Debra of Bagni di Lucca and Beyond asked me recently how our chickens were travelling…
All six of our lovely ladies are very well – they’ve had two bed rotations since the previous post and are really enjoying their new position, which offers more shade than the previous spots. Since the heatwave a month or so ago, they’ve been laying an average of five eggs a day, although today they delighted us with a full complement of six before lunchtime! I rewarded them with leftover roast pork (free range of course, nothing but the best for our hardworking girls).
As a point of interest – the large egg at the front left was laid by Queenie, and the little dark speckled one to the right of it by Francesca. Queenie continues to dominate the others, and always has first dibs at the higher protein food that goes into the enclosure, be it meat scraps or a wandering lizard. Frannie on the other hand is the baby of the flock, and her delicate eggs reflect both her size and darker colouring.
I took the following video while we were making pickles – some of Di’s cucumbers were very large, so I removed the seeds prior to processing. The chooks adore them, and I adore not having to throw them out!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Thank you!! I love your chooks, they look so healthy and happy. I often see chooks here in back yards and the other day I saw a happy group pecking away on a traffic island on a fairly busy road, oblivious to the traffic sailing past. I hope their mother was keeping an eye on them. I can’t imagine them having much traffic nous.
Deb, glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the prompt.. :)
I am so happy I came across your blog. I do enjoy it so much. Take care of those “chicas”.
Norma, I’m so happy you’re visiting too, thank you! We’re very attached to our six lovely ladies..
They are so clever, pulling the seeds over to the side so they can keep them all to themselves!
Love the contented clucking- it is a most comforting sound.
Oh, there’s always a scramble when it comes to something they like to eat. Lecture as I might, I still can’t guilt them into sharing nicely.. ;-)
All your lovely treats (roast pork and specially grown plants) certainly pays off in healthy looking chooks and consistent egg laying. Ours are not so consistent which reflects the mixed bag of care/neglect they get from us. In the heat wave I let them out to wander around the garden and find their own shade. They were remarkably good for about a week and a half, didn’t go anywhere near my veggie garden. And then one day they just demolished my whole veggie garden – ate all the leafy greens down to the very last stem. Left most of the weeds alone though (thanks!). So back into their chook run they went. There is only so much freedom they can handle before they start getting really naughty. Quite a bit like kids really!
Our six have a very established pecking order now, which actually means that surprisingly little pecking goes on! And they love their movable coop so much that when one does get out, she spends all her time desperately trying to get back in! :)
I love the red chookies too, we have this breed out at the farm (you can tell how much I know about chooks can’t you, as I have no idea of their breed name), but red feathered chookies are so much cooler than their white or black cousins. Glad to hear they’re doing great, they certainly look happy – an average of 5 a day would be great. You’ve got a great life there Celia :)
Anna, our red chookies are ISA browns, a hybrid actually designed to be a layer hen. They’re a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a Rhode Island White. They lay LOTS of eggs, don’t get broody, and have a very friendly disposition – the downside is they don’t live very long compared to other breeds. I think our job is to make sure they are completely happy for as long we they’re with us!
I am so happy to have chooks again! I know it sounds silly, what with all the other benefits of chooks, but I think the thing I actually missed most in my chookless season was being able to share their enthusiasm for all sorts of things that would otherwise be waste. It’s such a joy to give them some cucumber seeds! (Or snails, or fruit fly infested fruit, or mouldy beans).
…or leftover brioche, or that little bit of salmon leftover from dinner, or lettuces that have gone bitter because they’ve been left too long.. :)
Linda, agree completely, it’s so exciting when I find something they like to eat! And comical when they turn their beaks up at other things… ;-)
Serious question: are rats a problem?
Serious answer: no. Which I’m somewhat surprised about, as I’d always heard that chickens meant we’d have rats, but we haven’t seen one anywhere near the coop. And rats are a problem in our area – the neighbours told us recently that they’ve been all over their compost heap. But I think the combination of constantly moving the coop every month, coupled with our rule of never feeding them meat products or anything cooked after about 3pm (so that we don’t end up with it sitting in the coop all night if they don’t finish it) has been paying off.
I’d be curious though – Linda, if you’re reading this, did you ever have a problem with rats when you had your multiple chook domes? Thanks…
I loved hearing the little noises they make, I got a bit sniffy even! My favourite chookie was a black bantam. It had all the colours of an oil slick on the road. Beautiful! Her eggs were tiny in comparison.
Becca, she sounds gorgeous! Oh, I do hope you get to keep chooks again one day!
