Gerald Donnelly’s getting his birds ready for Royal

October 23, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Poultry is a way of life for Mono Mills area resident Gerald Donnelly, and things keep right on going.
They’re going to continue soon when Donnelly takes a collection of his birds to the Poultry Show at the annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
He said he’s going to be taking about 50 birds to the Royal.
“My geese and ducks are my specialty,” he commented. “I’ve always been fond of geese and ducks, ever since I was a little kid.”
The interest dates back to the Barrie area farm where he was born. Donnelly recalled his mother raised chickens and turkeys, and both his grandmothers raised poultry as well.
“It was just in the genes,” he said.
To this day, Donnyweir Farm is a family operation. Donnelly said his wife Joan helps out a lot on the farm, as does his nephew and grandnephew.
“Without their help, I wouldn’t ever get to the Royal,” he said.
Donnelly said he’s been on the current farm for more than 40 years. He taught school for about 35 year, including locally. He was principal for a time at the old Caledon East School. He returned from teaching about 21 years ago.
Getting birds ready from shows like the Royal is a pretty demanding task, he said. The birds all have to be in good condition, with good feathers and plumage. As well, he said you have to “make sure they don’t have any defects that you don’t want the judge to see.”
“The growing and raising them, that’s the easy part,” Donnelly observed, pointing out it’s not easy to catch and cage many birds, and then transport them to Toronto, knowing the process is going to have to be repeated in reverse at the end of the Royal.
The Royal runs from Nov. 1 to 10. Although the scheduling hasn’t yet been finalized, Donnelly said he would probably take the birds down Sunday evening (Nov. 3). Judging will start at noon the next day, and then the birds will be on display Tuesday, before they’re brought home, possibly Tuesday night.
“It’s a pretty short time for all the work,” he observed.
He added the Royal is still the prestige show of the year, when it comes to poultry. Donnelly agreed there are a lot of fall fairs, but it’s the Royal that attracts international attention.
“The quality and the competition is usually the best that you’re going to encounter,” he observed. “When you win at the Royal, you meet the top quality.”
There are also valuable connections to be made at the Royal. Donnelly recalled there was one year he found himself shipping geese to Japan because of contacts he established at the Fair.
Donnelly said he first showed at the Royal in 1958, and it’s been a consistant event, although there were a few years he skipped along the way.
“It’s worth the work,” he said. “You like to see how you’re doing and how your birds compare to other birds.”
He added he has brought home many first-place ribbons from the Royal over the years, and he’s confident about the chances for more this year.
“I think I’ve got birds that are going to stand competition,” he remarked. “I’m quite pleased with some of the ones I’ve got.”
Donnelly said they have been picked from the roughly 500 to 700 birds he has on the farm. He raises his own stock, selling some of it for breeding purposes. That’s another advantage to showing at the Royal, because people from all over the world will see what he has to offer.
“The phone will ring for weeks after, or sometimes months,” he said.
“It’s very much worth the effort,” Donnelly said, admitting he may “grumble and groan about the work.”

Gerald Donnelly stands by a yard of birds, mostly Aylesbury ducks. Some of them will be accompanying him to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair next month.
Photo by Bill Rea