Darwin & Rural Poultry Club
Judge Training
At present there are no qualified poultry judges in the Northern Territory. Lockdowns over the Covid-19 crisis in 2021 meant that some shows in the Northern Territory did not have access to qualified interstate poultry judges.
One of the active and knowledgeable members of the Darwin & Rural Poultry Club, Ms Jacquie Deveraux, expressed interest in training to become a judge. Jacquie volunteered as a steward in many shows and also started the very popular Facebook page 'NT Chicken Community Hub'. She is also an accomplished breeder of a variety of chicken breeds.
The judge training process was explored with Exhibition Stud Poultry Australia and with the South Australian Poultry Association which has a staged process to become a qualified poultry judge, including written tests and practical judging at six shows before a trainee or provisional judge is recognised as a fully-qualified judge in one class of poultry. The training process needs to be repeated for all classes of poultry before the trainee is qualified in all classes (hardfeather, softfeather, waterfowl and field and forest).
Jacquie passed the written test for Interpretation of the Standards and Light Softfeather in July 2023; the Bantam test in February 2024; and the Standard Softfeather in June 2024.
The DRPC Committee agreed that the monies raised from a Bunnings BBQ in January 2023 would be committed to paying Jacquie's air fares and accommodation to begin her practical judge experience at the South Australian Poultry Association June 2023 Show. Jacquie judged the Juniors at that Show, supervised by Mary Scruby (SA).
June 2024 - judged the Juniors in the Junior Handling Competition in the Darwin & Rural Poultry Club Show.
July 2024 - judged the Softfeather at the Alice Springs Show, supervised by Mary Scruby (SA)
- judged the Softfeather at the Royal Darwin Show, supervised by Kym Hebberman (SA)
2025 - judged Standard Softfeather at the Freds Pass Show in May, supervised by Keiren Politch (Qld).
Jacquie holding the Champion Bird of Show
which she had previously judged as Champion Standard Softfeather.
- judged Bantam Softfeather at the Darwin & Rural Poultry Club Show in June, supervised by Kevin Smith (Vic).
- judged Light Softfeather at Lobethal Poultry Club
Annual Show in July, supervised by Mary Scruby (SA)
Jacquie is now a qualified Softfeather judge.
Congratulations! She is now keen to study for her Hardfeather or Waterfowl tests.
Judging at Lobethal PC Show, 2025.
