From Backyard Chooks to Aussie Chook Supplies

Author: Christine Dinas - Aussie Chook Supplies  

Hi, I'm Christine — the person behind Aussie Chook Supplies, and yes, the one you're probably texting through the website when you have a chook question at 9pm.
 

Our Story

My love of chickens started as a young girl, with memories of me frantically chasing a mother hen around the backyard in the hope of stealing a quick hug from one of her little fluffy chicks. As I child I never did manage to catch any that way and I was constantly getting into trouble for feeding (or more accurately overfeeding) the cute little things every chance I could. Looking back, I think it was the piles of corn and rice spread far and wide that gave me away.

Fast-forward to adulthood and the realisation that our two year old daughter had no life experience with where eggs came from (and no Sweetie, they don’t come from the shops). So determined to rectify this, and after some internet research and a few phone calls, we were on our way to choosing our first three ‘girls’ – Pekin Bantam pullets. We were soooooo egg-cited.

Our hearts were stolen the moment we saw them. May I introduce to you (from left to right) Snow White, Popcorn and Lady Tremaine. My husband Arthur named the black chicken ‘Snow White’ – I refuse to take responsibility for that name. 
 

 


And so it began… the all consuming love of chooks! Many of you out there reading this know what I mean and many of you will soon be familiar with the grounding feeling of relaxation that only watching a chicken scratch around in the garden can bring. They are the cheapest pets you will ever own and will bring you so much joy…

We very quickly attended our first poultry auction and bought home two roosters and three silkie girls. Two weeks later we bought a 20 egg Brinsea incubator and filled it up every chance we got. A year later, Arthur decided it was a wise decision to upgrade... to a Brinsea 380 egg incubator. And yes, we still lived on 500m2 in suburban Melbourne.

So in 2009, surrounded by baby chicks galore, we acknowledged our love was deep with no end in sight and registered Suburban Chooks as a business. For eight years we proudly bred, incubated and sold hundreds of chickens every year to Melbourne Backyard Chicken Keepers, sharing our passion and giving us a great knowledge base for a lot of the information you will find on our website.

In that time we've spent thousands on vet bills and autopsies, tests and medications to learn what we know. We've worked with the best Avian vets in Australia who have supported us in this venture, many who have been so generous in sharing their knowledge and time in reading over the medical information we publish on our website and providing feedback so what we have for our readers is medically accurate. We have organised and collated this knowledge into our Information Centre as a free resource for all chicken keepers with more than 100 different FAQ that we have come across during our time with chickens.

We are still a small, family run business but have grown to Aussie Chook Supplies and now operate our online business from Cranbourne, in the South-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
 

What We Stand For

  • Real experience, not guesswork. Everything we share comes from actually keeping chickens ourselves — the good, the messy, and the expensive vet bills.
  • Backed by the experts, even if we're not calling ourselves that. We lean on Australia's avian vets to keep our advice accurate, and we'll always point you to a vet when something's beyond a home fix.
  • Community over transaction. Our free Information Centre exists because we remember being new to this and not knowing where to start.
  • A soft spot for the rare ones. We support the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and sponsor poultry showing because keeping these breeds going matters to us.
     

Meet the Aussie Chook Supplies Team

 Christine Dinas - CEO & Chief Chicken Lover at Aussie Chook Supplies 

Christine — CEO & Chief Chicken Lover

Founder of Aussie Chook Supplies (and Suburban Chooks before it). I handle customer support, content, product research and most of the jobs on this list, because that's what happens when a hobby turns into a business you can't stop thinking about.

Arthur — Logistics, IT & the One Who Named a Chicken "Snow White"

My husband and business partner, fitting in supply pickups and drop-offs, admin, website tech work, and general odds and ends around his full-time job.

Aaliyah — Warehouse Manager

Our daughter, hands-on in the business since she was small and could "help". She manages stock, ordering and fulfilment (when she's not busy with teenager duties), and is learning the ropes with a view to one day taking the reins herself.


  Admin & Customer Service Team - Christine Dinas  Warehouse Manager - Aaliyah DinasWarehouse & Fulfilment Team - Christine & Aaliyah Dinas  Operations Manager - Christine DinasDigital Marketing Manager - Christine Dinas  Logistics & Heavy Lifting Specialist - Arthur Dinas Business Development & Strategy Team - Christine & Arthur Dinas       Chief Financial Officer - Christine DinasIT Manager - Arthur Dinas Public Engagement Leader  Product Procurement Specialist  Morale & Motivation Officer - Christine Dinas

 

So that's us — the actual faces behind the Aussie Chook Supplies brand.

Happy Chooking, Christine & Family
 

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