Life in the Dome

Eight is enough

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 13:48:00 +0000

I love my chooks and I can't believe they are as old as they are and still laying! Whatever happened in their off year seems to have passed and they are chooking along happily together. I can't quite believe we had 13 resident hens (OK, there was a rooster or two among them) at one point. Eight is enough to look after, especially now we have the health of an old cat to nurture.

Look what I found Fluffy!

It was under this lot of crazy broodies, jammed into one layer catcher

Jelly Bean came to us nearly a year ago as a 7 1/2 year old cat who had an odd mouth that food seemed to just drop straight out of. In 24 hours of having her, my local vet revealed that she had teeth that needed removing and almost none left up top and only a few below. Her papers revealed she was actually 11 1/2, not 7 1/2. After having her teeth out her appetite returned with a vengence and, showing no control whatsoever, I fed her pretty much whatever she liked whenever she liked. She put on a kilo in six months of being with us which is a lot for a cat who already weighed 6 kilos. She's now on a diet of sorts (measured amounts, given at set times, with lots of cuddles in between when she is feeling anxious).

The Bean - rolling around being cute. Don't be fooled by the setting - she's an indoor cat
who'd rather be on my lap than under a bush. Although I guess she'd could gum a few things to death her interest seems more of the fridge variety

Needless to say her presence in our lives has meant the girls are less in focus in my thoughts than before. Which I feel bad about. Same can be said for this blog. My preoccupation with other pursuits and a rather absorbing job mean I don't visit here as often as I would like. Life, eh. How many times have I written that lately!

Take your chooks and run!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 04:08:00 +0000

Evacuating during a fire threat with chickens is challenging - as I found out this week. M was all for leaving them but I just couldn't. Now that I've taken them away and brought them home again, I'm thinking rather differently. It's hard work looking after 9 pets in someone else's house, no matter how good friends/family they are. Now that we are back, I've been looking at some suggestions on what to do should you need to take your chooks and run and, as usual, I'm amused and impressed by what I have found.

High-Vis chicken jacket - from Omlet, of course!

NSW Hen Rescue

I found this page Bushfire Evacuation for Hens on the NSW Hen Rescue website this morning. It has some good advice on what to do with your chooks. In summary, have:

enough pet carriers for all your animals - two hens fit in one cat cage
the carriers all ready to go
an emergency kit for the animals
a plan to round up your hens and other animals
a plan where you will take your hens and other animals.

Next time - like the webpage above mentions - I'd have more cages on hand. Our girls are 'big boned' and stuffing three into a cat cage was not comfortable for the poor dears. And while I'd thought about taking the girls, I hadn't stopped to think where to. I'd assumed they could go to my Mum's but they were having a major plumbing emergency with workmen crawling all over the place and that wasn't an option. Not everyone wants 8 chickens to arrive unexpectedly, especially if you haven't also thought how you will house them!

There's no place like home

So with the girls holed up under some bird netting cast over my friend's lovely teak outdoor furniture (yes, they are good friends ), I got to thinking about if there were a 'next time', what would I do differently?

Posted by Resilient Communities on FB

Repurpose a tent? You could cut the floor out but leave enough of an edge to peg it down. Put netting over like a fly and have all the window flaps open. It would house 8 chooks and would be easy to put up and relatively safe. Not a bad idea, if I don't mind saying so myself! Looking into this idea, I came across these coops (again, from Omlet.co.uk).

Eglu to you too

The Eglu Classic chook pod with run - not big enough for 8 though

Behold! The Eglu Cube !! Fits 10 chickens and could be put on a trailer. Nice one!!

If only the were for sale here - so easy!

Emergency temporal shift

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 25 Oct 2013 03:20:00 +0000

Evacuate! Evacuate!

Gawd - what a week! Our beautiful Blue Mountains have been beset by bushfires. After the Black Saturday fires in Victoria in 2009, there has been a big awareness campaign about having fire plans and acting on them when the time comes. Well that time arrived this week and it was stressful and exhausting. At 4:05pm on Tuesday afternoon the NSW Rural Fire Service's Commissioner advised Blue Mountains residents planning on leaving to go before 9am on Wednesday morning with conditions forecast "as bad as they can get".

