Show Notes
Heather Soane was the first person to show black copper Marans in Australia. She'd been breeding the birds for several years by the time they were officially imported, and believes her bloodline was smuggled into the country from Belgium or Poland. In this conversation Heather discusses:
Why she believes her black copper Marans were smuggled into Australia rather than being "Aussie line" recreations How she bred them and what faults she encountered including mossiness, loose feathering ("bustles") and lack of copper colouring on the females Her understanding of how the French achieve such dark eggshell colours The impact of Croad Langshan blood on some lines of Australian black coppers How she kept her line pure without introducing any outside blood for a decade How she ended up with 10 different varieties including blue coppers that emerged spontaneously from within her wheaten and black copper Marans How she created her own line of cuckoo Marans by using Barred Plymouth Rocks The resistance she encountered when first showing Marans The particular diet she feeds her Marans Who her influences and mentors have been What variety she's working on now
More from Chook. The Podcast
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Belinda Burgess tried having a regular job. She tried retiring. Neither stuck. Despite 12 hour days, 7 days a week, she says running a commercial poultry farm is a good job, a passion. Therapy, even. She sells 30-40+ dozen eggs per week at the height of the season, and hatches hundreds of chicks per week. She sells year-round. Ask her how many breeds she keeps and she'll have to check. In this conversation, Belinda is beautifully candid. She shares what it’s really like selling hatching eggs as a business — the ups and downs and some of her major learnings along the way. Whether it’s leg banding baby chicks at midnight or packing eggs at dawn…this chat will give you a feel for what it takes to build a successful operation. Topics discussed include: