For 18-year-old Lucas McDermott from Lara, the recent Mansfield Show was an opportunity to hone his judging skills and pursue his passion for poultry.

Due to turn 19 early next year, Lucas says poultry has always been part of his life as far back as he can remember.

“My interest was almost from when I was born, my grandmother always had ducks and other birds,” he said.

“The ducks ended up disappearing due to Mr Fox so at 10 years of age I got five Australorp females.

“The next year I got in contact with a breeder, Kevin Collins from Gippsland, to purchase a large Australorp cockerel which cost $70."

In their debut outing at the Royal Geelong Show in 2018, Roy, as he is affectionately known, took out a first prize in the junior section.

This was followed by the 2019 Geelong Super Show run by the Geelong and District Poultry Club.

Lucas describes this show as a prestigious event costing $10 per class to enter, which was a lot of money for a 12-year-old.

“I got some Australorp fertilised eggs and when they hatched out, I took the three best birds to the super show – two females and one male,” said Lucas.

One female placed first in the heavy soft feather bantam class and the other came second.

His male took out the heavy soft feather category, and his female was presented with the champion junior bird prize.

“I have always liked Australorps and used to Google to find out as much as I could about them,” he said.

Lucas is a passionate advocate for young people keeping and showing poultry, especially for those who struggle with school and their mental health.

“Poultry is a good stress reliever and mind relaxant for me…I like to sit on a bucket in the chook yard,” he said.

“It has mentally helped me out a lot."

Lucas left school in 2023 to commence an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner, an enjoyable role, he says.

However, any spare time is devoted to his birds and developing his skills to continue as a judge.

He is grateful to his mentor Kevin Collins who has supported him since 2018.

His first judging appointment was in 2023 at the Red Hill Show on the Mornington Peninsula when Lucas was 16.

“Agricultural shows are a great opportunity to obtain the necessary skills to judge poultry,” said Lucas.

He has also placed in the state VAS (Victorian Agricultural Shows) competition three times, with a second and two thirds at the Royal Melbourne Show.

Lucas judged at the Mansfield Show with Wangaratta’s Michael Holmes, who was chief steward on the day and is chair of the Royal Melbourne Poultry Committee.

They have known each other for six years and Michael has provided guidance while exposing Lucas to the broader aspects of judging.

Lucas has several key criteria when looking at poultry entered on show day.

“First thing the bird is healthy, lively, has good eyes and is moving around the pen well,” he said.

“Is clean and free of any mites or lice."

The Australian Poultry Standards is the bible for all poultry judges to adhere to, said Lucas.

The young man is hoping to add to his existing knowledge by gaining provisional qualifications for hard feather and waterfowls.

Following the Mansfield Show on Saturday 15 November, he headed to the Warragul Poultry Club’s Bird Day competition on the Sunday.

This was a special occasion because Lucas’s best mate from primary school, Tanna Habib, had his first judging appointment.

The pair show poultry as a team and have raised each other’s birds over several years.

Lucas still considers himself a country boy, having grown up around his parents’ appaloosa horse stud and with no desire to head to the city.

He said overall the entries at Mansfield were a good lineup with a number of high-calibre birds, but it would be nice to see more juniors entering.