The ABC's John Donegan snapped the local wildlife getting close with Rural Fire Service
teams near Windsor, New South Wales, on October 22 2013. Source

That was enough for me - and the rest of our street, as it turned out. Our emergency bag was already packed and documents, photos and hard drive boxed up and ready to go. Next to that was a line of pet cages for our 8 chickens and recently adopted 11 year old toothless cat. After getting our elderly neighbour sorted (her sons didn't want to come and get her!!) it was dark, so the girls were easy to handle in their sleepy state and didn't so much as 'bok' during the car trip. Can't say the same for poor puss; she cried the whole way and I had to stop twice for some reassuring cuddles.

Big turn out for our local RFS briefing on Monday 21st October 2013

Our lovely friends put us up in Sydney and helped build a make-shift home for the girls. They handled the evacuation with aplomb and managed to lay 6 eggs while they were away, much to the delight of our god children, who were super excited to have a menagerie of beasts come to stay.

We are home now and while we need to keep an eye on the fire situation, we are relieved to be back and able to see some humour in it all. Which is why I decided to do this next post - after some of the suggestions I received about evacuating chooks. Stay tuned!

Cockadoodle-iosis

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:33:00 +0000

The Aussie chook nut rises...after almost a year of absence. Life eh? Things just happen.

A fair bit has gone down in the Fibro Majestic over the past year; there was a bad patch of under-employment, a cracker of an elbow injury (tennis AND golf, on both sides, would you believe - not bad for someone who hates ball games) and a general depletion of the happy chemicals that keep you wanting to get out of bed in the morning. All good now - new job (ace job, in fact), iceberg-slow healing elbows (but healing all the same) and an upward turn in the happy chemicals department. All makes for a finer outlook and renewed interest in life -- and pretty much parallels what's been going down in the Summer Palace.

The girls are getting on you know; almost all of them are 7ish, give or take six months. Things were looking a bit dire for them over summer - they were loosing condition and the super hot days nearly knocked a few of them off the perch. Lucky for them they have 24/7 medical care at the door - well, at our back door, in a special emergency sick bird cage. We nursed and nursed and got them through. Turns out they had a bad case of cockadoodle-iosis, hadn't been wormed since who knows when, and were low in vitamins. Oh and stress - heat stress, was the final straw.

Anyway, they are bright and happy again and just to make us proud, have started laying again! We're getting two a day a the moment - one from Pippy the Terror and one from Fluffy Bum. Who'd have thought it would be those two who broke the ice? We're waiting for the 'young ones' to get stuck in now - Blossom should be back at it soon and the odd little Amelia who continues to astound us with her agility and flight (and her bossy nature - poor Gum Nut is as down-trodden as ever).

Here are some pics of the girls taken over the summer. Not much keeps Fluffy down - must be all those feathers :)

You're my hens now!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 23:25:00 +0000

How cool is this? It's by John Wright, who is one of the artisans in the garden at
the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. It's called - yes, you guessed it! - 'Chooks'

Speaking of chooks, Sooty is gone. He's attacks got more frequent and there just wasn't any logic to them, though I think he might have felt particularly provoked when I walked out one morning in my long red dressing gown 'cause he went nuts. Which is fine when you are rugged up for winter and his spurs aren't fully grown. It's even sort of funny but I didn't fancy facing that in shorts, in summer. No matter how much I assured him he was 'da man', he saw me as a threat.

While I kept calm and took a gentle approach with him he was just too unpredictable so he's gone back from whence he came: to our local produce store. The good thing about that is they have farmers and breeders from around the district who take them off their hands so he isn't necessarily going to be dinner. And if he does end up as dinner, he'll be a tasty bird and he's certainly had a better life than most roosters. I found it difficult to do (not helped by M. asking me yesterday "Should we go visit Sooty?"... aaggghh!!!) and I will be much stronger with myself the next time a charming young rooster cocks his cute little head at me while I'm picking up feed for the girls. I am of the school that animals that you bring home are for good but this one clearly wasn't working out.

The upside is I have my hens back!! I am enjoying peaceful times out in the yard with them and their silly antics. Of course Pippy has resumed her crowing, which totally bewildered Sooty, as well as her other odd behaviours (such as 'covering' the other hens?!), but she's almost six and, well, we're all used to it (the girls included).

As those strange fellows from A League of Gentleman say "You're my ~~wife~~ hens now!"