It’s easy to see why your chickens so eagerly reciprocate. You give them so much love and look after them so well.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, they’re certainly well loved, but Pete’s standing over my shoulder now saying that I should point out that we try not to spoil them..hahaha
Chooks are the only thing I miss not having being in an apartment. I’d love to have fresh eggs every day like you. What lovely ladies you have!
Thanks Claire – they are indeed lovely ladies! :)
I have chicken-rearing fantasies….but I am scared off the rats here in the Middle East although many locals keep a few and I often see a hen or a cockeral pecking at a grass verge when walking my dogs around the very urban streets of Dubai. I’ll just have to visit this video everytime the yearning gets strong – virtual chooks will have to do for now!
I’d avoided chooks for years because of rat fears, but after nearly a year, I’m happy to report that we’ve never seen one near the coop. I asked Pete about this, and he said rats tend to be very suspicious animals, so they’re wary of anything new, and because the coop keeps moving, they leave it alone. That’s the theory at least, I hope it holds..
As I scooped out the butternut squash last night for roastie veggies and couscous I thought – now if I had chickens they would love the seeds from the middle of this. One day maybe we’ll have chickens, until then I’ll enjoy yours – I love reading about them and seeing your videos – such happy beings in these troubled times xx
Joanna, sometimes I watch them and think the only thing on their minds that day is “now what shall I eat next?” :)
Apart from fish, we’ve never had pets before, and these really do feel like pets, even though they’re working hard for us as well!
PS. I wouldn’t have chooks if I was really concerned about foxes, so I can understand your hesitation!
I miss my chooks… yours do look happy!
Nothing I love more than seeing happy chooks :) Yours are beautiful!
How does one tell if a chook is cheerful?
♺ All words used in this comment may be recycled. ♺
Wonderful to see the cucumber seeds being devoured so enthuastically!!! Even better that it all comes back to you in delicious eggs.
And the names of the other four are? You made me laugh and you reminded me of the time when we had 16 guinea pigs – all named!
I was curious to see you say the Isa Brown doesn’t live very long. We have three Isa Browns and they are about seven years old and still laying profusely. Just how long is not very long?
We have rats. Loads of them. We miss our little Jack Russell terribly. She was the best rat catcher. Given the lack of dog around here and the recent rains, the rat population has escalated. And they’re big too. Strangely enough, the chickens don’t seem too bothered by them. But we are! An action plan is needed and soon.
I love the shape of them. They are like fat little triangle pillow with legs. So happy!
Vix and Mrs Bok, thank you – that’s especially rewarding coming from people who’ve had and love their chooks as much as we do! :)
Cosmo, one is required to anthropomorphise. :)
Diana, it’s so nice not to have to waste them, thank you! I’m sure your girls would love them too if you have excess – they particularly love a cucumber split down the middle, so they can peck at it for ages.. :)
Mariana, I’m so happy to hear about your ISA browns longevity!! We were told they only live 2 – 5 years, so tales of them living much longer are just inspiring! Are your girls still all feathered up and healthy? Our chooks are (in pecking order, which has recently changed): Queenie, Bertha, Harriet, Maggie, Francesca, Rosemary. I profiled them very early on here, and they also have their own dedicated (but infrequently updated) blog here. :)
Maz, they are like fat little pillows – ones that self-fluff! ;-)
Hmm rats. I have heard many horrible tales of rats nibbling chooks legs at night. I think the key to avoiding that is realising that chooks can fly and rats can’t. They can run up vertical surfaces, but if the roost is suspended and the chooks have to fly up to it, even just a little flap, they’ll be safe. It’s also important not to over-feed chooks. Fat chooks don’t lay well, quite apart from being unhealthy – and they have no concept of weight watching! I feed mine everything – our kitchen “chook bucket” gets everything compostible in it, even coffee grounds, tea leaves, bones, cooking oil – but they scratch through it so thoroughly, a rat would be very hungry trying to live off their left-overs. I also give them all the garden compostibles – weeds, prunings, damaged fruit, spent plants, but only a very small amount of seed each morning.
Linda, thank you – it’s an interesting point you make about them flying, I actually think it goes a long way to keeping them healthy. Our ISA browns aren’t the world’s best flyers, so we built a swing for them – now they fly onto the swing and then up to the roost. The interesting thing is that since we’ve added the swing, they now spend lots of time on it and in the roost, even during the day, flying up and down for sport. I’m sure it’s good for them, compared to just wandering around on the ground all day (burns a lot of calories too, flying).
