Roosters continued

In the last post we ended up talking about roosters. This one is not much trouble. 

This is the closest that we have to a rooster in the garden

More Cuteness

This type of feeder is a great idea. When the hens stand on the lever it lifts the top, allowing the hens to eat but not feeding all the wild birds too. It also cuts down on waste as they can't kick through it looking for their favourite seeds.

More happy chooks living an idyllic life in New Zealand

Chooky Talk

Every day I walk up to the coop and feel relieved when I see four little feathered heads. Even though they've been safe with us, I still think about foxes, and keep an eye on the coop to make sure it's still in good condition and still fox proof.

                                                                 Well, it can't hurt!

Because the chickens sleep on their bedroom floor, I clean it out every morning because I want them to have clean conditions. It only takes a minute, then I scatter their seeds around. I tried them with sunflower seeds as the books say they are supposed to love it, but nobody told my chickens. They won't eat them.

I've found that they all like or dislike the same things. Once somebody discovers something nice they'll all decide that it's nice, or they'll all turn up their chooky beaks at it.

Simply cute

Don't you just love those cute animal photos that arrive in your inbox? My sister recently spent some time in New Zealand and took some gorgeous pics that I thought I'd share. They're not all chooky related, but they are all cute. There can never be too much cuteness in the world.

                                                                     
                                                                          roadblock

moving roadblock

a little helper

hmm, how did we get in?

                                                                        serenity

Smiles all round

How to make a chook happy ...

Feeling a little silly

We checked for Miss Milligan's egg mid morning but she hadn't laid one so we were thinking it was her day off, but when I peeked in the laying box later in the day, there it was, another perfect little egg.

That evening I began to feel a little silly that I was so excited about Miss Milligan's eggs. After all, she is a chicken and chickens do lay eggs, so really, all the fuss was about ... what?

Had I really emailed people about the egg? Had I really whooped in joy? Oops, yes, I had.
But then that night I was talking to a chook-loving friend, and she talked about 'grandmotherly feelings' toward your first egg.

So I figured, either I'm more normal than I think, or there are at least two loopy chicken lovers on the loose.

A blurry Miss Milligan on the move. Maybe to lay another egg!

Now she's got it

I looked around the chooks' garden this morning for an egg, but couldn't find one so I checked the laying box (just in case) and there it was, Miss Milligan's third egg! Now she's got the hang of it. She's a very clever chooky.

This egg collecting business will become part of my very happy, enjoyable routine.

                                                                    Triplets :)

Marvellous

I am such a twerp. I can't bring myself to eat the first egg. I keep looking at it and marvelling over how clever chickens are, especially Miss Milligan.

The second egg today was once again in the garden, very close to where she laid the first one. I found it about half past ten and it was still warm so I don't think it had been long out of the factory.

A couple of things I've learned to look for in a chicken that's about to lay are:

* Scratching in the nesting box for a few days prior to laying (but they won't necessarily use it if caught by surprise).
* Being extra hungry. In the last few days Miss Milligan started jumping onto my knee to be the first to the treat.
* The wattle and comb on her head are now fully grown. I think.

Yippee!

It has finally happened; we have our first egg thanks to the wonderful, fantastic, super clever Miss Milligan. Now all she needs is to figure out what the nesting box is for :)

                                           Miss Milligan is checking out this strange thing.

                                                                        Yeap, I did that!

                  In case you can't find the egg, it's in the middle of the photo 

(not the orange to the left).

Ready and Waiting

I'm ready for the eggs. Now all I need are the chickens to cooperate.

Strange Happenings in the Hen House

I went to the clothesline then thought I'd just pop up and visit the chickens to say hello. And while I was there I peeked into the nesting box (I mean, you never know, our girls have to lay an egg eventually), and all of the wood shavings had been pushed to one side until the bottom of the box was showing.

I can't tell you how excited I was. I started sorting through the bunched up litter, then I thought, What if a snake has done this? Do snakes do that? So I still sorted through it, albeit carefully, and there was no egg, but I'm certain we're getting closer.

Maybe that's why Miss Milligan's been singing loudly lately. She's getting closer to being the proud mother of her first egg.

            It doesn't matter how carefully you look at it, little chook. It's still not an egg!

The Waiting Game

When will we get an egg? I'm beginning to think our chickens don't know how to lay one.

I've been saving egg cartons ever since we decided to get chickens and they are on the pantry shelf, stacked to the ceiling.

Maybe I'm being too nice to the hens. Maybe I shouldn't have said that I love them for just being them and that any eggs they decided to give us would be a bonus. Maybe I should talk tough to them. "Now listen up, chickens..."

I think I'll go and try that.

             I have found that saw dust in the nesting boxes works better than straw as it's easier to clean out.

Almost An Egg

Miss Milligan has been extremely vocal lately.

I open the back door and I hear "Bwaaaark, bwaaaark!"

