Two Moon Acres Farm

A few bantam hens and pullets looking for new coops. Mostly bantam salmon Brahma, a few Cubalaya and satins.
LOTS of c**kerels. Bantam and standard. Bantam Brahma mostly. A couple of standard Niederrheiner/Delaware cross and Swedish Flower.
Good deal if you want to take multiple c**kerels.
No holds. First come first serve.
Kirkville NY

SOLD!!!
BUT I DO HAVE PLENTY MORE GROWING OUT THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON!

A birchen and blue birchen (silver blue) hen, 2025 hatch, looking for new digs.
Lots of young c**kerels coming up also.
NPIP and can 🚢

Please private message.
In Kirkville NY

Young silver blue (blue birchen) c**kerels. Will eventually have some birchen and silver blue pullets available as well.
NPIP and can ship.
Kirkville NY

Parents below

Well, the Fingerlakes club show in Syracuse NY was yesterday. I wasn't originally going to enter, due to conflicts, but I am glad that could be resolved.
I didn't enter may birds because of breeding affecting feather condition, or broodies, but I did make an entry of bantam Cochins and bantam Brahmas.
I was rather surprised at the number of entries in the bantam Cochins, especially the birchen and silver blue (blue birchen) class. Typically they are quite uncommon, but I was glad to see them in such large numbers at this show.
I was excited to have my birchen hen earn reserve variety, and my silver blue hen received reserve variety also, in such a big entry.
Unfortunately my brown red (gold birchen) hen was the only one of her variety. Sad. They are my favorite, and have been forever. That is the first variety of Cochin I owned, over 30 years ago. I am planning on working towards increasing numbers that variety.

My dark Brahmas were the only ones entered. Not surprising, they are quite rare. But I wanted to get them out there, to prepare them for fall shows. Especially Ohio Nationals.
But I was VERY happy for one of my hens to get reserve breed, over some nice buff columbians. Although this variety will be a work in progress for a long time, they are improving every year.
It seems they are becoming good enough to be competitive with the other 2 more developed and more popular varieties.

Looking forward to the fall shows. 🥰

Pair of Ko Shamo, hatched 2025. Blue wheaten c**k, wheaten hen.
Available to ship, or pick up at Finger Lakes Feather Club Show in Syracuse NY June 7th.
Deposit will hold.

Kirkville NY

I have some beautiful ram lambs looking for a new flock.
HELP! I can't keep them all! (But I have been thinking about keeping a couple of these guys) I am already retaining 2!
This year I have had some of the best, and most consistent quality I have ever produced. And I'm extremely happy about it.
Of course it comes at the time when I have been reducing my numbers the past few years.

This year all of my lambs are solid. Lacking any white spotting. No HST, no piebald. That doesn't mean they may not carry it. You may see white hairs on the forehead, but that is not spotting. It will generally disappear completely by adult.
I really like to maintain solid genetics in my flock, because once it's gone, you need to reintroduce it. And it's hard to find. Badgers, in my opinion, are not as beautiful with spotting. You just don't get to appreciate the beautiful pattern.

I have 1 solid black boy.
1 brown badger/reverse. That's a trifecta of genetics. He is showing the co-dominance of the badger AND revere badger patterns, and is brown too!
1 brown badger with a SUPER light silver fleece.

These are not super recent pictures, but I'm not a very good photographer. So if you are possibly interested, please feel free to contact me and I will send you the most up to date video on the one you are interested in.

Transport may possibly be arranged, depending on your location.
I will edit this later, to add parents FBA numbers.

How To Prevent Inbreeding In Backyard Chickens

Inbreeding occurs when closely related birds, such as siblings or parents and offspring, mate over multiple generations. This practice concentrates both good and bad traits, but in a small backyard setting, the bad traits usually win out first. You might notice smaller eggs, crooked toes, or a sudden lack of “thrifty” behavior in your chicks. These are the red flags of a narrowing gene pool that eventually leads to a dead end for your homestead.

The Clan Mating System, often called the Spiral Mating System, serves as the ultimate insurance policy against this genetic decay. It is a structured method of breeding where you divide your birds into at least three distinct groups or “clans.” Instead of letting nature take a haphazard course, you manage the movement of the roosters while keeping the hens stationary in their maternal lines. This structure mimics the natural dispersal of males in the wild, ensuring that no rooster ever breeds with his own mother or sister.

