Feather together

Top of the South, West Coast and Canterbury breeders flocked to the Hope Recreation Hall with their birds at the weekend for the Nelson Poultry and Pigeon Association Show.

President Karen Smith says it was the first event since 2020, and it hatched an opportunity for chicken, duck, pigeon and cage bird breeders to present their feathered friends for chirpy prizes, but to also get advice from judges on how to best care for them.

She says it was also a gateway for young people to become interested in owning poultry for eggs.

“We had about 230 birds in the show, and we’ve got people bringing in birds to sell if they’ve got any excess,” she says.

Association life member Peter Lyall has participated in the show for around four decades, and he and his partner currently keep around 200 chickens at their Brightwater coop.

He plucked three gongs this year for two of the 30 birds he entered, including Best Bird in Show, and Best Fancy Bantam for an Old English Bantam and Best Heavy Breed for a large Light Sussex.

“It starts with those little chickens that are a week or 10 days old, you’ve got to look after them, and then when it comes to showtime, there’s a lot of grooming,” he says.

“A lot of them get washed, I have a special routine, and it seems to work pretty well.”