I hang out the washing and I hear, "Bwaaaark, bwaaaark!" 

I go to sleep and  think I can hear "Bwaaaark, bwaaaark!"

While my father and I were shopping I became convinced that Miss Milligan had laid an egg. I was so sure of it that I think I convinced Dad too. In fact, Dad said he wasn't going to answer the phone next time it rang because he thought it would be me yelling, "I've got an egg!"

                                                     That's not an egg, it's an orange


But although I looked high and low all around the coop and garden I couldn't find an egg...but I'm certain we're getting closer.

Chicken Hints

This is what I've learned so far from keeping hens:

1. When building your coop, think like a fox and look high and low for ways they could enter.

2. Hold your hens occasionally and check them over for problems.

3. Some things are poisonous to hens, including potato, tomato leaves, rhubarb, avocado and chocolate (so you can enjoy that by yourself!). Peas and beans should be cooked first. *Please Note: this is not an extensive list and there are many more things that you should not feed your hens or let them reach through the wire from inside their garden.

4. Hens need to be able to escape to somewhere cool in the heat of the day. Ours like to get under the leaves of the bushes in their garden. They also need somewhere to shelter from the rain. Mine don't mind a few spits of rain, but if it's too heavy they will seek shelter.

5. Make sure they have a perch in their bedroom that they can perch on at night (even if they're like mine and chose not to use it). It's a personal chooky choice.

6. Be prepared to name them and enjoy their antics and different personalities.

7. Hens are wonderful little animals that give us eggs and manure and entertainment and don't ask for much in return.

8. Remember that for every chook we have in our backyard, that's one more little lady that we know has a good home and a good life.

                                                       A happy hen enjoying her life

Wait...Not the Compost Bin!

There's another step in our household now between the kitchen and the compost bins...the chickens. They're scrap mad.

                                                                  Hold the compost bin!

Len the Hen's Adventure

Our son left the door to the hens' garden open and he'd also left a trail of treats on his way in, so Len the Hen - ever the opportunist - followed the trail of treats and ended up outside her garden. I don't think she realised for a while as when a chicken has her head down eating, she doesn't appear to notice much else that's happening.

Finally though, she realised something was wrong: namely that there was a wire fence between where she was and where she wanted to be. She didn't join the dots with the open gate a few steps away so we thought we'd better help her figure out how to join her friends. Her friends, by the way, were being very supportive by huddling in the middle of their garden with stretched up necks watching keenly.

Our son picked Len the Hen up and of course I couldn't resist a pat and a chat which she didn't seem to mind too much, but when we put her down, she ran squawking to her friends. What's the bet she was saying, "Guess what happened to me!"

                                              Our cat, Missy likes to keep an eye on the hens.

And They're Out

Finally the two weeks were up and we were able to let the chickens out for the first time. We invited family and friends over to watch the hens leave their coop for the first time, and it didn't take them long to want to investigate and see what was outside the door.

                           

                                      First comes Len the Hen to have a sticky beak...

Now Len the Hen's gone left, Daisy May's gone right, Miss Milligan is still plucking up the courage to step over the threshold, and Penny is a little confused! 

It's a Lie

While wandering around a nursery with a friend I happened to see this sign.

I bought it, even though it's not true.

Firstly, we don't live on a farm, secondly, our hens are around the corner to the left, not to the right, and thirdly we don't have any fresh eggs. (Well, not yet, anyway but I'm sure the girls are working on it!)

But isn't it a fantastic sign?

Settling In

The lady at the hatchery told us to keep the chickens in the coop for two weeks to let them get used to their new surroundings.

It was strange to see four little heads bobbing round in there, but they seemed to settle down quickly and it was relaxing to watch them start to act more secure and settled.

                                        Miss Milligan is still not too sure about this new place...

I'd expected the chickens to automatically roost on the perch, but ours didn't, they spent the night crowed around the pop hole. So DS and I went up every night after dark (risking walking into cobwebs!) to lift them onto the perch.

We discovered that once chickens are holding onto a perch, it's surprisingly hard to shift them, although now I'm thinking about it, if they're perching in a tree in the wild then they'd need to hang on tight on a windy night.

Daisy May was the hardest to get onto the perch and we'd occasionally accidentally bump one of the other chickens while we were trying and they'd wobble but wouldn't fall off. After all, they do have lovely strong toes to grip with.

After about three weeks of going up to the coop every night and putting sleepy chickens on the perch we gave up. If they wanted to sleep crowded around the pop hole, who were we to argue? They obviously knew more about where they wanted to sleep than we did. A friend told me that you need to put younger chickens on the perch or they'll huddle together and suffocate each other, but ours were old enough to not do that.

Happy dreams, girls.

Thank You

September 29 is Police Remembrance Day.

It’s a day where we remember the officers who have lost their lives while on duty or through other circumstances.

It’s also a day to give a smile and say thanks to the officers who are on the beat today.

                                                   Where would we be without them.