Show Notes
Fiona Barca is a recognised name in the Australian Marans community and a bit of a rare commodity. She’s one of the few people exclusively breeding not just a single breed of chicken, but a single variety: black and blue copper Marans. Fiona was lucky enough to obtain some birds from Avgen, the company that imported copper Marans and other rare breeds from the UK. In this interview Fiona shares:
How she breeds them, as four families How she’s dealt with faults like bent toes and mossiness She also gives some sage advice on how to navigate the many and varied opinions you’ve probably received if you’ve ever posted a picture of one of your birds online for critique Fiona shares some home truths about egg colour too and what to expect when buying Marans eggs to hatch
Fiona was generous enough to open her coop doors to Chook Journal and take us on a tour of her breeding pens. If you’d like to see inside her enviable coop set up, check out the Spring 2025 issue of Chook Journal, our magazine, which is entirely digital and available now on our website chookjournal.com.au
More from Chook. The Podcast
For almost 40 years, Phil and Anne Westwood have run Freeranger Eggs in Grantville, 90 km south east of Melbourne.
Brendon Murphy presides over the Australian Facebook group dedicated to Cream Legbar breeding.
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: