The Rural Voice, 1986-02, Page 1311
White Chanticleer, male. Until the twentieth century, poultry flocks did not lay well during the winter months. Around 1900. a
monestary at Oka, Quebec had become a world leader in agricultural research, developing such things as Oka cheese, wine and
a breed of dogs. One of the monks at the monestary, Brother Wilfred Chateaine, set about to develop a breed of poultry that
would lay well all through the cold, dark Canadian winter. From the White Rock, White Leghorn, White Wynadotte, White Cor-
nish, and the Road Island Red breeds, he created the Chanticleer breed, which became a highly successful breed in many poultry
flocks throughout the world. This Canadian success story ends in a typically Canadian way; the Americans adopted the breeding
techniques of Brother Wilfred and developed other advanced breeds of poultry and sold them back to Canada.
Story by Phyllis Coulter
Barry Cleave, the artist, spends
between 16 and 40 hours working
on each of his gallery -quality por-
traits of poultry breeds.
Barry Cleave, the poultry judge,
is one of only 15 appointed by the
Department of Agriculture in On-
tario.
Barry Cleave, the 4-H leader,
founded the first modern 4-H
poultry club in Huron County and
helped the movement grow across
the province.
The Artist
Cleave pays attention to every
feather, using models he's col-
lected on visits to poultry farms.
"I never set out to be an artist
showing my paintings in
galleries," says the Varna resident,
who initially painted only for
himself and his friends. This
September, his portraits hung next
to paintings by well-known
agricultural artists at the St.
Thomas Elgin Art Gallery.
Cleave's paintings were so popular
that he has been asked to be part of
another exhibition in the gallery
next spring.
Cleave, now 33, has no special
art training. He studied art only in
public school, but always remained
an avid doodler. He honed his skill
with practical experience, first con-
centrating on the exact rendition of
poultry breeds. Now he is adding
scenery to his paintings, each of
which sells for about $100.
The Poultry Judge
Cleave enjoys raising chickens as
much as he enjoys painting them.
His specialty is New Hampshire
Bantam, a breed that "lays a nice
egg" and is also "tasty" when
cooked as cornish hen.
As a poultry judge, Cleave
knows what characteristics to look
for in his own fancy poultry. With
only 15 official judges in the pro-
vince, each is in demand at poultry
shows and fall fairs. Cleave is the
youngest judge in Ontario, and
says that getting a licence is
relatively difficult.
The Leader
Combining his knowledge of
poultry with his pleasure in work-
ing with young people, Cleave laid
the foundations for the first
modern 4-1-1 poultry club in On-
tario. Five years ago such clubs
were non-existent in this province;
today, there are 17 and more on
the way.
Cleave has also been instrumen-
tal in compiling information for
4-H lesson material. He gathered
poultry facts from across Canada
FEBRUARY 198b 11