Lord Herbert wrote on May 15^th, 2017 at 1:08pm:


Wow! Larvae porn. Is there no end to Herr Bert?

Mortdooley wrote on May 19^th, 2017 at 1:31pm:


The trick is to let the little tub of mealworms sit outside the fridge for awhile until they warm up and start to wriggle around a bit.

I have only two hens - my chosen limit - and one of them started making that clucking sound as soon as I tossed one of these wrigglies in front of it. The clucking sound is the chicken version of saying "You phuckin' little beauty, mate!"

They were ecstatic as I tossed a few more on the ground.

Lord Herbert wrote on May 19^th, 2017 at 1:39pm:


Ha ha!

Lord Herbert wrote on May 19^th, 2017 at 8:27pm:


That's interesting Herbie. If I ever feel the urge to fish, I'll give it a go. 

Lord Herbert wrote on May 15^th, 2017 at 1:08pm:


Maggots, lawn grubs and earthworms are tasty treats for chooks and they don't cost anything. Chooks don't care what worms they eat as long as they're plump, juicy and wriggle a bit.

I've had a couple of pet roosters in my lifetime and the last one I had - not so long ago, loved earthworms and lawn grubs. He would follow me around the garden clucking excitedly as I dug them up. He was joined a while later by a young bush turkey who fell in love with him so I had them both on my heels every time I walked outside.

The lawn grubs are a favourite though. You only have to scratch the surface of your lawn a bit and you'll find one.

Now you've made me feel even more guilty than before ...

But! I would never feel guilty about feeding any number of Curl Grubs to my two ladies. These little root-eaters have killed just about every flowering bush and small trees I ever planted over the past 26 years, costing me all sorts of grief as well as a small fortune.

I can confidently say there are hardly any worms in my front and back yards. For a few months I had three hens wandering the whole property (front and back) without any restraint on their movements to the effect that they not only demolished all the worms, but they pecked the guts out of every snail they could find.

It was only when they began to destroy the grass that I thought it time to confine them to a chicken run against the back fence. If you want to render any part of your property totally barren of any living thing, then put a couple of chickens there for a few days. The grass will be gone, the smallest wind-blown seeds will be gobbled up, insects too small for the human eye to see will be pecked out of the scratched earth, the ground will be rendered sterile and devoid of anything even remotely organic.

Jovial Monk wrote on May 20^th, 2017 at 9:57am:


I did think of that, but ... these feathered ladies aren't tame, and catching them would be almost impossible.

It's the grass seeds they peck up by the score that is the worry. No seeds - soon no grass.

Twice a day they have a meal composed of ...

boiled rice
boiled spaghetti
Poultry Mix
chopped cabbage
Uncle Toby's oats
A teaspoon of tinned cat mince.
A couple of animated mealworms.

A then at other times a couple of dampened slices of 'Raisin Toast' bread, and the occasional handful of Poultry Mix only.

Oh yes ... and they love a handful of plain grass that I cut into short pieces.

Lord Herbert wrote on May 20^th, 2017 at 10:26am:


You go to a lot of trouble for them Herbert. The only thing I fed the rooster was a handful of corn daily. He scratched around eating bugs, but didn't cause any noticeable damage in my jungle garden. The bush turkey did worse. He made a huge mound in the middle of the garden. Everything within a 3 metre radius was dragged into it.

Monk is right though. If you let the chooks out in the late afternoon - as soon as it starts to get dark they go back to their usual roost automatically.

mantra wrote on May 20^th, 2017 at 12:36pm:


They hate corn.

I've grated cooked corn off the cob - they're not interested. I've tossed them half-eaten corn on the cob ~ they're not interested.

I've given them a 'Poultry Mix' which includes molasses ~ they're not interested.

Trust me : there are no worms or bugs of any kind still to be found in their extensive chook run. Why doesn't anybody believe me? There's not even a single blade of grass anymore.

Incidentally, Mantra, some councils ban roosters as a noise pest to the neighbours.

You must be living out there in Woop Woop if you've got bush turkeys coming in for a meal at your place.


I miss Daisy. She used to sit on my knee and talk to me.
   

Couple of precautions on home “grown” eggs.

New laid eggs have a “bloom” on them (eggs picked like an hour after leaving the chooks bum feel a bit wet, that is the bloom) that protects the contents.

Often, a backyard egg has a bit of chook poo on it. Do not wash it off! That removes the bloom. Use a green scrubby carefully to remove bits of poo, soil etc.

Do NOT crack a backyard egg by hitting it with a knife or on a sharp corner, pan edge etc—this will carry any chook poo etc on the shell into the yolk or white. Backyard eggs should be cracked on a flat surface.

All this is easy enough and ALL eggs should be cracked this way.

Backyard eggs are SO much better and fresher than even expensive eggs from fancy “gourmet” outlets.

Put your eggs pointy side down in the egg carton, will keep the yolks in the centre of the egg. Write the date on the bum of the egg in soft pencil. Eggs are best at 3 days, don’t eat them earlier than that.

Thanks for that, Jovial ~ some good information there.

But!

I very rarely eat eggs, and after trying my hens' eggs they didn't taste the same as those at the supermarket, and so I felt a certain revulsion towards them. My neighbours love them, but no more for me, thanks.

Same with bananas. Love them but always feel unwell after eating them. Same with BBQ'd chicken.

Jovial Monk wrote on May 20^th, 2017 at 8:33pm:


It also felt like cannibalism to me. These two hens are pets with plenty of personality, with Henrietta capable of a surprising range of vocalisations which she uses to express all sorts of emotions ranging from disappointment, to pleading with me, to being ecstatic with what she's just discovered on the ground (a mealworm tossed there by me), and much MUCH more.

One thing I've discovered is that happy chickens hardly make any sounds at all when they're just poking around and feeling contented and happy with the world. Contrast this to the bedlam of noise that fills the warehouses where batch hens are confined to small cages where they lay their eggs.

That is weeks fresher than the crap supermarkets sell!

Those eggs have not been fertilised!

Hmmmmm

miketrees wrote on May 21^st, 2017 at 2:31pm:



I'm hoping to rationalise this all down to something simple like giving them nothing but corn like Mantra did.

One of the problems has been that I have a zillion pigeons up in the trees in my backyard who rapidly gobble up any seeds I give the hens, and so I've been opting to feed them on things the pigeons aren't interested in.

Those pigeons—and other grain–eating bird species—could bring disease to your two girls, ’Erbert.

miketrees wrote on May 21^st, 2017 at 5:23pm:


I'm thinking of enclosing the whole chicken run in cheap netting, but the area to be covered is quite extensive.

Jovial Monk wrote on May 21^st, 2017 at 6:20pm:


That's what I'm thinking.

I once asked a fellow around the corner where I could buy an air-rifle .. he didn't know.

With Indian Mynas the advice used to be that you trap a few of them ... put them in a bag ... and then place the bag over your car's exhaust pipe until the monoxide kills them.

What I need is a blunderbuss.