Sarah Clarke

Julie Smith

It started when I was in plaster I'd had to give up a job I loved and couldn't ride my horses - it was the 3rd op out of 6 so far. I have osteoarthritis in both hands and wrists and have had them partly and fully fused.

We live in the country my daughter works while studying at a free-range egg farm, she was banned from taking anymore hens home who were injured to her boyfriends place. She fetched me one hen, we called her Hettie she was in a poor state I actually took her to the vet for antibiotic but sadly she died. My daughter calls it Hettie hospital.

I now have about 45 not all Hetties I also breed and show vorwerks have a few runner ducks. I still take in the Hetties and have a coop of limpy hens that have come with either deformities from old breaks or have new ones I splint until healed. From peck injuries to nasty open wounds their ability to heal once separate and treated is astounding. I rehome the fully recovered that can go back with other hens. It's time consuming but rewarding I remember my famous last words after finding out my daughter had been banned from having anymore hens. No way, don't ask we're not having any chickens here, lol.

Neil Watson

Connor Clarke

It all started when I went round my friends house, he blurted out that he had chickens with Afros (silkies) and we had to have a look. Sure enough they did, and that's where I caught the chicken madness...

Over time I hassled my mum enough for her to buy me some barbu duccles. They were the best chickens I ever had. Then I rescued some ex batteries and sizzles, they had the biggest personalities. Summer went by and I ended up hatching (both naturally and artificially), rearing chicks inside and outside, selling the eggs and POL chickens. I'm glad I went round my friends house to see the chooks or I wouldn't have my chickens now

Jordan, 17

Paul Perryman

Julie and Andrew Snell

Hannah Corden

My story started when I moved to my Grandads farm, however the most I did with chickens was to collect the eggs and give them the corn in the morning. It wasn't until me and my boyfriend moved in together that I decided I wanted some chickens. His grandad was kind enough to give us three and that's where the story began. Since then my flocks increased to 16 hens and a free range cockerel. These have come from people giving up so I've gotten them for free, or I've bought them or hatched them myself. I've got breeding pairs of polish and booted bantams. Plus I'm getting a trio of silkies in March. It's hard work. Nobody wants to go out in the rain and snow but to be honest I don't think I want to stop :)

Sophie Hunter, UK

What got me into chickens?  Well that would be the animal house my high school used to have, it's also where my first 2 ever chickens come from. 2 tiny utterly beautiful black tailed white Japanese banties, originally called Nono & Ellen (I named them Gretchen & Matilda). I was told by my teacher they were going to be put to sleep as they were too old (aged 4) to breed. so I paid him £5 and took them away. Aged 8 they incubated eggs for me & gave me 4 chicks. aged 11 I got another 2 chicks incubated. These chicks became my flock. after being told they were useless aged 4 they lived another 6 1/2 (Gretchen) & 7 years (Matilda). they introduced me into the wonderful world of chickens.

Wilfred Wales

Will Gill

Alex Batey, 13

I breed and show hens - I just fancied taking it up as a hobby at first but then it grew from there. Some parts of it are competitive but it is mostly friendly. My first show was just a small village one but it was a good experience.

The first chicks I hatched and reared were belgium's bantams - they were good mothers. Call ducks are especially hard to breed.

Steve Grinham

My involvement in breeding and showing began when my wife gave me two hens as a present and it started from there. The world is competative but always friendly and you feel nervous but excited.

I used to have a call duck I bought in Acton and she won every single show I put her in.... I did not have a clue what I was looking for!

Richard Toward

I'm involved in breeding and showing just for the sport of it. My family always had hens but I was the first one to show. Although my great-grandfather showed so i suppose it's in my blood and just came naturally. I just got it in my head one day and now I'm addicted.

The first one I hatched and reared was a cross-bred that won nothing! It was a silke cross. But you're going back a long way trying to remember that.... I've been keeping my own since I was 10 and i'm 23 now.

My first show was in the May when I was about 17. It was nerve wracking but I won every class I was in. I don't like being beaten so it became an obsession. You just have to have the best. Winning reserve champion was probably my highlight so far.

Claire Guest

I'm the partner of someone who keeps chickens. He kept chicks as a child and asked if we could have some on the farm. It was 'No, no... well okay', and now I'm a chicken widow. The chickens have taken over.

We were given an egg at the westmorland county show and put it under a broody hen. A very small, black bantam cockerel was the result and we took it to all of the local shows. It was the first one we hatched and reared ourselves.

I had to go to the Scottish National Show last weekend with the Modern Game as my partner was on milking duty. We won first price, best opposite sex.

I'm quite new at the game and only really stand in when needed.

Charlotte Skelton

I got into chicken keeping because i'm interested in rare breeds and collecting different breeds to sell in the future. I keep them to sell and for enjoyment, however I can see many backyard chicken keepers would buy them to be self sufficient or just for pets!

I have a couple of acres full of different types of chickens. They all have their own pens so they are seperate. I have blue laced wyandottes, silkies, polands, rhode island reds, gold laced wyandottes and a few more. There are too many to count! But they're all very friendly and inquisitive.

Pros: Beautiful, friendly creatures. Eggs and hatching eggs

Cons: They tend to wander off!

If I were to give advice I would suggest people recognise that they do need looking after, ie, locking in at night. And research breeds, for example silkes don't fly, vorwerks can fly 2 meteres! And Ixworths lay lots of eggs.

