Chicken Tractors
Movable Chicken Coops  |
Chicken Coops
Stationary Chicken Coops  |
| Oamaru Poultry Show 2010 |
| Tuesday, 20 July 2010 06:47 |
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After receiving an invite to the poultry show from the board, we loaded up one of our Ark Chicken Tractors,
packed some camping gear and headed on the four hour trip from Tapanui to Oamaru, NZ. Arriving a little after 3:00 p.m. on Friday, the Secretary Mr. Hill was kind enough to orient us. Wow, what a lot of birds...and bird noise! We got a good laugh out of the high-pitched crowing of the bantam cockerels (little-chicken syndrome?), then headed out to find a camp spot. After a fairly cold but comfortable evening we headed back in the morning and set up. Yes! There was room inside the hall for us to bring in The Ark. Shortly someone showed up with hens he wanted to sell and we were all too hapy to oblige. Three happy point-of-lay White Leghorns spent a busy day scratching in the pine needle litter and eventually even had a huge white egg to boot...their thanks for being rescued from a show cage for the day?
 As it was the first poulty show we had ever been to, it was quite a learning experience. Most of the hens we were familiar with were either specifically egg-laying breeds or else dual purpose hens of a medium size. What we discovered at the show were some monstrously huge heavy breeds (Orpingtons) which to our minds resembled turkeys more than chooks! We're still not sure if they were simply the absolute best of the heavy breed bunch or typical of the species. No, this was after all a competition so for meat birds bigger is certainly better!
Our Ark Chicken Tractor was the only coop inside the showroom and generated a fair amount of interest; thankfully we brought some newly minted business cards and were able to field a few questions. Having had a careful look around, we'd say our chicken tractors are likely suitable housing for Pekin, Minorca,
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Dorking, Leghorn, Spangle, Hamburg, Auracana, Duckwing, and bantams. Wyandotte, Sussex, Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds and Barnevelders should all be fine too, though Sussex is getting marginal. We're going to get some Sussex shortly to try it out though!