage breed livestock and poultry due to their genetic diversity and ability to fit best into our management style. Many of our breeds are listed on the Livestock Conservancy’s Conservation Priority List. Below are some of the breeds raised and utilized at Skara Brae.
San Clemente Island Goats
San Clemente Island Goats are a miniature breed known for the characteristic brown & black “San Clemente” pattern displayed by most and an uncommonly fine-boned, deer-like frame. They are a hardy, self-sufficient breed that is genetically unique. The breed developed on San Clemente Island off the coast of California when a shepherd introduced goats to the island to run feral. SCIs are a multipurpose breed. At Skara Brae Homestead, we use our San Clemente to produce meat, dairy products, and value-added items like cleaned skulls and tanned hides.
Katahdin Sheep
Katahdins are hair sheep, meaning they shed their wool naturally versus needing to be sheared. Developed in Maine in the 1950s, they are known for their hardiness, parasite resistance, and growth rate. Katahdins are meat sheep, but we also utilize their wool as a natural fertilizer in our market garden.
American Guinea hogs
American Guinea Hogs are small, lard/charcuterie hogs known for their friendly temperament, exceptional foraging, well-marbled meat, and high in healthy fats lard. The breed developed as a landrace over 200 years ago on the homesteads of the southeast United States. Aside from producing flavorful pork, we use our AGH’s lard to make soap.
Silver Fox Rabbits
Silver Fox Rabbits are a dual-purpose breed used for both meat and fur. They come in three recognized colors (black, blue, and chocolate) and two non-recognized colors (lilac and white). They are fast growers, reaching market weight in 8-10 weeks. They are excellent mothers giving large liters. They are named for their high quality, dense, 1.5-2” long fur with even silvering that stands on end when stroked tail to head, a trait only found in the Arctic Silver Fox.
Cotton Patch Geese
Cotton Patch Geese are a sexually dimorphic landrace breed dating back to colonial America, where they were used for weeding crops, down, meat, eggs, and delicious golden grease. They are lightweight, exceptional flyers—self-sufficient, hardy, superb foragers. Skara Brae utilizes our CPG for all of the previously mentioned plus as lawn mowers in our gardens.
Silver Appleyard Ducks
Silver Appleyard Ducks originated in 1940s England. They produce an excellent lean (for a duck) carcass and many large eggs. They are great foragers and prey heavily on slugs, which could plague a market garden and carry a damaging parasite to our goats.
Royal Palm turkeys
Royal Palms are a smaller variety of heritage turkeys. The coloration first appeared in the US in the 1920s. They are exceptional foragers, good flyers, and part of our pest management program. Palms are technically labeled exhibition birds due to their smaller size and slow growth, but we consider those benefits. We are making them the perfect any-day-of-the-week bird. In addition to flavorful meat, we utilize the beautiful black & white flight & tail feathers in various projects.
Buckeye Chickens
Buckeyes are a dual-purpose bird known for their yellow-skinned meat and laying production. Developed in the 1890s in Ohio, Buckeyes are the only American breed developed by a woman. They are a beautiful mahogany color with a pea comb and lay brown eggs.