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