Real-world conservationists and heritage breeders use this exact system to save rare breeds from extinction. It allows a farmer to keep a “closed flock,” meaning you never have to bring in outside birds that might carry respiratory diseases or mites. You become the master of your own poultry genetics, selecting for the birds that thrive specifically on your land and your feed.

Setting the Foundation: How the Clan System Works
Success with this system starts with organization and three separate breeding areas. You can name your clans anything you like, but most pioneers keep it simple with colors: Red, Blue, and Green. Each clan is a permanent maternal line, meaning a hen born into the Red Clan stays in the Red Clan for her entire life.

In the first year of the program, you mate the birds within their own clans to establish a baseline. The Red rooster breeds the Red hens, the Blue rooster breeds the Blue hens, and the Green rooster breeds the Green hens. This is the only time in the history of your flock that this will happen. From this point forward, the roosters will begin their “spiral” journey through the pens.

The golden rule of clan mating is that all chicks are assigned to the clan of their mother. If a chick hatches from an egg laid by a Red Clan hen, that chick is Red, regardless of who the father was. This maternal tracking is the only way to keep the lanes clear over several decades. Once you understand this one rule, the rest of the management becomes a simple annual routine.

The Annual Rooster Rotation
After the first year, the roosters move to the “next clan over” every breeding season. A common rotation pattern looks like this: the Red rooster moves to the Blue hens, the Blue rooster moves to the Green hens, and the Green rooster moves to the Red hens. This ensures that the genetic material is constantly flowing in one direction, preventing the same DNA from overlapping too soon.

When the next generation of c**kerels is ready to work, you choose the best son from each clan to take his father’s place in the rotation. If you keep your original roosters for a second year, you must ensure they continue to move to a new clan to avoid breeding back to their daughters. Most practitioners find it easiest to use young c**kerels each year to keep the cycle moving fast and the vigor high.

Infrastructure and Tools of the Trade
You do not need a massive barn to run a clan system, but you do need three secure breeding pens. These pens only need to be occupied during the breeding season, which typically lasts from late winter through spring. Once you have collected enough hatching eggs, the entire flock can be reunited in a single pasture or run for the rest of the year.

Record keeping is the backbone of the system, yet it doesn’t have to be complicated. You need a permanent way to identify which chick belongs to which clan the moment they leave the incubator or the broody hen. Pioneers have used two primary methods for over a century: toe punching and leg banding.

✅Toe Punching: Using a small tool to create a tiny hole in the webbing of a chick’s foot. This is a permanent mark that never falls off or needs replacing.

✅Leg Banding: Using colored zip ties or aluminum bands. These are easy to see from a distance but must be changed as the bird grows to prevent injury.

✅Wing Tagging: A more professional approach used by hatcheries, involving a metal tag pierced through the wing web.

Benefits of the Clan Mating System
The primary advantage of this system is total independence from the industrial poultry complex. When you buy chicks from a hatchery, you are buying birds bred for a general climate and a high-input diet. By breeding your own clans, you are selecting for the survivors that handle your specific winters and your specific pests.

Biosecurity is another massive win for the closed-flock enthusiast. Bringing in a new “outside” rooster is the fastest way to introduce Mycoplasma or Infectious Bronchitis to your farm. With a 3-clan system, the only thing crossing your property line is the sun and the rain. Your birds develop a “herd immunity” to the local pathogens on your soil, making them much hardier than any store-bought bird.

Longevity of the flock is the ultimate goal. A well-managed 3-clan system can remain genetically viable for up to 20 generations without a single drop in production. If you expand to a 5-clan system, the math suggests your flock could last for a century or more. You are not just raising chickens; you are building a legacy strain.

Challenges and Common Pitfalls
The most common mistake beginners make is losing track of which chick came from which hen. If a Red Clan egg gets mixed into the Blue Clan basket, the entire genetic map for those birds is ruined. You must be disciplined during the hatching season, using separate incubators or clearly marked dividers to keep the “clans” separate until they are marked.

