Fancy Fowl Magazine, April 2018 - 23

At Home with...

Ian and Louise Simpson(now Carpenter)

By: Grant Brereton Studio Photos: Joshua KittleFEATURE

Louise and her fatherIan with one of theirblack 'Aussie' bantams

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t had been one of those journeyswhere it took nearly 4 hours dueto every diversion in sight, andmy phone started ringing when

nearby, so I pulled up on the side ofthe road and put the hazards on. Thecall wasn’t the one I was hopingwould be delayed a day or so - no,the wife wasn’t going into labour!!But it was the wife, saying that thegas bottles had arrived and ‘did Iwant the delivery driver to connectthem?’ Just then a pleasant lookinglady was trying to attract my attentionand approached the car window: ‘Areyou Grant? I’m Louise’s mum!’ It thendawned on me that I was rightoutside their house, and Louise’s mum(Margaret) coming out to greet mewas just a measure of the family. Iwas certainly ready for that cup oftea!

As we sat in Louise’s rather nicekitchen, I recall saying that ‘the visit’had been in the pipeline rather a long

time. I reminded Ian that when I hadsuggested it previously, they asked if Iminded waiting just a bit longer whilethey completed their barn. I don’tthink I quite realised that it wasn’t ahouse they were on about - but anactual poultry barn!! Ian laughed ashe recalled that it must have been 10years since we’d had thatconversation. Having known both Ianand Louise nearly 20 years, andwitnessing their countless show wins,I knew that I was in for a treat; I wasin the presence of 2 very serious butpleasant breeders.

One thing youquickly realise aboutthe Simpsons is theyhave a love for Blacklivestock. Ian andMargaret have beenbreeding Dextercattle for around 10years, which arehoused in on-site

barns during the winter months (partof the old farm).

When it came to exploring the poultrybarn, which was a small walk acrossthe yard, I couldn’t wait. In it werehoused some large Black Aussies intheir breeding pens, as well as somebanty males in spare pens. There wereRosecombs about the place too(Black, of course) which I only learntof at the Fed. These are Louise’s andshe is breeding them with the helpfulguidance of good pals Graham and

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Stephen Hodge. I think we can allagree that she’s in good hands!

There was also the odd pen of BlackD’Anvers bantams, belonging to Ian’s

grandson and Louise’s nephew, whichoriginated from Paco, and have beenanother source of interest for the lastcouple of years.

Above each 10’ by 4’ pen (of whichthere are 24 in total), are neatly kittedout cockerel boxes which also doubleas pen-training quarters and chick-rearing units. And, to top it off, each

of these lower pens hasaccess to its individualgood-sized grassypaddock.

In the centre of thepoultry barn is anenclosed drying roomwith its own radiator andthermometer on the door.This would make anyfancier’s heart dance. Irecall thinking ‘what Icould do with that!’ Ithink Ian and Louise knewI was impressed! Oppositethis room was anothersimilar such door, which Ijokingly asked, ‘Is this thecanteen?’ But I waswrong. The room was infact for incubation andhatching, and housed alarge Curfew cabinetincubator and a smallerMS machine.

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Ian and Louise Simpson (now Carpenter) have been breeding and showing poultry since 1988. Ian got his firstpoultry that year and Louise followed suit at age 8. They have had many breeds over the years, including largeBrown Leghorns, and large Buff and Black Orpingtons which they started out with; obtaining a trio of each fromthe late Pete Wilkins. They have also kept hard-feather varieties, rare breeds, true bantams and some waterfowlbreeds. They have been the Australorp Breed Club secretaries for 15 years and Louise has been on Poultry ClubCouncil for just over 2 years, recently upgrading to role of Chair. Ian is a Panel A judge and Louise is Panel B. Ianwas drawn to the large Australorps almost immediately and won his first best in show in 1990 with a male andhas kept them ever since.

The Simpsons won Supreme Champion atthe Federation show back in 2009, andwere awarded Reserve Show Champion atthe National Show in 2013. They havescooped many awards before and afterthose great achievements. So far theyhave managed numerous breed clubchampions, best large fowl awards,reserve champions, and many best inshows at smaller regional events. The duohave just won Best of Breed at both therecent National and Federation showswith a Black bantam female. They alsowon Best Opposite size at the Nationalwith a large Black male, and impressivelywon ‘Best Overall Trio’ at the Fed with afine threesome of Black Bantams, making2017 a great year for exhibiting.