Yes Celia, they certainly can live for several years. One of the Isa’s is going strong, well feathered and laying regularly. She hasn’t let up at all. The other Isa Brown took quite a while to malt this last season and her laying has slowed down. But she still delivers a couple of eggs a week. Our other chookie is just lovely. She is an Australorp, black chookie, which is a cross between a layer and a meat variety. We love her personality – she was very kind to the younger three chicks we introduced to the pen a couple of years ago. She even protected them from the Isa’s who were very keen on letting the little ones know their place. They pecked them so often that we ended up putting them in the old bird house. I was overseas at the time when they weren’t locked up. We have foxes up here and I imagine that’s why they disappeared.
Our chooks are not at all bothered by the rats; infact it wouldn’t surprise me if they did the attacking. We’ve found the odd dead rat from time to time. We’ve even had a huge python in the pen for about two years. He’s since moved on. He was wonderful in controlling the rats as well. Once again; the chooks were fine and they lived with the python in harmony. I could go on and on with my chook tales. I forgot to mention, we live on 1 1/2 acres and they roam like crazy. They have the best free range life imaginable. Oooh just one more. When I mow with the push lawnmower, they run inbetween me and the mower and catch lizards, bugs and allsorts that come racing out of the grass to escape the path of the mower. Poor things. Its a double whammy – cause if the mower doesn’t get them, the chooks do. I could write a book!
PS: completely off the chook topic. I wanted to ask you if your pectin stock is very liquid. I made some with the apples I recently acquired; did the metho spirit test; nice clot; put the stock in jars. This morning it is very liquidy. Is that correct? For some reason I thought it would be firmer or slightly jelled. Hope I’m wrong. Thank you.
Mariana, first off the pectin stock sounds perfect – in the jar it has the consistency of apple juice. If you were to just heat up the pectin stock and add lemon juice and sugar, you’d end up with apple jelly. The fact it sets well with the metho test means that when you add it to fruit, it will set, although we usually find homemade pectin set jams to be softer than the ones with commercial pectin (which is our preference). When Pete makes jams, he usually adds the liquid pectin right from the outset with the fruit – unlike powdered pectin, you can boil the homemade stuff for quite a long time.
Your chooks sound grand, and very tough – I wouldn’t like to mess with them! I think I’d struggle with losing the odd one to a fox though – lucky your python leaves them alone!
Such happy chooks! A couple of ours have started to lose feathers around their necks due to moulting and have slowed off with their eggs slightly. It’s always such fun to watch them interact with each other..enjoy your chooky moments, Celia! :)
Thanks Chris, we’ll have to watch for that, they haven’t started moulting yet. Is it seasonal?
That first photo of your girls is wonderful. I always vowed never to have them as a kid, because I was sick of being ‘chookgirl’ and it being my job to look after them every day. Mr C and I can’t wait to have some down the track now though.
There is a wonderful kids book called Praise the Egg. Your boys would be too old for it, and mine too young still. Lovely, lovely book though. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Praise-Egg-M-Gage/dp/020714592X
Brydie, I so love that photo – love how they peer down at us like mad chickens whenever we’re at the coop. They really are too funny sometimes. I can’t wait until you get your own – your boys would love them! We run a defacto petting chicken zoo for the toddlers in the neighbourhood at the moment.. ;-)
Thanks for the book recco, I’ll check it out! xx
Thank you so much for replying about the pectin stock. I feel better now. I actually feel pleased. Thanks again.
You should feel pleased Mariana – sounds like your pectin stock is perfect.. :)
Happy girls in these pictures.
we have one who is around 6 – she still lays sometimes, but we are supporting her in idleness as we are too wimpy to despatch one of the girls!!!
Haven’t tried roast pork – our girls big excitement comes from prawn heads – they FIGHT each other for the thrill of prawn bits.
I was thinking of your chooks this weekend. The neighbour’s chooks were making so much noise on Saturday that I had to go down and have to chat to them. One of them actually flies out of the coop and lays an egg on the farmer’s doorstep in the morning!
Hehe it somehow seems fitting that a chicken named Queenie would get first dibs. I guess she’s just living up to her name! Is she intimidated by Rosemary’s death stare at all?
Peter, thank you – it always makes me happy if other people can see that as well. Reassures me we’re doing the right thing by them!
Anne, prawn heads! I never thought of that. Now that is something I’d be worried about attracting rats, although it sounds like there’s nothing leftover by the time the chooks are done.. :)
Anna, I’d be curious to hear how your chat went – we only have six girls, and they can get noisy sometimes. Not allowed to have roosters in suburbia, and that’s not a bad thing.. :)
Lorraine, the other way around, she was named Queenie because she was dominant! And no, no-one is intimidated by Rosemary – she’s a nutter. :)