Barnyard Chooks

I have always wanted to have chickens, known as chooks in Australia. My husband was not convinced, but after quite some time I finally talked him round. He admitted he was worried about snakes, in SE Queensland we have carpet pythons, who are quite partial to a chook snack, yes they swallow them whole. We bought 4 black and white heritage chooks from a local breeder. Heritage chooks are old breeds not your mixed more common chooks. We had a Plymouth Rock called Myrtle, a Wyandotte called Gloria, a light Sussex called McGonagall and a silver Sussex called Marjery. Heritage chooks are full of personality and very pretty. The breeder has a large property where she has a multitude of breeds available. She also has her barnyard chooks, who run around in a large pen and are the Heinz 57’s of chooks ( mixed breed). Barnyard chooks are usually better layers than the heritage breeds, tend to be feistier but don’t have their longevity. This image honours the plucky barnyard chooks of Beautiful Chickens.