Ieir sy’n dodwy wyau glas
Gethin Lewis of Rhayader, a young competitor at the Royal Welsh Spring Festival Poultry show.
Domestic poultry keeping is a key enterprise for smallholders. It can also fit easily in gardens and allotments and as people look for ways to make daily living more sustainable poultry keeping for egg production, just as with growing garden vegetables and fruit, is becoming increasingly popular.
Anyone contemplating taking up poultry keeping will find there are plenty of breeds to choose from and many of them can be seen at the Welsh Federation of Poultry Clubs show staged annually at the Royal Welsh Spring Festival. There are chickens of all kinds from traditional British breeds to those which originated in countries around the world.
Among the more exotic is the Araucana, a lightweight breed of Chilean origin, one of whose distinguishing features is that it lays blue or green eggs.
Keeping chickens for eggs is probably the easiest of all livestock enterprises and a modern hybrid hen can produce up to 300 eggs in her first laying year. Production levels decline as the bird gets older.
Many poultry keepers, however, keep the birds not only for eggs and for the table but also for their interest in the various breeds as ‘fanciers’ and they get great delight from showing at events such as this one at the Spring Festival.
Breeding and exhibiting poultry for show is a worldwide hobby enjoyed by people of all ages and many backyard poultry keepers have experienced the thrill of winning a championship. There are 300 classes for poultry and waterfowl at this year’s Festival, and 18 for eggs, and exhibitors from across Wales and beyond will be hoping to see their bird win one of these coveted awards.
The classes include those for ducks, geese and turkeys, and there are classes for juvenile competitors, aged 11 to 16 years, and for five to 10 year-olds. Two classes are included for novices and are open to exhibitors who have not yet won a first prize.
Interested visitors to the Poultry Show who are thinking of buying some hens will find that whatever their reasons for doing so, be they egg production, breeding or showing, or all of these, there are some basic principles to observe. Choosing a breed, managing, feeding, housing and preparing birds for show, are among these and potential poultry keepers will find there will be many experienced fanciers on hand to answer their questions and to pass on helpful guidance and advice. There is also a Poultry Care Corner where useful information on poultry keeping can be obtained.
The Poultry Show is on the first day only of the Spring Festival which takes place over the weekend of May 21 – 22 on the showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells.
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