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

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.

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:

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

Jeff is a poultry nutritionist who’s spent three decades working with pastured poultry producers. He’s done more than anyone else to raise awareness about the need to feed your chickens digestive grit. Digestive grit is very different to shell grit. To see pictures of the kind of stones he’s talking about, check out his article in the September 2025 issue of Chook Journal, a fully digital experience available now on our website chookjournal.com.au

In this conversation Jeff explains: 

* How digestive grit (insoluble for mechanical digestion in the gizzard) is completely different to shell grit/oyster shell (soluble source of calcium)

* That most soil types do not contain enough rocks and stones to supply chickens with the amount of right-size grit they need to consume every month

* His lightbulb moment when he discovered the importance of digestive grit

* The mechanism by which rocks and stones benefit chickens (and all poultry) 

* How digestive grit protects against intestinal worms

* Why some worms are normal and actually healthy in chickens (as is some coccidiosis)

* What types of stones you can use to DIY digestive grit since there's no ready-made product sold in Australia

* What size grit for what age chicken 

* How to start baby chicks on grit 

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:

Doyenne, grand dame, matriarch. However you encapsulate her, there is only one Megg Miller. In this candid and wide-ranging interview, Megg:

— Reflects on her adventures over 35 years at the helm of Australasian Poultry magazine including how she navigated what was a male-dominated culture in the 80s when she began showing

— Speculates on challenges facing the future of chicken keeping in Australia including her prediction that poultry shows will not continue indefinitely, but go online instead

— Gives us a glimpse behind the scenes of her life post-AP, which published its final issue in early 2025

— Shares her own coop set-up at home

— Offers her view on what defines a "chook person"

— Describes the fascinating process by which brain development is stimulated in the embryonic chick via exposure of the right eye to more light through the eggshell

— Discusses her top tips on managing flock health including her chemical-free approach to internal and external parasite control, how to trim rooster spurs and whether or not straw is good bedding material

... and much more. 

Meet your host, former foreign correspondent turned heritage chicken breeder Jane Cowan and get a first listen to highlights from season 1 of Chook. The Podcast, a show for backyard chicken keepers and serious breeders.