Meet the team: Susan Locke

I’ve been a member of the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia for a number of years. I came on as a Director in 2023 to support the membership role. In addition to Membership Coordinator, I now also coordinate the Breeder Directories, edit the Trust Newsletters, handle the Poultry Species Coordinator role, and support the management and maintenance of the Trust website.

I’ve always had an interest in sustainable living which interest became more practical when my partner and I moved to a remote Aboriginal community in Central Australia, living there for around 8 years. Daily access to fresh food was an issue with the nearest supermarket a 3 1/2 hour drive away via the Tanami Road, and so we set up vegetable gardens, kept chooks and built sturdy fences and enclosures given the multitude of camp dogs in the community. The chook breeds we had were any breeds that were acclimatised to the very hot and dry conditions of the Tanami desert area, as well as being good egg layers.  I learned a lot about keeping chooks alive.

Since retiring to small acreage on the NSW South Coast I've had time to get more serious about breeding rare breed chickens. After road testing quite a few breeds I now breed Bantam Brahma and Faverolles. The Bantam Brahma  in particular still has a number of "type" challenges in relation to the Australian poultry standards since its recreation in Australia in the late 1980s. I’m part of a group of other breeders focussing on improving type in the Bantam Brahma. I’m more interested in poultry genetics than I thought possible, and wish I had paid more attention in high school to Mendel’s work!

I’m passionate about the need to preserve rare breed poultry as a sustainability and biodiversity action for the future. Embedded in that is a deep respect for the 19th and 20th century breeders who created the heritage poultry breeds we now have in Australia through talent, inspiration and commitment. Plus my interest in history makes me appreciate the extent to which chickens (and other domestic livestock) are part and parcel of changes across historical eras  One of my favourite books is Andrew Lawler's "How the Chicken Crossed the World: The Story of the Bird that Powers Civilisations". Its a great read.

Ethical engagement with the natural world is important to me. Working with animals according to their physical, social and emotional needs is fundamental to the ways I think about my animal husbandry.

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi