Last month Poultry Hub Australia had an opportunity to team up with the University of New England in an interactive display called ‘Farm of the Future’ at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
The Farm of the Future exhibition featured advanced agricultural technologies alongside exhibitions showcasing the resilience of rural communities, and ecological and agricultural systems. Our display was entitled ‘Poultry through the ages – genetics not hormones’ and showcased the amazing achievements the industry has made in both genetics and feed efficiency. We highlighted the genetic breeding advances and traced the ancestry of the chicken back to the Red Jungle Fowl. To complement the display, there were taxidermied chickens; a red jungle fowl, a layer and a broiler. Visitors to the space were able to see the physical characteristics of each bird and also compare them, providing great discussion points and an opportunity to highlight that these differences were obtained through genetic breeding and not hormones. This year the Sydney Royal Easter show attracted 900,000 over 12 spectacular days during April. Overall the display gave us an opportunity to connect with the general public and do some chicken myth busting at the same time!
In addition to our display at the show, Dr Natalie Morgan attended the Primary School preview day prior to the show. There Natalie, demonstrated to primary aged children how to pick up a chicken, care for them and how cool they are. The interaction enabled the children to ask Natalie lots of questions about chickens and chicken farming. Natalie explained “the kids really enjoyed patting the chickens and asking some curly questions, overall it was a great opportunity to have a chicken chat!”.