Milkwood Permaculture Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:34:00 +0000

Rather than not posting for AGES I've decided short and sweet is the new way to go. So, I just saw this link on a friend's FB page and wanted to share it here. It's Milkwood Permaculture Farm (http://milkwood.net) and it is not too far from where I lives. Might go for a look-see when I have time to scratch my arse. (Sorry...beer ambulance required after a day of 'online learning'. )

Anyway, anyone that describes a chook as "a chicken born in Australia" gets the thumbs up from me but surely we aren't the only country to use the word? Here's a pic to make the whole short-post thing a bit more exciting.

Image source

You know, I just never get tired of chooks. I mean, look at her! She's a beauty, and look at those lovely eggs. Chooks are THE BEST.

Hello again, part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 00:34:00 +0000

I was saving the best bit for part two, hello again, but I have been super busy with another project and just haven't had a chance to do this the justice it deserves. And as I have a job application due tomorrow, now seems the perfect time to do it [insert rolly-eye emoticon here]. I am the Queen of Procrastination after all.

Speaking of Queens...my lovely friend Loani, Queen of Tea Cosies, sent me a surprise package recently. It came in a box, packaged inside another box that didn't contain raw chicken, according to her handwriting. Hmm....provocative but also reassuring. So what was inside?

She has photographed it so beautifully on her own blog that I'm going to steal a few of her pictures and show it off here. Apparently I 'baggsed' (sp?) it, mid-stitch. I'm feeling a bit bashful about that now, but only a little bit because the rest of me is just so chuffed to have it.

Behold, my new scarf!

One's friend is very talented, very generous, and very funny. One opened the box and found all manner of notes attached to the scarf explaining its evolution.

One laughed and One cried, then laughed again, then buried One's face in the silky soft beautiful wool while admiring the perfectly formed and deliciously fluffy pom poms on the corners.

Did you notice there are sheep, tea pots, hearts, and chickens?

One's photos aren't nearly as good as the other One's, who is somewhat of a stylist after publishing so many beautiful books.

As a creative person I love making things for other people. My crochet history started with the appearance of lots of little people in our lives. My Mum had always made baby blankets for her friends' children and I decided to do the same. This led to all sorts of projects, including several crocheted ponchos. I've made two this year, after a bit of break: one for my neice and one for my god-daughter (well, I claim her as my god daughter because I'm god mother to her brother and I love them both to bits). It's impossible not to think about them as you complete each stitch. There is so much love in a handmade gift, because there is a lot of time and a lot of thought that goes into it. Not to mention the wool! So, needless to say I was very overwhelmed by this gift. It came out of the blue and at a time when I was feeling stressed and stretched. It was unexpected and beautiful and I love it.

This gift from Loani also reaffirmed to me the joy of the blogging community, and my little corner of it. None of you know the extent of your presence in my life and the conversations that go in our house because of you (usually along the lines of "You should see what the Gnomes are growing/making..!" and "Duckie mentioned..." or Chris said..." "Loani posted..." or "Celia's chickens..." and the list goes on). Your stories have become my stories and you inspire me in ways you wouldn't know and don't imagine.

So thank you to my lovely friend Loani and thank you to all of you who take the time to read and comment on my blog and share your own stories on your blogs. I loves yous all (and I haven't even had a gin!) xx

Hello again, part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:57:00 +0000

Where has this year gone? I feel like it is on fast-forward and I am scrambling to catch up. It's July for goodness sake! Almost August!! Meanwhile my poor little blog has been languishing in the corner with only the occasional spam comment popping up in my inbox to remind me it's still here. What happened to those halcyon days of 2008 and the mad month that was Blogtoberfest! I really have lost momentum with it so I am surprised but pleased that I still get the occasional (re)visitor (hello to Planet Treasure!!)

So! Where were we? I believe that I was wondering, in your imagined company, whether my little Sooty was a rooster. Well, he is, and he's rather spectacular too:

Gone is the sooky little chick who would fly up onto my lap for a cuddle. He has become quite testy and has had a go at me on several occasions. After doing some reading online I settled on a strategy that seems to be working: stay calm and each time he pecks, pick him up firmly but gently, pat him and play with his comb and wattle, then put him down in a way that allows him to maintain what is left of his dignity in front of his ladies. If he's being particularly bad I hold him upside down and stroke his chest feathers, which he really doesn't like. While this is amusing, I have also had to change the way I interact with the girls and I don't think of him as a pet in the same way that I do the hens. He is never out in the yard when my friend's children are here and I always regard him with care when I'm in his territory. Whether he stays with us is a constant question. I would love to give Gum Nut a go at hatching some chicks and as she is the only one that lays blue eggs it would be easy enough to separate hers from the others. But do we really need anymore chooks? More to the point (going by our track record), do we really need anymore roosters?! I think the answer is probably there if I could admit that this experiment really isn't working.

