“Pencilled chickens”



(Hamburg breed.)

I’ve always wanted chooks but hubby said not to bother with the hassle and just buy the eggs from the supermarket instead.
What a wowser!
So I do the next best thing... I buy free range eggs from people with chooks!

Any problems with keeping chooks in Tassie? I know some councils in NSW are very anal when it comes to people wanting to keep chooks in a suburban setting.

Thought you sold your block.

4000sqm pretty decent size, you could easily be self supporting  for food on a block that size. You could have a huge chook run, even a sheep or a goat or 2.

Sophia wrote on Apr 10^th, 2021 at 5:17pm:




The flavor of the eggs comes from the sort
of food you feed the chooks.
If it's cheap rubbish food - you'll get cheap rubbish eggs.

Jovial Monk wrote on Apr 10^th, 2021 at 8:49pm:



Do you know anything about the correct food to give chooks?

It's not cheap chicken feed -
if you want healthy chooks
and good strong egg shells and tasty eggs.

Gordon wrote on Apr 10^th, 2021 at 8:57pm:



I don't think knows anywhere near as much as he tries to make out.

Charming.

Buc buc Squawk!

https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-should-i-feed-my-backyard-hens/


Feeding your hens (or chickens), a complete and balanced diet is essential to making sure they stay happy and healthy. Layer hens are omnivores so can eat a wide variety of different foods.

A good quality commercial poultry feed should be the main component of your hens’ diet to make sure they get all the nutrients they need. These feeds can come in pellet, mash or crumbed forms and are made up of a mix of grains (corn, oats, soybeans), grit (ground oyster shell or limestone) and vitamins (calcium). Feed can be provided in a feed dispenser or container, and other seeds and grains (such as wheat and corn) could also be scattered in the environment to supplement their diet and encourage natural foraging behaviour.

In addition to a good quality poultry feed, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables can also be given daily. Examples of raw fruits and vegetables that can be fed include: vegetable peels, bananas, apple, berries, carrot, bok choy, silver beet, spinach, cabbage or broccoli. As a treat your hens can also have some cooked food such as rice, pasta, beans, or bread in small amounts

You're a thin skin Monk, deleting my post.

Funny how it's in a thread about CHICKENS.

I get the feeling Monk doesnt like you Gordon.

Gordon is a grub.

Jovial Monk wrote on Apr 10^th, 2021 at 9:47pm:


Nah, I just stir you and you're too fragile to take it. Pain meds? Grog?
You're a stalking doxxer, that's actually grubby.

Monk - aren't you going a bit far for a man
of your age suffering infirmity?

You want to make a gigantic move to Tassy -
a cold and unforgiving wilderness.
You want: a greyhound, chooks and now a bee hive.

This is not adding up.
I suggest you talk to your doctor.

Hey Bobby, you are thin,  single and neat. Its Saturday night, you should be out on a date, not bear hunting.

Back to chooks/chickens....Went to see a friend whose kitchen/dining is very country themed and chook images galore!
Her kitchen is reminiscent of the cream coloured 1950s.
Check out this most unusual kettle she has! It’s amazing!

Dad had a 'brilliant idea of buying a chicken and a rooster to roam the yard. This was back in the day when I was getting into my teens. The first thing 3 in the morning, the rooster lets off its crow. Dad put up with this for a couple of days before deciding to put the rooster under a bin to muffle it's crow. After some time, they just had to go. I was sick of the crowing and I saw no reason why Dad would embarrass the family making the yard into a farm.

Sophia wrote on Apr 10^th, 2021 at 11:01pm:


HAHAHA!

I don’t have any chicken–themed crockery, Lols (apart from two egg coddlers) but I did buy material  with chickens painted on it (or dyed on, whatever.) Make nice curtains for my kitchen window once I have a kitchen. White fabric, colorful chooks on window looking onto backyard where my chooks will be, nice.

Some interesting facts about chickens:

1. They poop mostly at night while they are sleeping on a roost

2. Their poop is black but has a while cap. The black is poop and the white is the urine.

3. Removing the poop weekly or daily will inevitably leave some poop for insects to eat but not enough of those insects to attract their predators. Best way is to cover the poop with straw, that way there is a balance of poop loving insects and their predators.

4. When a hen lays an egg it puts a “bloom” on the egg that will prevent bacteria gaining access to the inside of the egg.

5. Washing an egg removes that bloom: scrape the poop off if there happens to be some on an egg. (if you are going to boil the egg right there and then you can of course wash it and that is what I would do.)

6. Because of 5. to break open an egg crack on a straight surface, do NOT use a knife which can carry any poo on the shell to the inside of the egg.

7. Regardless of 5. and 6. Do keep some chooks (at least two) because FRESH! eggs from chooks that can roam some of your backyard are incredibly delicious!

8. Chickens have powerful claws that they use to dig through soil in the search for insects to eat. Terriers love to chase and kill chickens. Make a secure coop and run!

9. Make sure to keep a patch of dry soil: chickens take dustbaths to rid themselves of lice and mites etc.

10. If you lose a chook, eh, $15 at a fodder store.

11. Chickens need a secure coop and run. The coop needs to have a roost made of about 5cm diameter wood that is free of splinters and rounded so the chickens can lock the claws around it.

12. You need egg boxes where the birds can sit and lay their eggs.

13. You need to ensure eggs are collected at least daily because if the chickens realise how tasty their own eggs are they will peck them open and eat them. A golfball left in the nesting boxes discourages that behavior.