Derek Sowerby

I'm involved in hen keeping as I'm the chairman of Eden Valley poultry club. I've been in this job about 6 years, it's the best hobby I've ever had, I'm really enjoying it. There are loads of people that want to help you. Sometimes you can get a bit set in your ways and complacent but then someone new and enthusiastic comes along, does a lot of research and is more committed... it proves successful!

It's just a hobby for me. I was a shepherd all my life... until foot and mouth. And then I needed a hobby. A friend of mine said I needed hens... I said I didn't! But then with the help of other people I've just got in.

I like something that's flashy or showy like I would in cattle or sheep. I have old English game birds. They're not very commercial... they don't lay many eggs, but I'm drawn to the style rather than the functionality. If you're walking down the aisle and a bird stands out it just makes your head turn. And then you go from there. If something catches your eye...

Judging poultry is all experience. There's a book of standards for size, colour, head colour, leg colour... that sort of thing - it can get quite technical when it comes down to it. If they don't fit within that standard they're not even worth showing in the first place. But you listen to experienced people and learn. And it's a good day out.

Stanley Simister

I got my first bantems when I was 3, I'm 81 now. Over the years I've probably kept about 50 different varieties of breeds. I've been a poultry club panel judge for 46 years. My daughter used to show but now she's married with a family so doesn't have time, other than that it's just been me in the family. It's been a lifelong hobby.

My father and grandfather both kept poultry and waterfowl. My father bought me by first trio of banties when I was 3, so then I went on to other breeds and it just grew from there. There was a period where I couldn't keep them because we lived in a property without sufficient land and then when we moved house and hand land again, it started up again. It's just been a lifelong hobby.

I was secretary of the poultry club in kent and chairman of another. We used to get about 800 entries in the annual show, and we used to hold social get togethers and smaller shows. Other than that I've judged throughout the country... England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales... and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Now I'm having to cut down because I had a serious illness so I'm having to ration my judging now. But in the summer you could be out every weekend at different shows because they come fast and furious at that time. All being well I'm due to judge at the Scottish National next year. But age has crept on so you have to be careful! I like the pleasure of being able to examine other peoples birds and compare them... and compare them to your own. I don't know what it is, judging just brings general enjoyment.

I'd say experience makes a good, winning hen. If you've kept a breed, you're better at judging that breed because there isn't a living person that could tell you every detail of every breed. You've got a wide view of the breeds but you have thorough view is something else. At the shows we have specialists for different breeds. In my case its sebright bantams that I've had for about 40 odd years; I've judged and showed those at championship level at the national shows.

Ali Horn

My cousin had a henhouse that he had built at school and advertised in the local paper to sell it. He sold it and we just thought that we wouldn't actually mind getting into hens. So we went to a local auction, started with wellsummers first and he bought some cream legbars and then after that we sort of got the bug and went to different sales and making henhouses and stuff like that. It was after we used to go clubbing... when we stopped we needed something to do!

So we looked at all the different breeds and what they should be like in Poultry Standard and 5 years later we have 28 different breeds, one for every letter in the alphabet. And bantems, geese, turkeys, allsorts. Then we did a little bit of showing and it was just a hobby that got carried away! The people you met through it were interesting because they're different to the sorts of people you'd meet before.

The shows are just a bit of fun. Everyone has got a chance. Whatever background you come from, everyone has got a chance at winning a rosette. If you do start winning and collecting prizes it just gets quite addictive. It's just about doing the best you can. It's just not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Edwin Parkin

For me it's just following in my fathers footsteps. My father was a keen exhibitor and breeder and I followed on from him. I realized it was an interest you could work on and it started from there. I started taking him round the shows when he was too old to drive, because you don't retire. You get into the team of people that you meet and its social as well as the exhibition side.

 The showing world is hard to describe. But you meet people and get to places just with a box of hens that you would never have gone to. You drive through or past somewhere and know nothing about it... but if there's a show on you put some birds in a box and go. The people that are here today aren't from around here. It's a social thing - you compare notes and exchange birds. It works.

The skill is to not keep very many but breed good ones. Every year you think I'll do it better next year - I'll improve and improve. That's what keeps you going. You keep trying, you have your favourites... but then you move on to a new one. Always trying to improve your standard along the way. Some people keep a specialized breed, some have a few. Every one is different. My focus is the game birds.

Trevor Addison

I've been keeping them about 14 years - I was an estate agent and an auctioneer and when I retired I was looking for something to do, so I decided to show poultry. We have a few friends that show, so we tried it out with a couple of breeds before we settled on the one that we fancied showing - those were large white wyandottes'. We got first and champion at Skipton Christmas show with them. We used to keep a lot of bantams too.

 A lot of people say the white take a lot of looking after... I mean they do, but the big white wyandottes are so gentle. You can wash them... they're no bother, no bother at all. Silverlaced, for showing, you've got to have that lacing spot on. The under-colour as well, and the feathers... I mean different judges want different things, different fancies, so...

My son is showing old english game today, but really it's a bad time of year. 99% of our birds are in the breeding pens and we've set off our first set of eggs in the incubator. You can't set them off showing and also have them for breeding, it's one of the other.

Mr Bull

Jimmy, Gateshead

I kept hens yes. I had a hundred ducks and geese and chickens. I was a breeder and would sell the eggs. About 6 years ago - it was a hobby, I loved it. I'd sell the eggs to pay for my food and that, you know. I had Black Minorcas, White Leghornes, Rhode Island Reds. Id let them run around by themselves, and loved collecting the eggs. They were great - I loved them.

I also kept them as a young man. I had to sell the eggs to pay for the coal - to keep warm. We'd feed them cabbage leaves and vegetable peelings.