Our other new arrivals from earlier this year have grown into lovely hens and are giving us an egg each day. I can't get over the size of our Light Sussex - she is easily our biggest chook - and it is funny watching her attempt great feats of daring like her light little Dorking friend Amelia, whose wings have been clipped, such as scaling the garden domes to get to the other side of the chicken-proof fence. Too slow by far!

Busted!

Best in show

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:16:00 +0000

Nothing like an ag fair to make a girl happy. After a week of hideous germs, M took me out to the Hawkesbury Show and it certainly cheered me up. Who wouldn't be excited standing in front of a cabinet full of cake? And another of tea cosies?? And best of all - a whole shed full of chooks! Ah the joy of it all. Here's some highlights:

The first time I went to the Easter Show as a kid was with my friend from school and her family. She had cousins who lived on a big property out West near Griffith so they were all pretty familiar with rural life. I grew up in an outer Sydney suburb where the only pig I'd ever encountered was in a book. I can tell you, I got the shock of my life seeing those gigantic animals laying in the pens!

Examining the produce. Mick's favourites were the giant pumpkins and this egg display:

Snorkling eggs and chooky cup cakes. Happy happy.

And another favourite in the bottom corner - Shaun the Sheep!

I love a bit of plate art and clearly this one was a winner. Next door - the timeless tea cosie. But let's face it - the stars of the show (for me anyway!) were always going to be the chooks. I did feel a bit sorry for the poor old things cooped up and being eyeballed all day but some of them were pretty spectacular.

I found a mate for our Big Fluff (second row, 4); a couple of 'lawn ornaments' (top row, 4; second row, 2; bottom row, 1 & 2); a couple that looked like they were having a bad hair day (Frizzles? Second row, 1 and 3; third row, 4) and some fine looking fellas and lovely little hens.

The last aisle was ducks. Poor ducks - they were mostly running out of water and a bit frantic. The winning drake was busy eating his certificate, culminating in him tearing it off the cage door. Not sure whether he should actually be eating his certificate, I snatched it out of his beak and put it on top of his cage. There was only a few hours to go and I think he'd just had enough! This little duck oposite wasn't quite so fraught!

All in all, a good day! On the home front, I went ahead and clipped Amelia's wings (thanks for your comments!). She still manages to get around but seems less inclined to her impressive yard-length flights. I did both wings because I wasn't sure and I kept reading conflicting advice. Oh well, next time! Happy chickening for now.

Up is the new down

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:05:00 +0000

What do these two beauties have in common?

Amelia Earhart

Our Dorking hen

Why yes! You're right - they are both renowned fliers!

Seems our new Dorking hen is something of a flier. If she's not scaling the fence, she's on a roof and her favourite pass time now is flying up onto the Dome and then over onto our side of the Chicken Proof Fence. Considering her prodigious skill I have named her Amelia after the famous aviator, Amelia Earhart. Here she is, up top, while the others merely gaze at her in wonderment.

Of course, had we done our homework we would have known that Dorkings are impressive fliers and might have thought twice about getting her. She also has five toes and is descendant from Roman hens brought to Britain so I guess we got a bit carried away by her heritage. So now I find myself considering doing this:

Image source

But can I bring myself to do it? We like to free-range the girls but now I hardly let them out because I'm worried she'll end up next door and she won't be able to get back...what to do?

In other news, Sooty is turning into a fine young rooster (as we suspected). This photo was taken in March and he has grown quite a bit since then. He's 16 weeks and still not crowing but it has to be soon. Depending on how it goes we'll decide if we can keep him.

Spoke too soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:27:00 +0000

Storm warning from the awesome Eric Berry:

Good Afternoon Everyone,
A band of thunderstorms are moving towards the Mountains this afternoon. There is some electrical activity and cells of intense, torrential rain. Please be aware of lightning and thunder if using electrical devices and take care if driving in sudden downpours. For further information, visit www.bom.gov.au

PS I really want to call one of the chickens Eric Berry. It's just such a good name.

