At the bottom of a home garden in regional South Australia, 10 well-loved birds are living a life of spoilt luxury in a “royal” roost.
While it might not be the most grand chicken coop of its name, nine ISA brown chickens and a rooster call Cluckingham Palace in Loxton home.
“Seven of them are ladies of the court, two are dowager duchesses and their lord and master is Henry, Duke of Lucerne,” said owner Sally Goode.
Research by the University of Adelaide recently looked into why people keep backyard chickens. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
Ms Goode is not alone in treating her humble backyard chickens with love and care.
Research by the University of Adelaide examining the motivations, ethics, and perceptions around keeping backyard chooks recently found the hobby had stood the test of time, and was here to stay.
All it’s cracked up to be
English-born Ms Goode has owned chickens for 14 years, since moving to the Riverland from a small suburban home in Melbourne.
“It took a little bit of persuasion on the other half, but eventually I got my chickens and I just absolutely love them,” she said.
Ms Goode said knowing the eggs she collects and consumes come from a well-treated and healthy animal, and the quirkiness of her hens, were the reasons she kept buying chickens.
Sally Goode’s chickens love munching on a head of lettuce at Cluckingham Palace. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
University of Adelaide research fellow Emily Buddle said there had been no previous research aimed at understanding the motivations of people who kept backyard chickens.
“We recognised that during the lockdowns we had supermarket shelves completely wiped of food and so people saw that having these chickens in their backyard was a way to actually provide them with eggs,” she told ABC North and West SA’s Tom Mann.
Dr Buddle said in the past, research indicated people were buying free range eggs as the more ethical choice.
“The ultimate ethical egg was one that they could produce themselves,” she said.
“It’s not only the consistent supply of food, but it’s also that trusted source that they know where it’s coming from.”
Sally Goode commissioned a local carpenter to create Cluckingham Palace for her chickens. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
Shelling out for beloved pets
Cluckingham Palace is a purpose-built home for Ms Goode’s chickens, made by a local carpenter about five years ago.
“They’ve got all sorts of hidey holes they can go into, or areas they can go where they’re undercover or out in the sun — whatever they want to do,” Ms Goode said.
“I used to let them wander free … but the foxes unfortunately decided that a bit of Kentucky Fried on a Sunday afternoon was just what they wanted.”
Sally Goode gives friends and family her surplus eggs in cartons labelled with Cluckingham Palace. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
Help with waste management, a steady egg supply and companionship are all benefits Ms Goode has experienced since buying her first hens.
“They’ve got such characters,” she said.
“They’re so busy in their life and you can sit in the chicken pen for hours and just watch them.”
Henry, dubbed the Duke of Lucerne by Ms Goode, is a “rescue rooster” who was advertised as needing a “good home with hens for a lonely rooster”.
“Henry came home about three months ago and the ladies of the court accepted him immediately,” she said.
Henry, dubbed the Duke of Lucerne, has been welcomed by the local ladies. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
Local supplier in school ag program
Dr Buddle said study participants believed having the opportunity to teach young people where food came from and how to care for animals was another benefit of having backyard chickens.
Loxton High School students help look after chickens as part of the school’s agriculture program. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
Ms Goode’s chickens have always come from Loxton High School’s agriculture program, which teaches students the commercial viability of the poultry industry.
Ag teacher Justine Fogden said the school had sold point-of-lay chickens to the community for several decades.
“[Buyers] come from all over the Riverland, even some from the Lameroo/Pinnaroo area,” she said.
“It is really pleasing to see so many people that still do have chickens in their backyard.”
Sally Goode has written her chickens into her future plans. (ABC Riverland: Elyse Armanini)
Royal home here to stay
Ms Goode is determined to continue loving her chickens for the foreseeable future, but has plans in place for when she can no longer care for them as she ages.
“I have an advanced care directive and my chickens are mentioned in that,” she said.
“My substitute decision maker will have to find homes for the chickens appropriately.
“Which means either finding someone who loves them as much as I do or dispatching them — but not to the pot.”
