Chickens

There is something so awesome about going to collect your own eggs, or going shopping and skipping the egg aisle with a smirk on your face! Thinking "I don't need eggs, I got hens, ha-ha".

To receive eggs is so rewarding and the best thing is you hardly need to do anything to get such a fantastic food.

I have always said that a hen could be anyone's pets, they don't need much attention as in patting and stroking, but they do like to hang around you and be in your company. They roam around the garden scratching up insects and chomping on bits of grass and herbs and YES they do like to rummage through your lovely prepared garden beds, that you just planted all your lovely new seedlings in, (my preventative to that is put thorn branches in the beds, until my plants are old enough to fend for themselves). They come when you call, they can be trained to do tricks. To top it off, their poop is perfect for compost. Full of rich Nitrogen. All you got to do is make sure they have feed, water and a sheltered spot, and depending how generous you feeling a little titbit here and there. Who would not want a chicken. I even had an indoor chicken, she lived inside with us, and use to follow me every where I went. 

I do a number of things, so that my eggs (and of course chickens) are strong and happy. 

Marigolds, I have tons of them and didn't know what to do with them (other than thinking they brighten up my vegetable garden and scare off insects) until I read Fresh Eggs Daily and what she does with her Marigolds. She had said that, dried marigolds fed to your chickens will make their yolk beautifully yellow and placed in there laying pen will help deter insects. They also aid in blood vessel growth and skin tissue repair, as well as being an anti-inflammatory. 

For me this was a lovely way to get the kids involved in helping/playing with the chickens and helping me pick tons of Marigolds. Which also gives the Marigolds a chance to carry on growing and not get yanked out.

The kids loved this activity!

I also picked some of my basil flowers and heads for drying for the laying pens, as a insect repellent.

They also get there regular handful of meal worms every other day and a tray of sprouts, barley or lentils.

I have always doubt that my broilers would actually contribute to the egg collection. But I suppose after continually hearing her fellow mates yak yak about laying their eggs, she just thought she had to join in. 

I caught her laying this egg! I have notice a few times the broilers going into the laying pen to lay an egg. So I say bravo Snow and White, and thank you for your contribution.

For more reading on Marigolds and chickens visit Fresh Eggs Daily

Chicken Feeding!

The Hen Feeding Frenzy!

Feeding Trough

We made this feeding trough, photo below, out of scraps around the farm, a gutter piece and some scrap wood, then glued and screwed it all together. Pretty simple really! The chickens love it, and so do the hundreds of weavers and sparrows we are now feeding.

Source: http://rachelprickett.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/how-to-chicken-feeder-from-pvc-pipe/

We feed our chickens laying mash or pellets with a mixture of crushed corn. Yummy, I would one day like to try making my own chicken food.

Mad rush for the food!

My chicken run is about 10X15M with a coop on the one side. They have free access to there run and coop all day, just after 1pm I open the gate to let them out to the rest of the farm and garden to help me find all those juicy bugs. In Summer I open it up a little later as the sun is up for longer. 

In one corner of the run, we throw all our scrap vegetables and throw-outs from the vegetable garden, which they scratch and forage through and make lovely compost.

I have also made these grids, to stop the chickens from scratching up the grass roots, so that they will have nibbling green grass all year round, especially in winter, as you can see. These have been a great help. Absolutely love them, going to make lots more soon!

Source: http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2012/02/07/grazing-frames-backyard-chickens/ 

Behind the coop we throw some of the left over hay from the horses for the chickens to scratch in, to offer a wriggly worm or a hiding beetle some refuge, for the chickens to find. They love it, I often find them scratching in it, underneath all the hay that is breaking down nicely is the best compost, smells just like the best soil you can find. This is a great way for breaking down your compost and feeding you chickens at the same time.

I grow lentils and barley sprouts, which is such a yummy treat for the chickens and just so simple to make for them, they come flying over with such excitement when they see me coming down to them. Have a look at sprouts for more information.

Barley Fodder, ready for animals.

Chickens feeding frenzy!

I also have meal worms, which I breed for the chickens and fish, for a yummy treat! This is still a work in progress, so far so good! Will keep you updated on how they go.

The beetles' that lay the eggs, which turn into 1000s of meal worms, which then turn into larve, which then turn into beetles, and so the circle continues.

This post links to:
Fresh Eggs Daily
Blissful and Domestic
A Peek Into My Paradise
Mumtopia
Ducks 'n a Row
Fabulous Farm Living

Indigenous Zulu Chicken

Zulu Chickens ~ 2010

Our Zulu chickens are beautifully coloured, but are very nervy chickens. They dont let you get close enough for a touch. They give us eggs, but not as much as we would prefer, as they are all over 2 years, when there production level gradually lowers. So if we get a egg a week, we are happy. 

Below is Speckles, one of our oldest hens, she is defiantly the bees knees in the flock, and is not shy to let any other hen know who's the boss with a firm peck. 

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Broiler Chickens

Arrival of the broilers ~ May 2013

Broilers - are chickens bred and raised specifically for meat production, hence the size of them.

We bought 4 broilers, that where really big and ready for eating. When we released the broilers into the coop, they could hardly walk, they literally bee lined it for the food, walking with a wiggle and wobble, they lay down right next to the tray and ate the entire day, we couldn't believe it. "Oh man, we-going-to -have-buy-a-lot-more-food". They couldn't climb up the ramp on there own so every evening we would have to pick them up and gently placed them into the coop. Now, having to remember to put the broilers into the coop every evening amongst many other chores needed around the farm, was becoming very taxing. So after alot of thought we decided to fill our freezers, we started with two, which where delicious and huge! Oh my word!

Slowly but surely the other two broilers noticed there where other interesting things to do, other than sitting and eating. They started to scratch around and eventually started to come out of the chicken run, when I open it up in the afternoon. Almost as if they were learning about being a chicken again.

The one day my 2,5yr son and I were sitting in the garden having one of our serious and meaningful conversations, when these two broilers came up and lay down next to us and listened in. We loved it, he was stroking and chatting away to them. And that's when we came up with the name "Snow" and "White", these chickens are no longer for the pot but are now part of the family. To this day, they are so tame and friendly.

On Firefly Farm we have a rule, once it has a name it's no longer food.

Snow and White dominating the feeding trough again.

The broilers and the layers are very chilled and relaxed, they just like being around us. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the slice of bread we feed them every afternoon. :) 

My 1yr old daughter loves stroking and feeding them, I really am impressed at how well they tolerate being handled. 

This post links to:

Adventures Of A DIY Mom

Laying Hens

The arrival of the Laying Hens ~ June 2013

Out here in the "sticks" (bush) it is always a bit of a challenge to get the out-of-the-ordinary things, that don't belong to the bush! So when I managed to get my hands on a few 1 year old laying hens, I was so excited, finally, we will be getting eggs everyday, YAY! Compared to getting a few eggs every so often from our regular Zulu chickens!

When they arrived they looked a little scruffy, but nothing a bit of love and care can't sort out.

Drinking out of the water can!

They are so friendly, as we come into the run, the layers race to follow us.

My 1 year old daughter has really taken to them.