When Guy was a child he was banned from breeding chooks.I can understand being barred from the biscuit tin, or taken away from the tv, but how often do parents have to sanction chook breeding?
At his worst Guy had 200 in the backyard. And pocket money wasn’t covering the feed costs.
I think it’s genetic. Guy’s brother Mark has the same trait - it just took a little longer to show. He was in his early 20s before he started to breed unusual numbers. He’s now got one of the best collections of rare breed Japanese bantams in Australia.
When we moved to the farm I was pretty excited that Guy came with chooks. I had pots and pans, a washing machine, two guinea pigs, and two Indian Runner drakes, but they didn’t produce eggs for my cakes and quiches.However, I was a little surprised when the chooks took more than one ute load to deliver.
Our main types are Buff Sussex (a rare breed) and Rhode Island Reds.
Then we’ve got a few white bantam crosses apparently because they’re good sitters. Very good sitters. So good you think a bit of natural selection’s been going on (the bush is teeming with quolls and devils), then three weeks later they’re back from the dead with a dozen mongrel chickens under their feet.
We’ve also got a breed called “Guy’s Specials”. They’ve got an unusual combination of genes - they turn out grey and speckled - so of course we’ve got to keep them going.
One night I flopped back on a bale of hay, exhausted, and turned my head to the left to see a chook settled on a nest of eggs. I looked up at Guy, questioningly.
“They’re due out next week,” he said.
Right. So he’s deliberately and secretively putting eggs under chooks.
So why does Eliza let Guy get away with it?Because she knows that every rooster that hatches will end up in her crock pot. And there’s nothing better than a roasted rooster, with thigh meat dark as lamb (see red meat vs white meat blog), served up with veggies from the garden.
When it comes to doing the deed, it’s obviously the man’s job to use the axe. And gutting, of course.
But why is it the woman’s job to take the scales and claws off the feet just because she has finer fingers?
I really should put my foot down.
We've got 2 Australorps at the moment that I scored on freecycle and a rooster coming from @frogpondsrock shortly. I cannot wait to be eating my own chickens. However, considering I'm starting with only 3, and I don't know how good of a mother my hens will be, it may take a while.
ReplyDeleteWe're not going to talk about my 5 ducks + the 4 I'm getting from Mum (including a drake). I suspect that spring will see me taking lots of photos of fuzzy yellow ducklings and that autumn will see me elbow deep in feathers and duck livers.
I'm actually looking forward to it.
Did you guys get to the RVL for Steve's Australian Country Style Country Chef of the Year award lunch last Sunday?
ReplyDeleteWe am aware of your commitment to regionalsism & sustainable food production so what are your thoughts to his national recognition for his commitment to regional food
I know he has used your pork when you were starting off?
Hi Anonymous
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we could not make it to the RVL for Steve's lunch, it is hard to get away when you have a farm. We have a lot of respect for Steven and what he has achieved, particularly how he uses local products on his menu. It is great that other chefs and restaurants in Tasmania are following his example. I am sure one of the attractions of people coming to Tasmania is sampling the finest local produce so it is great to see more and more restaurants making the effort to use it on their menus.
Hi Veronica,
Australorps are a great meat breed. We have plenty of our xbred pullets that will be fantastic mums, if you want some good sitters. The plan was for them to be used as incubators to hatch our rare breeds. Just underestimated their ability to find good nesting sites.
Great website by the way.
Cheers Guy