Alf Woods is a singular figure within the Australian poultry community and someone who, in show circles, truly needs no introduction. He went to his first show at the age of 7 and, now 98, he’s been a fixture at the Melbourne Royal ever since. Having spent 9 decades in poultry, participating at just about every level of the fancy, it was a priceless opportunity to sit down with Alf and pick his brain. This conversation is jam packed with not only instruction in how to breed but anecdotes from a lifetime spent around chooks and chicken people.
Alf discusses:
— His method of single mating all his birds
— The importance of ruthless culling to eliminate faults
— His poultry "bible" aka stud book
— How he feeds his birds
— Some of the best reads from his enviable library of chicken books
— The unique Japanese fowl known as the Onagadori
— How he's never wormed a bird
— His daily routine with his birds, at 98
— His advice to new breeders starting out
— The perils of buying birds online
— Eating chicken soup every night
— Brother-sister matings
— The longest he's kept a line pure without outside blood
— Why you should not have a feed hopper in your chook pen
— Whether you should outcross to a male or female bird
— Beetle green sheen versus purple
— The fine line between show preparation and faking
— Whether he's ever bred himself into a corner and had to abandon a line
— How he trims rooster spurs
— Memorable adventures from a lifetime in chickens
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Paul Rodgers, Cofounder, former Australian Marans Club
As I was researching the cover story for the debut issue of Chook Journal, I kept uncovering question after question. It wasn’t until I met Paul Rodgers that the answers started to really flow. Paul knows probably more than most people about the history of Marans in Australia.
When he saw his first Marans, he says it was love. He went on to cofound the short-lived Australian Marans Club. Paul remains passionate about Marans but does worry that careless breeding or a failure to maintain the egg colour that defines the breed, could threaten its future in Australia.
Just a heads up - you’ll notice a discussion about beetle green sheen. Please note that subsequent to this conversation I got in touch with the Marans Club in France, for clarification. To see the French response to the beetle green sheen confusion, check out the cover story on Black Copper Marans in the September 2025 issue of Chook Journal, a fully digital, immersive magazine, available now at chookjournal.com.au Long story short, Paul is on the money.
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Jeff Mattocks, Bonus chat with the poultry nutritionist
Jeff Mattocks deserves an award for services to the poultry community, worldwide. He's so much more than a poultry nutritionist. In this conversation, he describes the brooder trick the world’s best poultry keepers use to raise healthy chicks, explains why he can’t recommend any store-bought chook feed and shares his go-to response at the first sign of illness in a flock.
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Shane Hardy, US-based Marans Breeder
US-based Black Copper Marans breeder Shane Hardy has been breeding the variety for ten years and what he knows is a mixture of experience and education — he’s been mentored by some of the best. You only have to look at his birds to realise he knows what he’s doing. He’s also had success using a stacking technique to darken eggshell colour in his line. To see Shane appraise a Black Copper Marans cockerel, check out the Spring 2025 issue of Chook Journal which is live now at chookjournal.com.au
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Peter Tisdell Egg Judge
What makes a good egg and how to get your hens to produce their best work is a major preoccupation for most of us chicken keepers. Peter Tisdell is one of Australia’s leading egg judges. We get down in the weeds a bit in this conversation— Pete knows a lot. But from egg faults and their causes to what kind of nesting box is best, Pete’s is a useful perspective not only if you’re showing your eggs or preparing to do so for the first time, but more importantly — what Pete shares here sheds light on how egg quality affects the results you get when you incubate. After all, the criteria used to judge eggs at a show are derived from the features that make an egg a) edible and b) hatchable — which are often one and the same. What Pete says about nutrition for optimal egg production, and his view on whether free range or penning your birds is better, may surprise you.
Fresh, free-ranging conversations for backyard chicken keepers and serious breeders. Hosted by former foreign correspondent turned chicken breeder Jane Cowan. Accompanies the quarterly magazine Chook Journal.
New Zealand