Hugh McKergow has spent the majority of his life around chickens, and remains an enthusiast.

Impeccable breeding - a fine White Sussex cock. Photo Crispin Caldicott.

“I only keep a very small flock now, just for eggs and interest but it gets me out of bed in the morning. I have friends well into their 80s who still keep chickens.

“Like me they’ve done it all their lives, and enjoy it, so why stop?

“After all, chickens’ biggest attribute is that they are not overly difficult to keep.”

Hugh’s small flock consist of three breeds he considers highly suitable for small farmers, or those interested in having fresh eggs available – the New Hampshire Red, the White Leghorn and the Light Sussex.

All are handsome birds, the Light Sussex in particular being a solid ‘utility’ bird excellent for egg production and big enough to be a good meat producer.

When Hugh was breeding chickens full time he used to trap-nest all his birds – usually a dozen with one rooster. A bird would enter the nesting box, and would be trapped there to lay her egg until released – an hour or so later.

Each egg would be numbered according to the chicken that produced it, and they would all be hatched in separate compartments.

“It was a time-consuming operation, but with 1000 birds in traps you could make rapid progress. Mind you – we still had the odd stuff-up. In my view chickens should be kept separate from other areas. It is fine for them to free-range after midday when they should have laid their eggs.

“If you let them out earlier, you will spend half your life trying to find their eggs.

“Chickens, vegetables and flower gardens do not mix. My advice is to keep them well away from each other. A few chickens can do a great deal of damage in very little time.”

“People often phone me to say they have a few spare roosters, and ask what they should do with them. I say ‘eat them’.

“Home reared birds will be as different from a supermarket bird as eating a wild bird would be. I don’t believe you should keep chickens if you can’t kill and eat them, and the Light Sussex is very good eating.”

Hugh believes that the New Hampshire superseded the Rhode Island Red, and is one of the best ‘modern’ breeds.

The Cuckoo Maran probably doesn’t exist in New Zealand and is one of those fascinating old breeds that came from generations of birds developed in isolation in rural France.

“Rather like the locals, the chickens would never have left their village, and it wasn’t until the late 1800s that people started taking an interest, and began developing things like the various coloured Orpingtons, and many more exotic breeds.

As for the White Leghorn, it has a bad press because it is considered highly strung.

“I’ve not found them so, but they will fly over a six foot fence with ease. If you are seriously interested in breeding chickens,” Hugh continued, “then you want to have something that is possible to re-create yourself.”

“Over time they will go back to their genetic roots – Shavers for example have at least six or seven breeds involved, and something odd is going to pop up along the way. It may be generations on, but a ‘rogue’ egg is going to appear!

“It is quite impossible to breed sensibly with less than around 50 birds in one breed group.

“I had a closed flock of New Hampshires for 30 years without bringing any new stock in, and although it is a complicated science it was very rewarding.

“But unless you are very careful you can import all kinds of problems.”