Townies catching on to chicken lark
Chickens might be the world’s best pet – and townies are catching on.
Chickens are a step up from growing your own vegetables, Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club president Fiona Taylor said.
‘‘There’s quite a trend at the moment for people to know where their food comes from.’’
And while having a cow isn’t doable for the city, chickens are, Taylor said.
Hundreds of poultry were on show at the 2017 Waikato A&P Show in Hamilton on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Claudelands Event Centre. The show turned 125 this year.
Children played with the many animals and serious farmers saw the best of various breeds.
The poultry section was a cacophony of squawking and colour as preening pigeons, ducks and pedigreed chickens vied for attention.
A $15 commercial hybrid called the shaver can lay more than 300 eggs a year and is as easy to look after as a kitten, Taylor said.
Except unlike a kitten, the kids won’t get bored with one.
‘‘But when they’ve got to go down and collect the eggs, there’s a bit of a reward for that trip down the garden.’’
The only break the bird will have from laying is after summer, when it takes a rest after a season of heavy laying.
‘‘It’s a bit of a holiday. Then come back in and start again.’’
Chicken hutches can cost anywhere from $50 to thousands – but there are ways around any cost, Taylor said.
‘‘I really do find most backyard people very industrious, so they’ve got a little dog kennel that they convert or they’ve got a little pallet that they can set up.
‘‘They don’t have to be big and fancy.’’ Stephanie Giltrap, 14, already knows all about chickens. She’s a member of the Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club.
After growing up surrounded by poultry, she is training to become a pedigree chicken judge.
‘‘They are really good pets,’’ Stephanie said. ‘‘They all have different personalities.’’
The A&P show is important in teaching town folk where their food comes from, Waikato A&P Show president Doug Lineham said.
‘‘The disconnect between town and country is very real.
‘‘Ask [town] kids where eggs and milk are from, they will say they come from the dairy.
‘‘New Zealand produces some of the most wholesome food and we take it for granted.’’
People bringing farm animals like chickens into their backyards will learn how to look after them, Lineham said.
‘‘Kids in town should rub shoulders with farmers.’’