Then the rain stopped

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:42:00 +0000

Well, looks like the Big Wet has left us and the dear little bearded ladies have also departed for life in the city. They have laid a blue egg every day for their new owners, who are super chuffed with their odd brood who ended up going by the names Midget, Manky (aka Grey Beard), and Mo. Might need an access visit soon just to see them settled in their new digs and with all their feathers grown back.

Speaking of new digs, I've been commenting back in my last post with the talented Kara of Fantastic Fabrics and Kara Smith Handmade Handbags who has recently returned to the mountains. She's looking for chickens and I was wondering if anyone local might have suggestions other than the produce stores? Kara's left her number in the comments there if you hear of anything. Lisa, I know you got some lovely silver-laced Wyandotte's from a breeder around Penrith once - maybe through Nicole? - they'd be just the trick. Nice birds, cold hardy, and placid. I was also thinking that the Hawesbury District Agricultural Show might be a good place to look - there is usually a poultry auction and it's a fun day out.

And speaking of fun days out, I recently enjoyed a morning walking through the rainforest of the Jamison Valley for Sculpture at Scenic World. My talented friend Kayo Yokoyama had some glass pieces in the exhibition. I have to say it's not an easy environment for artists to work with - it was hard not to keep getting distracted by how beautiful this valley is!

It's easy to forget just how spectacular our local environment is.
I feel very lucky to live here.

Kayo's Miner's Houses

A carpet of ceramic flowers

Some woven stones

A chandelier in the canopy

Some bronze wombats (for my sister-in-law, Varena)

Cheap entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:23:00 +0000

Pay TV? Who needs it - I've got chickens. And broodies never fail to amuse me. I really didn't think I would see the day when Pippy went broody. This is the chicken who crows - yes, she does! - and mounts the other hens - mm hmm - and now at age 5, for the very first time she has decided to brood. Marjie is a serial offender and Gum Nut looks to be next in line to the Mad Broody crown so no surprises there. But I really didn't expect to find this when I lifted the lid of their layer box today.

Yes, that's 'Nut sitting on top of Pip and Marj. And up top, not happy, is next in line to the Mad Broody throne, Ms Fluffy, who is clearly quite annoyed there is nowhere for her to fit!

Magnificent, no?

The bearded ladies are yet to leave us. We've grown quite attached to them. Well, I should be more specific, I've grown quite attached to them. I mean, if we can get through these wet times and survive, we probably could cope with 12...

Spread mulch while the sun shines

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 07:52:00 +0000

Well looks like there is more of this coming our way:

Taken in the middle of the day...this is some summer we are having!

Thanks to M. for alerting me to the weather forecast and to Lisa for her sage advice, not to mention our local landscape supplier for being open nice and early, I beat the storms and got a cubic meter of wood mulch into my chook run before 9am this morning! The girls love it, I love it and there is no more stinky wet straw. Yah to the Crazy Chook Lady of the Mountains! (That's Lisa, by the way, not me. No, really!)

Less good news is I had to take Daisy and one of the bearded ladies to the vet this afternoon - they have heavy colds and are making awful gurgling noises. This bug came with the little roo, who has gone back to the farm from whence he came, but returned again with the new girls (same farm). I'll be starting the whole flock on a ten day course of antibiotics which goes in their water in a few days time. Not happy but can't give sick chickens to my friend who has never had chooks before and I want them all to be well again.

For my Australian readers looking at the next photo, ten points for guessing what happens next...:

The bearded ladies

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:03:00 +0000

Behold, the flock multiplieth:

It's OK Lisa, they are only boarding! And thank goodness, because I'm not sure I would cope with this many beaks to feed. We have sourced, and are looking after for a few weeks, these three strange little ladies for friends in the city who wanted chickens who looked like Gum Nut (who is a cross Araucana / Barnavelder?). How funny are they?! Not funny is that one is sick with a cold and one has a suspicious lack of feathers on her back but is laying. The farmer who delivered them said it was a moult but our girls don't lay while they are molting. I think these little ladies (they are bantams) need some TLC and they will get it here but I have to say it's exhausting looking after this many (13!) chickens in such wet conditions.

