Octavia’s Backyard
~ Our Poultry Palace
~ Our Poultry Palace
Nestled alongside JDs Mini Foxies, Octavia’s Backyard Poultry Palace is our boutique collection of beautiful, quirky and carefully selected poultry. What began with a love of chickens has grown into a very special part of our backyard, where we enjoy raising happy, healthy birds and working with some truly gorgeous breeds and colour varieties. Our Poultry Palace is currently home to our OG darling’s the Silver Laced Polish and our new obsession the Belgian d’Uccle.
One of the most special parts of Octavia’s Backyard Poultry Palace is giving Octavia the opportunity to experience and understand the entire journey of raising poultry — from caring for our breeding birds and collecting freshly laid eggs, through to selecting eggs for incubation, watching chicks hatch and then caring for them as they grow. It is such a wonderful hands-on way for her to learn about responsibility, patience, animal care and where our food comes from, while developing a genuine appreciation for the animals she raises.
And, of course, not every egg goes into the incubator! When our girls are laying well, she loves collecting, sorting and packing a small selection of fresh eggs which are available from time to time at her little roadside stall. For us, it’s about keeping things small, meaningful and hands-on giving Octavia the chance to be involved in every aspect of her backyard flock and enjoy the rewards that come with caring for them
Why We Love Raising Poultry
For us, the Poultry Palace is about much more than producing pretty chickens. We love watching each generation develop, carefully selecting birds for health, temperament, type, colour and feather quality, while also introducing and preserving genetics from established Australian lines. Our birds are raised in a hands-on family environment with plenty of space, fresh air, sunshine, enrichment and, of course, lots of attention. They are very much part of life here at Octavia’s Backyard.
Hatching Season at the Poultry Palace
Spring and summer are especially exciting, with our incubators coming to life and the next generation of Octavia’s Backyard chicks arriving. We hatch primarily to grow out and select birds for our own breeding program, allowing us to carefully assess each generation and continue improving our flocks. This means we don't breed or hatch on a large ‘commercial’ scale and availability is intentionally limited.
From time to time throughout the spring and summer months, we may have a small number of chicks, growers or pullets available to new homes. Availability will vary from season to season and depends entirely on what we hatch and what we retain for the future of our breeding program.
Polish and Polish Frizzle
Polish are a beautiful crested bantam breed, instantly recognizable by their incredible head feathers and quirky personalities. As well as being stunning to look at, they are productive little layers, capable of producing up to 200 white eggs each year.
Small in size but certainly not in personality, Polish are generally gentle, docile and entertaining birds. They are not particularly prone to broodiness and, with their friendly nature and unique appearance, make wonderful additions to a backyard flock.
Our boutique flock of Silver Laced Polish has been carefully selected and developed over the last several years, with the health, temperament and overall quality of our birds always coming first.
While some of our birds feature colors, feather types and markings that step outside the traditional breed standard, this has been very intentional. We wanted to create something a little different, special and uniquely ours, while still maintaining the beautiful characteristics that made us fall in love with Polish in the first place.
We will continue thoughtfully developing our exclusively Silver Laced flock, working towards improving their shape, style, and coloring. From time to time throughout the spring and summer months, we may have a small number of point-of-lay (POL) pullets available.
Availability is always limited as we carefully select the birds we retain for our own program first. Any pullets offered will be healthy, well-grown young birds. Keep an eye on our socials for availability and updates throughout the season.
Belgian d’Ucccles
It didn't take long for the Belgian d’Uccle to become one of our absolute favourite breeds. Tiny, feather-footed and overflowing with personality, these beautiful little bantams have completely won us over. Known for their distinctive beards, muffs, feathered legs and wonderfully curious personalities, Belgian d’Uccles are every bit as charming as they are beautiful. They are generally friendly, gentle and inquisitive little birds that quickly become much-loved members of the backyard.
Our Colours
We began our d’Uccle journey with the beautiful Mille Fleur, and it's safe to say we were hooked! Their intricate combination of colour, pattern and delicate mottling means no two birds look exactly the same. As we continue developing our flock, we're excited to expand into some equally beautiful colour varieties, including:
Mille Fleur • Porcelain • Blue Mille Fleur • Splash
Our aim is to develop a small but exceptional collection of Belgian d’Uccles, with particular focus on beautiful colour, correct feathering, temperament, health and overall quality.
Building Our Foundation
As a relatively new addition to our poultry family, we wanted to start our flock with the strongest possible foundations. We have carefully sourced fertile eggs from some of the best and most established breeders across Australia, bringing together genetics from quality lines that have been thoughtfully developed and maintained for more than 20 years.
Rather than building our flock quickly, our focus is on building it well. By starting with diverse, quality genetics from established Australian lines, we hope to create a healthy and carefully curated foundation from which we can develop our own birds for many years to come.
We're incredibly excited to see how these different lines and colours develop as our flock grows — particularly as we begin working with Porcelain, Blue Mille Fleur and Splash alongside our much-loved Mille Fleurs. For us, that's half the magic of breeding poultry: appreciating the work of the breeders who came before us, while slowly developing something special and uniquely our own.
