Shropshire poultry fair crowd clucking over birds

The town hosted the showcase national event for the first time over the weekend, and thousands flocked to see more than 7,000 birds and eggs crammed into the main hall fighting it out for trophies and rosettes in a myriad of competitions and classes.

It had been held at Warwickshire's Stoneleigh Park previously – but organisers say it is now at Telford to stay after giving the weekend a huge thumbs up.

Edward Boothman, chairman of organisers the National Poultry Club of Great Britain, said it had been a great success moving the event to Telford.

He pledged it would remain in the town for at least another two years.

"I think it has gone very well," he said.

"The number of entries were up compared to last time at Stoneleigh and we have got around 7,200 if you count, birds, eggs and everything else.

"It is the biggest show of its kind there is in the country and we get people coming from all over.

"We are also increasingly seeing a large number of people coming over from Ireland and we had another good contingent here this weekend.

"The event had been running at Stoneleigh for a long time but we wanted to move into a bigger and brighter arena.

"The big bonus with Telford as well is the amenities.

"There was only the hotel really at Stoneleigh, but here we have a great array of shops and restaurants and I know the exhibitors have told me personally that is something they have been really impressed with.

"We are definitely here for the next two years as the agreement is already in place, but there is no reason why we could not stay on further beyond that if it is agreeable with all parties.

"It has been a great weekend, we will have a little bit of a break now and then start thinking about next year."

There were birds of all shapes and sizes on show, from chickens to ducks and even prize turkeys.

Peter Hayford, from Devon, is the founder member of the Turkey Club UK and keeps around 30 of the birds himself at his farm down south.

"These are not your average Christmas turkeys," he said.

"They are not dimple breasted but plain breasted, they are traditional breeds that have been in existence for years. Most of these would be too tough for your dinner table in any case. They are four and five years old, they are killed at six months for Christmas in most cases."

He said the birds on show could fetch anything between £25 and £80 each and were increasingly being bought by people who see them as "garden ornaments".

"Obviously you have to bring them in at night," he said.

"But yes, in the day, they will have them out there in the garden for show."

Mike Hatcher, chairman of the Domestic Waterfowl Club, looks after around 150 birds on land in Newbury.

He was looking after the "light duck" category at the show, which was won by an entry from 40-year-old teacher Rhys Llewelyn, from North Wales.

"What we are looking for when we are judging them is that they have to be nice and smooth," Mr Hatcher said.

"There is a heavy duck category and you will see they are a lot more fluffy the bigger they are, but here we are looking for something different.

"We have had entries from all over the place." For enthusiast Trevor Martin, poultry has become something of an obsession.

Ever since he retired back in 1995, the former agricultural scientist has been beavering away trying to create his own breed of chicken.

In 2013, nearly 20 years on, the Suffolk Chequer was standardised by the powers that be and rows and rows were on show in Telford.

"It is a beautiful bird," Mr Martin, who now lives in north Norfolk, said.

"I have hatched 35 myself this year and I have got breeders all over the country."