WHEN the D’Este family of John, Julie and son Bryan backed their truck into the poultry shed at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show, they didn't anticipate their debut would earn them over 50 awards.
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Their birds rose through the ranks of over 3800 for multiple class wins, and top prizes in Champion Bantam categories of Faverolles, Salmon-Faverolles and Wyandotte-Partridge and Champion Bantam, any other breed or variety, soft feather with a Buff-laced Polish Bantam hen.
“Those Buff-laced Polish are one of the rarest breeds around,” Bryan said.
The Bundarra team also took Champion Pekins in Blue, Mottle and Cuckoo, the latter presented with ‘Runner up to the Best Pekin other than Black or White’, a special award supported by the Pekin Bantam Club of Australia.
“The president of the Australian Pekin Club of Australia, that’s Gavin Woods, he had a look at him and said he wants to see him at the (national) Pekin show. That’s in Parkes in July,” John said.
The human sashed in the family was Bryan D’Este. At 19 years old, he took fifth place in NSW in both the waterfowl and soft-feather poultry judging.
“We were very happy with what happened in Sydney. We didn’t expect anything much,” John D’Este said.
The family shows as ‘Destys Poultry’. Though Bryan and John actively follow their own breeding programs, they strongly support each other in their ambitions.
The judging took place on Thursday April 10. Exhibitors were allowed to stand by and watch the process.
“When they start to look at your bird three times, you start to get a bit excited,” John said.
Bryan didn’t digest the wins until the next day.
“Pretty much Thursday afternoon through to about Friday morning, it was just sinking in. Then when you went round and saw all the cards with our names on them, you thought, ‘Wow, we’ve really done well for ourselves.”
John’s chook interest ignited as a teenager when he was gifted a trio from a former NSW Pekin Bantam Club president Joe Chester. John began breeding, but a career with the railroads took precedence.
It wasn’t until years later when Bryan had a poultry project in high school that John took up the hobby again alongside his son.
“That’s when the bug got hold of us, and got hold of him, too,” John said.
John and Julie said unlike a lot of young people who receive tuition on poultry judging, Bryan has taken it upon himself to learn the craft.
“Last year after high school, I became really interested in the poultry. I go around all the shows and I talk to a lot of people. I’m now chief steward of the New England Poultry Association (NEPA) in Uralla,” Bryan said.
NEPA sponsored Bryan for the Sydney competition. Unlike Victoria which has qualifying rounds to get to the state finals, Bryan said it was likely that 400-500 people tried to qualify for the Sydney Royal.
He joined 14 other competitors for the top spots.
“My first judging go ever, to come fifth in the state, I’m pretty stoked.”
Bryan said out of the entire Sydney Royal experience, taking a sash home for waterfowl judging was most gratifying. It has inspired him to become a qualified poultry judge.
“’Cause the waterfowl have a soft spot in my heart, it’s what I’m really passionate about.”
