Rare bird rescue

When it comes to characters, Mark Tully is up there with the best. Here’s a bloke who declares birds have saved his life, so he is saving theirs.

Mark is dedicated to saving and preserving rare breeds of chooks and pigs at his Blue Hills Poultry Stud at Gatton. With the support of his local shire council, he plans to open the world’s first national heritage domestic livestock museum.

Importantly for foodies, according to Mark it is the rare breeds that have all the layers of fat that make meat tasty. He's planning to breed them up and put them on the table so watch out for rare breeds on restaurant menus. This is Jimmy's Farm (Lifestyle Channel) meets the bird man.

Mark’s rare breeds rescue program, which takes him into backyards and chook shows around Australia, is the subject of a short film by Film Australia which will be screened on the ABC.

Mark says there are rare breeds in backyards all over the country that people brought in with them years ago when they migrated to Australia. Many of these breeds have died out in Europe and other countries and Australia is a Noah's Ark.

Do yourself a favour and watch Rare Chicken Rescue on ABC, 8pm Tuesday May 6.