From 20 chickens as a homeschooling project at the age of 8 to a million dollar business with 5000 chickens, certified organic.

As the brains and the brawn behind Madelaine's Eggs, the broad strokes of Madelaine Scott’s story are well known to Australians.

She burst into the public eye as a 19-year-old launching a crowdfunding campaign that raised 60 thousand dollars in 60 days to purchase an egg-grading machine.

In this conversation, now 31, Madelaine opens up about the day-to-day realities of running a free-range, organic operation including:

— The financial realities and how much she pockets in profit, relative to turnover

— How to care for chickens without worming and spraying them with chemicals

— Exactly what feed and which supplements she gives her flock

— The daily workload involved in running her free-range operation

— How many staff she now has and her role these days

— The organic certification process

— The prospect of H5N1 bird flu arriving in Australia and what it would mean for her operation

— Vaccines for chickens

— The phasing out of caged eggs in Australia

— Diversifying into meat (turkeys, "spent" hens) as well as eggs

— Plans for a micro-abattoir at Hollyburton Farm

— The homesteader lifestyle

You can check out Madelaine’s own chicken soup recipe in the Spring 2025 issue of Chook Journal, our fully digital, immersive magazine available now via the website chookjournal.com.au