Here's a funny thing. A young woman who admits she is scared of chooks is now running a free range chicken farm that's home to hundreds and hundreds of the little twittering critters. Isn't that a bit like being a pilot and being afraid of heights?
Not quite and it should be pointed out Rebecca Maw used to be afraid of hens - past tense. When viewed from a commercial perspective she overcame her initial reluctance to not go anywhere near them and began looking more benevolently on the little birds. And there was another imperative. Her son, Danny, was diagnosed as autistic when he was four years old but she noticed that when he was around chickens and hens he became calm.
"He loves being with them and they love him and follow him around. When he's upset or worried he can be with the chickens and it has an enormously beneficial affect on him."
Rebecca started off with just 12 chickens initially, mainly for Danny's benefit, and began selling the eggs locally before she looked further ahead.
"I did heaps of research and contacted MAF and thought why shouldn't I do this on a bigger scale?"