Top of the pecking order

Going into the 2019 Virginia Show, Barbara Simpson’s beautiful Silver Sebright cockerel didn’t have a name. That all changed after judging.

“We call him Champion,” says a proud Barbara as she cradles the bird, now four years old, in her arms.

While her expertise in birds, the rows of custom made coups, incubators for hatching, and display cabinet teeming with show rosettes hint at a life-long interest, remarkably Barbara is a relatively new convert to showing chickens. In just a matter of four years Barbara went from looking after a few rescue hens, to breeding her own pedigree bantams, and ultimately to winning the Champion Bird at the last Virginia Show.

A lone Freisian hen patrolling the path at Barbara’s beautiful Belturbet house was the first hint of her passion. A rare breed the name Freisian may lead the uninitiated to imagine a hen with irregular black and white patches; more like a petite, strawberry blonde version of the conventional egg-laying hen.

Originally from Dublin, Barbara and husband Keith retired out west about seven years ago. The move permitted her the chance to indulge her interest in birds piqued by her son Jeremy.

“It was my opportunity to be able to do it once I had the space and not be disturbing neighbours with cock-a-doodle-dos,” she laughs.

She has always admired garden birds and occasionally rescued some, most notably a racing pigeon found drowning in a river. It was suffering from exhaustion, and malnourishment. Barbara even visited a pigeon fanciers club to learn how to build up its strength.

Barbara began her chicken journey by taking in five rescue hens who had been worked half to death in a commercial egg farm.

“They were just little bags of bones, how they were even alive I don’t know,” she recalls.

Distressed by their wretched state, she marvelled at the rapidity of their recovery when treated with respect and permitted to roam.

“I have the softest heart on earth for every bird,” admits Barbara.

“I do have birds that would never go in a show, that have deformed feet or this or that, but they live their lives happily in my house,” she says with a hearty laugh.

When they finally do succumb to natural causes she is “always very sad” but consoles herself with the thought “yeah, they’ve been well looked after”.

The Celt visited during the scorching zenith of the recent heatwave, and Barbara had earlier fed her birds frozen sweetcorn to help them cool.

From the hybrid rescue hens she progressed to Freisians, Booted Bantams and to Gold Sebrights and Silver Sebrights, such as her Champion.

“Sebrights is really my thing,” Barbara specifies.

Each Virginia Show many roll their eyes as they see the farmers pamper Bailey Cow entries and other livestock. Barbara admits to a little pre-Show pampering herself.

“If I was taking him to a show I would have put a little bit of oil,” she says, miming dabbing Champion’s red comb.

“If they were very dusty I would bath them in warm water, but it takes forever with a hair-dryer to get them dry.

“I would clean up the feet and legs as well, with a toothbrush, and wipe down the legs so the scales are down.”

While in the beginning she gave names to her hens, as the flock grew, the names dried up.

“But I do know them individually,” she assures, “absolutely individually”.

She notes each have their own personalities.

“Oh for heaven’s sake – the more you watch them it’s incredible. I don’t believe in attaching human attributes to something as different as a bird, but I have seen birds protect one another, I have seen a very timid little Sebright being protected by a bigger Booted Bantam – I just couldn’t believe what I was watching.”

Sadly personal responsibilities have meant Barbara is unable to devote the time breed hens or to enter the Virginia Show this year. It’s a shame as, despite not being competitive in any other aspect of her life, she clearly loves Show Day and the prospect of winning one of the “fancier and bigger” rosettes.

“It is always very exciting because you must leave when the judging is on. Then the doors are opened up again and you walk back in you look towards your cage and to see that rosette.

“Yes, it was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic!”