The Big Chook in Mount Vernon
Our love for the Big Things of Australia takes us to a suburb 42 kilometres west of Sydney in the local government area of the City of Penrith, New South Wales. The Big Chook can be spotted from Mount Vernon Road standing inside the Big Chook Egg Farm.
The bird’s sculpture measures 4 metres wide and 4 metres high, welcoming visitors to the Big Chook Egg Farm. Apart from the chook bird, the farm has other poultry, such as quails and ducks.
There is also a talking cockatoo at the farm that responds to visitors’ greetings by saying hello.
Farm visitors can take a tour to see other birds and domesticated animals residing within the premises. They can also take home some products sold at the farm, including:
- Live chicken
- Chicken eggs
- Quail eggs
- Fresh chicken and ducks
- Minced pet food and farm manure
The Big Chook in Mount Vernon shares its name with another similar sculpture in Moonbi, New South Wales. However, the Big Chook in Moonbi is smaller, measuring 2 metres by 4 metres.
Despite its size, the Big Chook in Moonbi represents the age-old poultry farming industry of the village that was once a big venture for the locals of the small town, with a headcount of less than 400. The town is still renowned for large poultry farms despite a 2007 equine influenza outbreak that almost swept away the years of hard work in poultry farming.
Birds are well represented in the list of Australia’s Big Things. Below are some examples of bird-inspired Big Things located in different states across Australia.
- Big Galahs in Watson
- Big Powerful Owl in Belconnen
- Big Kookaburra in Kurri Kurri
- Big Swan in Dunedoo
- Big Cassowary in Mission Beach
- Big Cockatoo in Moosman
- Big Pelican in Noosaville