On Sat 27 January, I was Notts-bound after an invitation to visit the Father-and-daughter duo was readilyaccepted and greatly anticipated (sadly I forgot the famous ‘Fed stand fudge’ which I had promised)…

When you see a flock oflarge Black Australorps

with their beetle-green sheen andtheir red faces out on the grass,it is clear to see why they aresuch an attractive breed.” - Ian

“ 1 Best Overall Trio at the Fed 2017 - Bantam 2 The impressive poultry barn built by Ian 3 Best of Breed at the National 2017 4 Best Opposite Size at the National 2017 - Large Male 5 Best of Breed at the Fed 2017 - Bantam pullet

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But Margaret has since treated Ian (andthrough good fortune, Louise) to 2large Brinsea incubators, which are2018’s toys. There was a clock situatedat the end of the barn - which I wouldneed if it was mine, because I would bein there for hours on end and lose alltrack of time!!

We had a good look through some oftheir Aussies and I was able to hold andassess a few banties. I was intrigued tolearn that there is still a degree ofgenetic diversity in the Simpson stock,and Ian pointed out the difference incomb serrations between two qualitybreeding males, citing that one wouldbe better for pullet combs.

As you may expect, the Australorps arestill good layers and the order book isalways full. According to Louise, peoplealways want the large Blacks, butparticularly the females with theirhardiness and laying attributes. It’s nothard to see why - they are trulybeautiful in the flesh with theiriridescent beetle-green sheen plumage.. I’m not sure the flash on my camerawill do them justice!

Ian and Margaret’s house is the mainhouse, while Louise, her husband Dean

and their 2 children, Elsie andWilliam, live in a converted brick barnwhere the poultry used to be. The siteis an old poultry farm, which waspreviously owned by Ian’s father Ivan,and there are many breeze blockbarns where Ian and Margaret usedto keep their egg-laying hybrids to selleggs from. However, with theupsurge of cheap supermarket eggsin recent years, they decided todiversify and now let out these unitsto local businesses. Ian still sells eggs,but he buys them in nowadays (andthere aren’t quite enough Aussies onsite to fulfil that need). Speaking of his love for the Aussies,Ian said: “When you see a flock oflarge black Australorps with theirbeetle-green sheen and their redfaces out on the grass, it is clear tosee why they are such an attractivebreed.” Louise, talking of her youngerdays added: “As a junior exhibitor Ihave kept a variety of breeds butwhatever I have exhibited I havealways enjoyed attending each andevery show, surrounded by the noiseand excitement with the anticipationof what the day may bring; sharingthat passion with other like-mindedindividuals makes for a wonderful dayout.”

These days Louise’s role as PCGB Chairinvolves her attending many meetings,responding to members and othercorrespondence and ensuringappropriate governance of the charitywhich certainly keeps her busy; on topof running a household and workingfull time. Fortunately, they have thebonus of ‘on-site’ childcare and areclearly a very loving and close family.My kind of people!

And talking of family, anyone whoknows Ian will know that his son-in-law is fellow poultry nut PhilippeWilson, who is married to Louise’ssister Emma. Philippe is also a PCGBtrustee, and I believe is very handy forcleaning out pens. Well, you have tostay in the good books somehow,now don’t you!

After some lunch and another ‘brew’it would shortly be time to hit theroad and let this family get on withwhat was left of their Saturday (Ianand Louise were judging at theNorthern the next day), but not beforewe talked about all theknowledgeable fanciers out there,past and present, and the colossalamount of experience they hold. Ianand Louise have always looked up to

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Harry and Nancy Dennis, in their earlydays as fanciers; in awe of how theyturned out their show team come rainor shine. Also, the late, great Ian Kaygave them much advice and sharedhis expertise as a great breeder alongwith his knowledge of all poultry. Hewas Ian’s inspiration and fuelled hisaspiration to become a Panel A judge.Alan Maskrey, of course, is thestalwart highly regarded in theAustralorps by the duo. Louise is alsovery much inspired by ‘lady in thefancy,’ Nancie Hutchinson. Nowadaystheir great friends the Hodges inspirethem along with many other fanciers,such as Nobby Ward and RichardBett, dedicated to this hobby andproving that you can breed andexhibit award-winning teams throughpassion and commitment.

So, does Dean have an interest inthe poultry? About as much as mywife, but Louise (Carpenter) and Iare lucky in that we have veryunderstanding partners! On the wayhome it dawned on me just howquickly the years are passing by. Itwas so good to spend an afternoonin the company of fellow poultryfanciers who really get what it’s allabout. There are so many peoplewho don’t get the hobby, which justreinforces the need for us fanciers toforget the small stuff and sticktogether.

Of course, I was very inspired bytheir set-up, and that day will godown as one of my most enjoyablepoultry outings!

As a junior exhibitor Ihave kept a variety of

breeds but whatever I exhibitedI always enjoyed attending eachand every show.” - Louise

“ 1 Simpson strain large Black Australorp hens 2 A 2017-bred black 'Aussie' male 3 The neatly kitted out drying room 4 The impressive indoor pens 5 One trio of large Australorps set up for 2018 6 Large Australorp hens taking a break before the breeding season 7 Another breeding pen of large Australorps

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