Welcome to Big Dog Farm in New Jersey

Please note: Our farm is a residence, not open to the public. Insurance rules prevent us from allowing customers to visit.

Nestled in a rural corner of Northern New Jersey, where French and Revolutionary troops once drilled, Big Dog farm features 45 acres of wooded wetlands teaming with pileated woodpeckers, a small stream, and a six-acre meadow loved by chickens, wild turkey, and deer.

A 200-year-old Dutch stone farmhouse serves as our residence, while a 150-year-old Dutch barn houses our brooding operation. Our chicks spend their first six weeks in the Brooder Room. Most of these chicks head to new homes. The rest graduate to one of several luxurious coops in the meadow where they mature and either go home with someone as pullets or become one of our flocks of laying hens. Big Dog Farm was named for the English mastiffs that serve as a vigilant defense line from predators.

Here at Big Dog Farm, we strive for quality. We avoid using pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

Welcome to Big Dog Farm in New Jersey

We prefer the heritage breeds, sturdy chickens that helped build America into a great nation. Prior to the advent of large, commercial chicken operations, many people had these types of chickens strutting around in their yards. They are cold-hardy birds that lay lots of eggs. Many are on the larger side and were considered dual-purpose chickens, meaning they were also used for table fare.

We select breeds for their ability to lay eggs, to live comfortably in a backyard setting, and to serve as members of your family. We are enthusiasts and try to do our part to keep these heritage breeds viable.

Brown-egg layers we offer include Buff Orrington, Black Australorp, Plymouth Rock (Barred and Partridge), Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire Red, Delaware, Speckled Sussex, Jersey Giant, Wyandotte (Silver-laced, Golden-laced, Columbian, Red-laced Blue), Dominique. White-egg layers: Brown Leghorn, Pearl White Leghorn, Blue Andalusian, Black Minorca, Hamburg (Silver-spangled, Golden-penciled), Ancona. Tinted-egg layers: Ameraucana-hybrid Easter Egger, Whiting True Blue. Dark brown: Cuckoo Maran.

The Dominique dates back to the Colonial period and may have been the first American chicken. Plymouth Rock was developed in America in the early 1800s by crossing the Dominique and other breeds. The Jersey Giant, also called the Black Giant, was developed on the Black farm in New Jersey in the late 1800s, hence their name. The Rhode Island Red came about in the early 1900s.

Sturdy, tolerant of cold weather, and beautiful, these are the chickens that made America great. And Big Dog Farm was exactly the kind of place where these historic chickens were raised.