Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club keen to preserve heritage breeds

Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club president Fiona Taylor with one of her Black Silkies. Photo / Catherine Fry

The Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club was established in 1902.

Over the years, all sorts of people, from serious breeders to hobbyists, have been involved in pigeon and poultry fancying – the art and science of breeding domestic pigeons, poultry and waterfowl.

Current club president Fiona Taylor has enjoyed a lifelong passion for poultry and describes growing up as the “typical quarter-acre Kiwi kid with bantams running around”.

“As an adult, I moved to a lifestyle block and got chickens, ducks and pigeons, creating a sustainable, more self-sufficient hobby,” Taylor said.

Taylor joined the Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club (WPPC) and took an active role.

After being mentored by older club members, she became a steward and then a judge, and she breeds several heritage breeds.

Thirty-three years later, the club is a big part of her life, and her daughter Katie shares her hobby.

“I’ve made amazing friends, travelled all over New Zealand to shows, where I judge and show my own poultry, ducks and pigeons, and visited poultry shows overseas.”

In the early days, poultry were most likely brought into the country as live birds and fertilised eggs.

This was stopped around 60 years ago amid fears of importing a bird disease that could threaten New Zealand’s multimillion-dollar commercial egg industry.

“The owners of all the purebred birds haven’t had any access to new genetics for 60 years,” Taylor said.

“The clubs work together to protect the breeds and bloodlines with careful cross-breeding.”

The heritage-breed chickens are the genetic blueprint of the hybrid breeds of today.

Without access to fresh genetics from overseas, these heritage breeds will eventually become extinct in New Zealand.

“Our poultry clubs in New Zealand reach out to people through our shows, educational displays, and sales of birds and fertilised eggs.

“There are people out there who are breeding heritage birds but aren’t known to us.

“We’d love them to make contact and consider helping with our breeding programmes.”

Fiona feeding her Rhode Island Reds and some visiting Light Sussex. Photo / Catherine Fry

The 2024 National Poultry Show had 130 different breeders in attendance.

Poultry are classified into different sections, including heavy, light, waterfowl, bantam and game birds, with sub-breeds beneath them.

“Several breeds, particularly in the waterfowl section, are bred by very few people in the country,” Taylor said.

“We have to question if those breeds will be here in 10 years’ time as some are rarer than the iconic kiwi.”

The recent government directive to phase out battery hens resulted in many egg facilities unable to make the required changes and shutting down, triggering an egg shortage.

Taylor said a lot of people approached the WPPC about getting their own chickens for eggs, and the club was happy to assist.

“It costs the same to keep a heritage hen as it does a hybrid, so this was a great opportunity for many people to take on a breed.”

Unlike supplied all-female hybrids, with heritage hens, you can sit a broody hen on a clutch of fertile eggs or incubate and hatch fertile eggs, helping preserve the breeds.

“People need to check their local council bylaws to find out how many chickens they can keep on their section and whether they can have roosters,” Taylor said.

“Chickens eat your kitchen scraps, produce natural fertiliser, turn the ground, control garden pests, produce eggs and can be friendly pets for children.

“They are a sustainable hobby.”

Taylor said the preservation of the heritage breeds had to be viewed as a nationwide project.

Anyone who breeds any type of poultry, waterfowl or pigeon is most welcome to join a club and help diversify the gene pools.

The Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club, 123rd Annual Championship Show will be held at the Waikato Indoor Tennis Centre on Old Farm Rd, Hamilton East, from Friday, July 11, to Sunday, July 13.

For more information, see the Waikato Poultry and Pigeon Club Facebook page.