Chick and Egg NZ

05/06/2026

Sunday the 14th of June will be our next rooster return day, and then we will not be having another one till July the 26th.

The two rooster return days in between those days I’ll be away at the Hastings show then the Waikato show. During this period I’ll also be away for a weekend, as well as prep for the Auckland show so there will be limited Emergency rooster return slots.

We had a great return day last Sunday, some good quality, healthy breeding boys.

Rooster Returns offer our customers a way to bring back any unwanted roosters to be used for breeding. Read on to see how the process works and fill in the form!

05/06/2026

A wee accidental project that I’m quite excited about for this season! Buff Partridge Wyandottes!

I had been wanting to make Large pile Wyandottes and was told breeding partridge to white would make them. I didn’t think it would, it shouldn’t genetically speaking but often it’s best to trust and experienced breed than a book. I crossed my partridge Plymouth Rock cockerel (very Wyandotte like) to a nice white Wyandotte near the end of last season. I only got a few eggs before the hen started moulting but it was definitely worth it!

The cockerel is pretty damn big, especially considering he got out and has been free ranging since about 10 weeks old. He’s still pretty skinny but I can see him fulling out quite a bit as he ages. He also has very nice colouring. He will be split for the white base so should produce 50% of the buff partridge to the pullet.

The pullet is a bit younger and not mature yet, but she looks just like the White Wyandotte mum shape wise. She has a nice Wyandotte head (minus the single comb). She’s now moulting in her adult feathers and they’re coming in fairly well marked, not the nice Pencilling you see on the Partridge bantams but considering the cross it’s pretty good.

I’ll pair them up shortly and hatch out as many eggs as I can. Depending on how they mature it may not take very long to get the Wyandotte type in them, and using the black partridge females to buff males I should be able to get a decent pattern colour over a few generations.

The white Wyandottes are also excellent layer so I’d say the daughter will follow suit. It’s always good having a pretty bird that lays lots of eggs!

05/06/2026

Been a pretty wet week here but good to see most of the birds coming out of their moult!

I’ve started moving and repenning groups up again ready for the 2026-27 season. I had let a fair few of the smaller groups out and about 20 of the Pullets up in the top runs had made their way across about 10 different breeding groups 🤣. Fences have now been fixed and the little💩 have been moved out…

Unfortunately with the two shows, work and sorting out this stuff I haven’t had the time to get all the Pre-Order listings up and running. I was also hesitant to do some breeds as I wasn’t sure what numbers there would be in the groups. I’ve now done a fair amount and I’ll get the last listings up and running on the website so Pre-Orders will be properly open early next week!

A breed and colour list for this season will be out soon too.

24/05/2026

Well another great show up at Whangārei this weekend!

A bit less competition as well as better birds meant for many more wins. The Orpingtons definitely showed their full potential (at the moment, some are still young) so quite proud with them, especially with the feedback the judge gave me on where they’re at and what my blue hen could’ve done if she had fully finished moulting.

I took up a total of 20 birds after a few scratches, and I definitely preferred having multiple birds in the same breeds rather than all over the place.

I got a lot more knowledge on how to judge, a massive thank you to Mark Lilley from Christchurch, it was also good to get a different view from a judge from a different island.

Next off will be Hastings (skipping nationals) and then Auckland and lastly Waikato. All within a week of each other so it’ll be a busy late June and July! I think for the rest of the season I’ll focus mostly on my BBS Orpingtons as I still have a few more young birds coming through and some others still moulting. The Campines and my Wyandottes I need to have a good look over once they’ve all finished moulting and pick out the best ones as I don’t really have anything good from them yet. I do have a few nice white leghorns and bantam Wyandottes but the competition for them is pretty hard and I can’t really be bothered washing Leghorns again 🤣

18/05/2026

Beautiful Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Pullet I’ve bred this year, quite an improvement from the parent stock. Seems to be a mix of the best hen shape and lacing wise and rich red of the dad. The hackles are also looking quite good I think, following off the other laced colours and the proposed new APA standard for them they’re the correct colour. But they still look like the nice slate blue neck from a distance.

She’s only 7 months old so it will be interesting to see how she fills out. Lacing will be the next priority but that’s hard when it’s mucky on the back as you don’t know what your rooster is going to throw.

11/05/2026

We still have plenty of sponsorship opportunities available for our annual show. If you’re able to help out it would be greatly appreciated and we do have some great benefits for those that do!

11/05/2026

We have another rooster return day this coming Sunday! There will be this one, another in 2 weeks then we won’t have any for a few weeks as I’ll be away for 4 weekends in a row.

Usual terms apply - https://chickandegg.co.nz/rooster-return-service

After a few cases of scaley leg and some red mites, as well as multiple cases of underweight birds we will be pretty strict on what is bought to us. We do not want to bring parasites or disease into our flock, and when raising birds they need to be in good health no matter what.

Gates will now be shut and not opened till 9am sharp. Most people were really good last time but we did have someone turn up at 8:17 which is simply not ok.

Due to these issues, visible patterns in where birds are coming from and housing capacity we may have to make some changes with what can be bought to us and the guarantees of keeping them. At this rate we may have to cut back to just our own stock as a lot of the issues that are occurring are around birds that aren’t from us.

Photo of a young RIR bought to us through the emergency rooster return service :)

10/05/2026

Bloody great weekend down at Central Districts Poultry and Pigeon show!

A massive thank you and well done to the CD team, all of your hard work over the past 3 years has definitely paid off!

It was great being able to catch up with everyone I hadn’t seen since last season and meet a lot of new people too!

Unfortunately the team I took down didn’t do too well, some birds weren’t old enough yet, others didn’t show them selves off like they do here (bloody Orpingtons, two didn’t puff out like they do here so looked skinny and wouldn’t stand properly in the cages 🙄), a few I missed som major faults in as well as there being some good competition. But the show was so good the birds results didn’t matter at all!

I’ll be scratching most for future shows though, as better birds have come through in the past couple of weeks and the ones with the major faults will need to be culled.

Next off for me is Whangārei in 2 weeks, then Hastings, Auckland and Waikato. I’m still weighing up nationals but that would be 6 shows in a season when I’ve only done no more than 4 before.

07/05/2026

Birds all loaded up for the Central Districts show this weekend!

We will be closed for any rooster drop offs and I’ll also not have much time to reply to messages and emails. If you’ve sent us a message/email earlier this week I’ll get back to you when I can, it’s been a pretty busy past few days getting all the birds ready and making sure everyone else at home is set for the weekend!

It’s still a bit early in the season, some of these guys still haven’t fully developed or moulted. And there’s a lot more at home who weren’t ready yet!

01/05/2026

We are fully booked out for Sundays rooster return! We have added an additional 4 slots and drop offs can now be done between 9 an 10:30am (includes those who have already booked in).

https://chickandegg.co.nz/rooster-return-service