It was time to move the chook dome.
The chickens had their initial rotation several months ago, before the beds were planted out. At the time, we were growing legume crops to improve the soil.
Now, for the first time, the hens will be moving onto finished beds – to eat the leftover vegetation, rotorvate the soil, and to weed, de-slug and fertilise the patch in readiness for the next round of planting. Bed number one was pretty much spent – at the back you can see lucerne, grown specifically for the chickens, as well as an old kale plant, a finished sunflower and a few straggly clumps of curly parsley.
The ladies couldn’t wait – they were clustered at the front of the dome, willing it to move forward!
Watching them on the new bed reminded me of the famous scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when the visitors are so overwhelmed by the chocolate room that they don’t know what to eat first!
Clever Queenie and Bertie immediately began spuddling for worms, Francesca went straight for the sunflower seeds, Harriet and Maggie attacked the lucerne and Rosemary..well, as she does, she ran around the coop like a mad thing trying to get a little bit of everything before anyone else did. As always, it’s such a joy to watch their individual personalities shine through, and to see them so happy in their new patch!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 