It has continually rained here for months and we have a limited amount of dry space for the girls. After extending the roof of the Summer Palace we have a bit more but then we've added another 5 chickens to the mix so we're back to square one. The rain causes all sorts of problems, not the least of which is the smell! According to M. it's getting pretty wiffy out there. I must be turning chicken because I can't smell it and I usually have very keen sense of smell. I am getting tired of mucking out every few days but with this many chooks it just has to be done. I'll be glad when my flock settles down again. Today the Light Sussex lad is going back to the farm and the little Dorking (last pic above) will join our girls, leaving the Bearded Ladies for our friends.

Just when I thought I'd finished with my chicken obsession! It's a slippery slope friends and once you're on it, there is no going back!

I'm afraid it's love

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 08:58:00 +0000

And we're not alone...

Not a choko

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:20:00 +0000

Taking refuge in the vines...our latest addition

Meet [Sooty]...for now

I cannot be trusted to go to the produce store alone...sigh. This little one just seemed to want to come home with me...only there isn't really anyone to look after it. I am trying a broody Fluffy but so far mixed results. Oh dear - what have I done?! She is so cute...another Araucana like Gum Nut so little green eggs. That is, if she's not a boy...as I think one of our little Light Sussex might be!

Currently courting the names Sprinkle & Misty given as they came to us in the wet

When will I learn? The point is to do your research BEFORE you buy the chickens. Light Sussex are large birds so they mature quite late and are therefore hard to sex after the first week. The farmer assured me he'd take them back if they were roos but so far hasn't answered my emails. Hmm

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 07:43:00 +0000

News bulletin:

A startled resident made a citizen's arrest this afternoon after 6 adult chickens were caught trespassing. The hens were apprehended eating grass along the side of the house after breaching perimeter fencing referred to by locals as 'the chicken proof fence.'

"I was sitting at the computer working" said the bemused owner. "I thought I could hear something unusual and when I looked up I saw two hens standing on the door mat."

The chickens face an array of charges after several Unauthorised Gardening Projects* were discovered in the top garden.

"I don't know how long they were at it" said the owner. "I was deep in thought and I forgot they were still out in the yard. M. is not going to be happy."

Six counts of 'trespassing in company' with 'intent to grievously dig up the garden' have been brought against the hens. The ring-leader faces the additional charge of 'sneaky chicken' and may face further penalties restricting her liberty. Two un-named juveniles were released with no charges after questioning. Found fretting by the perimeter gate, it was apparent they were unable to fathom how the others had broken in and so had not joined the top garden party.

The six suspects will be confined to the hen house until charges - or a sufficient number of eggs - are laid.

---
Reporter: Helga Featherfoot
Location: Blue Mountains

*Coined by UK chicken-enthusiast, Celia Hart.

Best in show

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:18:00 +0000

Image source. Thanks Loani for passing it on!

I don't know what is more deserving of the prize - their beautiful little hen or that awesome knitting!

Meet the peeps!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:05:00 +0000

The young'uns arrived this morning and a pair of little sweeties they are too! I forgot how small they are at this age so need to get some grower mash as the pellets are a bit big for them. They are great little foragers after living free range out on a large property at Mudgee. The girls are curious but not at all aggressive toward them which is a good sign but for now I have them separated just so they can settle in without too much stress.

So! Without further ado, here they are:

I'm tentatively calling the one at the back Blossom. M. thinks it's a bit twee but I think it suits her!

mmm...breaky

Being watched over by Boss Chook

I have a feeling the one of the left might be a little boy...guess we'll have to just wait and see!

Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:47:00 +0000

With poor ol' Pumpkin (RIP) gone, we've taken stock of the hen house and realised that our girls are getting on. Because early on in our chickening I read somewhere that they can live to 12 or 13, I just decided that that was how long our girls were going to live. Turns out I might have been a bit optimistic. As it stands, our girls are now aged as follows (in pecking order):

Fluffy - 5
Buffy - 5
Marjie - 5
Pippy - 4 1/2
Daisy - almost 5
Gum Nut - almost 2

In terms of egg laying, we aren't getting what we used to. So...oh dear this seems a bit crazy and also a bit sad so soon after Pumpkin (RIP)... tomorrow we are taking delivery of two new girls! They are 12 weeks old and a breed we've wanted for a long time but haven't had much luck with: Light Sussex. Here's what our girls will (hopefully) grow into it:

Image source: Collingwood Children's Farm

So there is a wee bit of excitement in the house today as we prepare for our new girls and start the silly name game which is always entertaining. Feel free to add your thoughts - obvious themes are anything that is white. So far we have come up with, and rejected:

Whitey
Porridge
Sago

As you can see, we have a long way to go!

