Chooks by the Sea

Thought I'd do a real quick update on our activities.

Well, we just HAD to have chooks, didn't we? Actually, to be honest I'm at least as excited as Julia about the hens, although I tend to move a bit more deliberately into major projects like this. for example, I wanted them as safe as possible. So, we asked a really nice bloke up the road how much he'd charge to excavate the legal boundary location we'd designated for the coop - it was on a bit of a slope... well, didn't he go ahead and do it for free! What a legend!
I then built a base frame 2 sleepers high to bolt / screw the house onto. The inside of the frame is filled as well. Unfortunately, we had to pick up the chooks before we could finish painting... nevermind, chooks don't care.



By the way, they're battery hens... rescue chooks! Happiest chooks in SE QLD...


They are already starting to get all their feathers back, and one of them tonight (as I was putting them to bed) crouched down right in front of me, which I took to mean she wanted picking up, which I did and... well... bonded a bit. They may be scratching up pretty much everything except the corn and the pineapple plants - even that comfrey is looking worse for wear these days - but in my eyes they can do no wrong, because they are laying two eggs a day (so far) and are simply fascinating to watch!

Looks awesome and yes some very happy chooks.

how are they getting along now?

As it's wintertime (yeah right, Winter in SE QLD is a bit of a self-cancelling phrase) they aren't laying much, but they're happier than ever. I've had to sort-of fence them in a bit, as they were pooing everywhere and our yard was looking a bit like Dunkirk after a shelling but they still have heaps of scratching and running around room and so they're happy.

I have 4 chickens at the moment on a half acre - and I KNOW where they've been..... but they do like to scratch.

I am so glad your girls are happy, don't worry too much about the eggs, that'll pick up come the warmer months hopefully. I currently have 2 that are not laying, 1 due to being a new mama the other is older (I think) and it's a cold and wet winter here.

Pretty much the same here: they're not laying, and that's okay. It hasn't been a very cold winter here in SE QLD, but it's not a really big deal to me whether they lay or not... this is going to sound a bit weird, but what I'm really after is something they provide incessantly: poo. That's the real gold, as far as I'm concerned.

RobinsSea said:

what I'm really after is something they provide incessantly: poo

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Ha ha ha, that is so funny, it is hilarious.
It's the same reason we are keeping our chooks, I am the only one that can eat the eggs. Hubby can't as he gets some unpleasant side effects. I also don't mind if the laying of eggs peters out a bit.

My 2 black hens give me eggs for about a month and then they go broody, I tried breaking them of the broody but eventually just gave in and let them both sit on two eggs each. Of which I got 2 chicks, one from each. They were not their eggs though, they were the eggs/chicks from a hen and rooster I no longer have. So I'm really glad I gave in. Now I have 2 more chicks from one of the black hens and from the cockerel born in January this year.

We end up with more eggs than we know what to do with, so I use them to "bribe" the chap up the road whose got a bobcat to do a bit of grading and whatnot. Nothing like fresh-laid eggs! and he's keen to help, keeps offering

Must be great eggs, but then if you've only ever eaten store bought - then try home grown...... it sounds like you've made a friend!

I was told chicken T.V. was great but I didn't think about friendships that could be created/made from having chickens..... Priceless!!!!