Another pitfall is “soft culling.” In a clan system, you must be the “ruthless predator” that nature intended. If a rooster in the Blue Clan has a weak constitution or poor fertility, you cannot keep him just because he is friendly. You must replace him with a superior son or a backup male. Keeping sub-par birds in the rotation will eventually weaken the entire system.

Space constraints can also pose a challenge for the smaller backyard. Managing three separate roosters requires enough distance or sturdy fencing so they don’t fight through the wire. If your roosters are constantly stressed by each other’s presence, their fertility will drop, and your spring hatch will suffer.

Limitations of the System
This method is not ideal for the casual pet owner who only wants three or four hens. To keep the genetics healthy, each clan should ideally have at least 5 to 10 hens and one or two roosters. This means you are maintaining a minimum of 18 to 30 adult birds. If you don’t have the space or the feed budget for a flock of that size, a simpler “rolling mating” or “outcrossing” method might be better.

The clan system also requires a long-term commitment. You won’t see the true benefits in the first year; the magic happens in year five, ten, and beyond. If you plan on changing breeds every season or moving frequently, the effort of setting up clans might not be worth the initial investment in housing and marking tools.

Practical Tips for the Homestead
Start your journey by sourcing the highest quality birds you can find. It is much easier to maintain greatness than it is to breed out mediocrity. Reach out to heritage breeders rather than big-box hatcheries to get birds that already have a foundation of health and traditional traits.

Use a “Backup Rooster” strategy. Always keep a second-best c**kerel from each clan in a separate bachelor pad. If your main Red rooster is taken by a hawk mid-season, you have a genetically appropriate replacement ready to step in immediately. Without a backup, a single predator strike can stall your entire breeding program for a year.

Keep a simple “Clan Log” in your barn. Write down which rooster is in which pen and the dates you collected eggs. Even the best memory fails after a long winter. A quick glance at a clipboard ensures that you move the Blue rooster to the Green pen, not back to the Red one by mistake.

Advanced Considerations: Expanding the Spiral
Once you have mastered the 3-clan rotation, you might consider moving to a 5-clan system. This requires more housing but slows the rate of inbreeding to almost zero. It allows you to select for even more specific traits, such as “winter laying” in one lane and “broodiness” in another, before swirling those genetics back through the rest of the flock.

Serious practitioners also use “Performance Testing” within the clans. Instead of just picking the prettiest rooster, they track which hens produced the most eggs or which c**kerels reached butcher weight the fastest. By only keeping the top 10% of offspring as future breeders, you are not just preventing collapse—you are actively improving the breed with every turn of the spiral.

Example Scenario: The Five-Year Timeline
Imagine you start with three pens of Rhode Island Reds in Year One. You mark them Red, Blue, and Green. You hatch 20 chicks from each pen and mark them according to their mother’s clan.

In Year Two, you eat the original roosters or sell them. You move the best Red son to the Blue pen, the best Blue son to the Green pen, and the best Green son to the Red pen. You now have “half-brother” genetics mixing with unrelated maternal lines.

By Year Five, the genetics have “spiraled” through the pens twice. Your neighbor, who buys new chicks every year, notices your birds are larger, lay more consistently through the heat of summer, and rarely get sick. You have created a “landrace”—a version of the breed that is perfectly tuned to your specific homestead.

Final Thoughts
Mastering the Clan Mating System is the ultimate step in moving from a hobbyist to a true producer. It removes the “ticking clock” of genetic decline and replaces it with a sustainable, self-perpetuating engine of food security. You no longer have to worry about hatchery shortages or price hikes because your best breeders are already in your backyard.

This system requires discipline, a few extra fences, and a simple hole punch, but the rewards are measured in decades of healthy flocks. It is the same wisdom our ancestors used when they moved livestock across valleys to find “fresh blood,” scaled down for the modern homesteader.

Start with three clans, keep your records straight, and trust the spiral. Your future self—and your future flock—will thank you for the foresight. Consistent selection and organized movement are the only things standing between a failing flock and a 50-year legacy.

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Some chicks and c**kerels, and occasional yearling hens available as I grow out young birds for exhibition and next year's breeding pen.

Please inquire about availability and waiting lists.
Bantam Cubalaya and bantam buff Orpingtons not yet added to website,as well as bantam Brahma color projects, including Salmon, Ermine, and Palomino.

Inquire about availability.
NPIP and will ship, transporter preferred.
Priority to Juniors.

