[(Title)] Prize chicken back home to roost after 6,400 kilometre road trip.

His wife might refer to it as 'obsessive chicken disorder', but for Nathan Watson the challenge of rearing pure-bred chickens is definitely worth his time.

他妻子可能会把它称为“痴迷鸡病”，但对纳森·沃森来说，培养纯种鸡的挑战绝对值得他花时间。他花了几年的时间试图达到完美的鸡群，甚至要建立季节性的喂食制度和健康计划。最近，获奖家禽饲养员从西澳大利亚的阿尔巴尼出发，一直到维多利亚州的巴拉特，把他的爱鸡带进澳大利亚旧英式家禽俱乐部。

He has spent years trying to achieve perfection in his flock, going as far as to establish seasonal feeding regimes and fitness programs.

Recently, the award-winning poultry breeder travelled from Albany, in Western Australia, all the way to Ballarat, in Victoria, to enter his bantams in the Old English Fowl  Club of Australia's national show.

Mr Watson was the only West Australian competitor and one of his birds was such an outstanding specimen, that it beat 840 other entrants to claim Reserve Champion of Show.

沃森先生是唯一的西澳大利亚竞争者，他其中的一只鸟是如此出色的样本，因此击败了840个其他参赛者，获得了潜力冠军。这一成就只是沃森先生简历中所列的许多成就之一。他是第一个在2014年同一场全国演出中担任裁判的WA法官，他是该俱乐部的副总裁，并曾前往新南威尔士、南澳大利亚和昆士兰展示爱鸡。沃森的家里装满了他多年来赢得的奖杯和彩带，但他认为在巴拉特的胜利是他最大的成就。

This achievement is just one of many listed on Mr Watson's resume.

He was the first WA judge to officiate at the same national show in 2014, he is the vice president of the Club and has also travelled to New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland to exhibit his birds.

Mr Watson's home is adorned with the trophies and ribbons he has won over the years, but he ranks the win at Ballarat his biggest achievement so far.

According to Mr Watson, a lot goes into preparing chickens for showing at the highest level.

沃森表示，很多人都把鸡训练到了很高的水平上。

"Your animal husbandry has to be A-class to begin with, and it all starts from the day you mate the birds up to breed the next generation," he said.

他说：“你的养鸡业必须从A级开始，而这一切都始于你将鸟类配种以培育下一代的那一天，它还涉及你管理母鸡的方式以及你照顾鸡的方式？需要投入其中大量的时间、精力和一点点科学。”

"It also involves the way you manage your broody hens and the way you care for the chickens — a lot of time, effort and a little bit of science goes into it."

Mr Watson mixes his own grain combinations and feeds his birds different levels of protein and supplements throughout the year to achieve optimum results.

沃森先生将自己的谷物组合混合起来，并在全年为鸟类喂食不同水平的蛋白质和补品，以实现最佳效果。他说：“这和健身类似，因为它都来源于正确的饮食和锻炼方式。就在演出之前，我确保他们的腿很好干净，没有破损的羽毛，而且很健康。健康在旧英比赛中是一个特别重要的方面，因为他们是运动品种。我带它们锻炼，当你面对非常激烈的竞争时，这会很有意义。他们的手掌需要让人感觉硬而粗壮，而不是像大而柔软的待产母鸡。”

"It is similar to bodybuilding in that it all comes down to the right diet and exercise," he said.

他说：“这和健身类似，因为它都来源于正确的饮食和锻炼方式。”

Having spent his childhood on farms surrounded by animals, Mr Watson said it was his grandfather who first sparked his interest in chickens.

沃森曾在动物农场里度过童年，他说，是他的祖父首先激发起他对鸡的兴趣。他在12岁左右的时候发现了家禽竞赛，几年来，他的开始专门饲养鸡群。他说：“饲养鸡似乎有点奇怪，但饲养奶牛和羊却没什么不同。大约有150种不同的鸡、鸭和火鸡品种，它们各自有自己的特点。它们有很多不同的形状、大小和颜色。我只喜欢把它们当作宠物，也喜欢努力挑战完美。我的这个爱好让我逃离工作与生活的压力，也带来了巨大的社会效益，多年来我交了很多亲密的朋友。”