RIP Pumpkin

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Our lovely girl Pumpkin fell off the perch last night - literally. I found her face down this morning in the straw. It's very strange - it doesn't look like her neck is broken and I can't see any harm that she's come to other than the obvious fact that she is dead. My poor girl, what happened? I wonder if I should take her to the vet to just check that she wasn't sick. She has been laying like a trooper, active and happy. No signs of lethargy like Violet had at the end. I've felt her crop and it isn't too full, doesn't seem compacted. Why would a perfectly healthy chicken just die? M. thinks she might have fallen down while asleep and hit her head on the way. It's possible, I guess. I know she had a good life but I'll miss my little friend. RIP Pumpkin. You were a good chicken and we loved you.

A few days old

Here she is, little poppet, the day I brought her home. I went to the produce store to get grain for the girls, and feeling rather clucky myself, came home with this little ball of fluff just sitting on my lap in the car! Serial broody Fluffy was in her fourth month of sitting on an empty nest so I thought I'd put her out of her misery. Despite all I'd read about putting chicks under hens at night so they accept them, I just strode out the back and presented her to Fluffy, whose response was to cluck excitedly, lift her breast and let the little one run under her and settle down. Here they are, very content together on their first day:

First day home

As the weeks went past, Fluffy showed herself to be a pretty good mum after the fiasco with Friday. It was a delight to watch them together.

Learning to preen

Finding her wings

Being the youngest, she got picked on a fair bit and was never very far from her Mum. When Fluffy started laying again she would stand on top of the layer box until she was done.

Sticking close to Mum

Of all the girls Pumpkin was the only one who ever got up on my lap which was strange because she was also really flighty at other times. Ever curious about what we were doing, she would fly up onto the garage window and come visit me while I was working.

Whachyadoin'?

It's hard to explain to people who dont have chickens what distinct personalities they have. Each one is different and you get used to their funny little ways. It will be strange not having her in the hen house.

Goodbye friend, we'll miss you. Thanks for being part of our lives and for giving us lots of lovely eggs and entertaining us.

Pumpkin (Nov 2008 - Jan 2012)

One last thing....Chookfest 2011-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:07:00 +0000

Link here: 2011 Chookfest - Slow Food Blue Mountains

There's a photo competition for best candid chook photo (might have to go through the archives to find one to put in) as well as most creative chook house (surely the Summer Palace is in with a running?) as well as colouring in comp for the kiddies and a tour of chook yards between Oct and Feb. Spread the word Mountain chook lovers and maybe we should organise a chooky blog meet in January? Waddayarekon?

The Broody Bunch

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:56:00 +0000

It's that time of year and the girls are at it again. Gone are the days when we tried to snap them out of it. It's just part of their nature and as we are not a production farm I don't see any harm in letting them just sit if that's what they want to do. And I get to have surreptitious cuddles. On the other hand I need to keep more of an eye on them because poor old Marjie just forgets to eat. Fluffy - and now Gum Nut - on the otherhand, are like elite athletes with their crops full of food and a determination that is a bit scary. The other morning I found a big fat knuckle bone under Fluffy's wing. I guess it was round so she thought it'd do. I have no idea where she dug it up!

Box 1: Marjie (right) sits on whatever eggs she can get hold of and Gum Nut (showing me there's nothing under her wing on the left) sits on her. It seems to work for them!

Box 2: No room for anyone else I'm afraid. I can hardly lift our big Fluff these days without putting my back out. She's a big beautiful chicken that one.

This might be my last post for a while so happy chickening and see you in the lead up to Christmas.

RIP King of the Bush

noreply@blogger.com (Jacqui) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 07:10:00 +0000

Today I had the very unhappy accident of hitting a Kookaburra while driving on the expressway to Sydney, near Penrith. At 110km per hour there is no hope for the poor thing. He was flying very low and as soon as I saw him it was too late. Or her. While I was waiting for the tow truck, all I could think of was how beautiful these special birds are. Of all the birds to hit - not that hitting any animal in a bloody car is good. I've made a donation to Wires but still - poor kookaburra.