No LF dark Brahma customers will be added to waiting list this year.

Twomoonacres.com

Check other posts to see what I have available currently. PM to be put on waiting list for others.

Okay!
So, hatching season started out slow this year. Plenty of eggs, but low fertility. So I started putting more eggs in the incubator, so that even with low percentages, I would have more chicks hatch. 😆
Well fast forward a couple of weeks.
Percentages are now pretty high! And with all those eggs set, and now having great hatch rates, well... You know what happened.

First and foremost, I breed pure breeds that are rare, and are exhibition quality and have been shown.
I also breed "color projects" which means dabbling in genetics to create new and interesting colors in existing breeds.
And I breed a few mixes because I like the birds involved and their temperaments.

I breed for myself first. Which means I produce birds to choose what I want to keep, and sell the extra.
I have a lot of happy customers over the years. I do not breed aggressive roosters. I eat them. Which means my customers do not have issues with human aggression if they want rooster to protect their flock.

I do have a pre-paid waiting list for some varieties, and most of those orders have been filled, and will always be filled first.

For the current chicks that will be available, they are straight run (uns*xed). And they are mostly bantam breeds, with the exception of Swedish Flowers.
I will take a waiting list for these youngsters, without deposit. ON ONE CONDITION. When I contact people, first come first serve. If you do not respond within 24 hours, you will be removed from the list. Not moved down.
If you don't at least respond, even if you are no longer interested, you will be put on a do-not-sell list. If you go on a wait list, I expect the consideration of not wasting my time going through lists and trying to contact you.
Deposits get first consideration.
Once you have shown interest, pick up within 24 hours. No holds without payment. Period.
Every, and I mean EVERY TIME, I have trusted people and held birds without deposit, those people no-show, or change their mind.
That is bu****it.
I refused other people who were interested, for you. That's NOT okay.

So if you are interested and expect a hold for a couple of days, or til the weekend, that will require a deposit, or full payment. But still, first come, first choice. That's why PayPal exists.

So, I digress.
I have bantam Cochins in blue, black, splash birchen.
I have bantam Old English Game.
I will have some bantam Cubalaya and Ko Shamo.
I will have bantam dark, buff, and color cross Brahmas.

I also have Swedish Flower chicks.

Some of these will go now, some will go when a bit older and I can decide what I want to keep. As they get older, they will be sold s*xed, and priced accordingly.

I am in Kirkville NY and am NPIP certified and can ship. NY state requires selling chick at a minimum of 6 or more.
When feathered and s*xable there is no longer a minimum. These breeds are not s*xable as chicks.

Contact via messenger for pricing. I will not reply to price inquiry in comments. Other questions are welcome.

Pictures of most, but not all, available breeds and colors are available on my website twomoonacres.com

Thanks for reading this far. 🥰
Hatching eggs of these breeds are also available. Since I won't be hatching more of some of them, this season.

HATCHING EGGS and BANTAMS!
I have several bantam c**kerels looking for a home.
Several dark Brahma c**kerels are looking for new coops. None of my boys show any aggression towards people.

But most importantly, the ones I want to have a good home are... this mottled satin boy, about a year old. He is basically a smooth feathered silkie, and has a WONDERFUL sweet temperament. He is not free. I would absolutely keep him, for his temperament alone. But I don't have girls for him.

I also have a blue wheaten Ko Shamo rooster and a wheaten co Shamo hen, hatched last year. I have some of their offspring growing up already, and I am reducing the number of breeding pairs I have. He is quite the personality, and good type. Not aggressive to people.

And I have an Ermine Easter egger. He has 1 blue egg gene and will produce that, or green, in a percentage of his chicks, depending on what he is bred to. Not tame, but not aggressive.
I will have youngsters of several bantam varieties in the next few months. Pullets and c**kerels. I will post them as I determine s*x, and make them available.

I have 18 bantam Cochin hatching eggs from my birchen/blue birchen pen, that can ship on Monday. Maybe today if I know soon enough.
I am NPIP and can ship, eggs and birds.
Please message me if you are interested, I will not post prices in comments due to FB and group rules.

Here is the list of what I will have available in the coming months. ALL BANTAM.
Old English, Cubalaya, Cochins, Orpingtons and Brahmas.