MAKE HAY

THIS heatwave means mulching is essential.

Last night I collected two bales of straw and this morning, one was put in the chook run.

After cleaning out the hutch, all the lovely old straw was placed in the garden and the feather riot were cackling with excitement with their new clean hay.

The second bale is on the hutch's corrugated iron roof so it is both out of harm's way from the gals and will act as a good insulator in this heat.

And languid the chooks are not!

The hot weather does not appear to be stopping them from dashing about eating unwary insects.

 

Although we are down to three eggs a day so two of them are holding out.

But in this weather, who can blame them?

New hen house

CLUCKINGHAM Palace II is nearly finished and the feather riot are thrilled with their new abode.

Moving house is nothing compared to moving garden and chickens, as any chook-keeper will tell you.

Firstly you have to create a fox-proof, safe environment for the gals. Then you need to move them at night when they are more docile. Note, carrying a box of sleepy chickens is a lot easier than dealing with recalcitrant, squawking hens in broad daylight.

Anyhow, Hilda, Gidget, Layne, Philly and Ledger survived the experience (far better than I) and have settled in beautifully, still laying all the way.

The old shed with green plastic before the transformation

into Cluckingham Palace 2 - to the right is the studio.

 

 My new house came with a north-facing yard and five sheds, one of which looked like it had been a greenhouse. Using a range of mostly recycled materials, I've converted it form a raggedy-looking shack into a clean and safe  hen run.

Here the shed has been transformed into Gidget's Chook Shack.

Steel sheeting from the carport roof has been used to create a windbreak and extra-secure skirting along the bottom of the wire walls and doors.

With help from a friend, I stripped off the heavy-duty plastic and replaced the walls with avian wire and cement sheeting. An old built-in wardrobe was cannibalised for the hutch and the doors from a wooden TV cabinet were also used.

 

On the shed roof i found an old wooden ladder, which was chopped down to size to allow the hens an extra roost.

 

All I have to do now is paint the cement sheeting on the next fine weekend and it's finished!

Down and dirty

DIRT baths when it's wet can be a challenge for chooks when it's wet and muddy.



 

Hilda and Gidget enjoying a relaxing dirt bath

 

There's an area under my back deck with gravel and limestone crush which the girls love to roll around in when it's pouring.

 

Not only do they get to keep the mites at bay, a dirt bath allows them to extend their wings, roll their feet into the air and enjoy a good stretch.

 

If your chook run is getting ab it muddy, toss down some shredded newspapers, some straw and then add a good pile of grit or fine gravel they can loll about on. Don't worry it will soon resemble a mess, chooks love a bit of chaos! 

 

This time of year you should also add some crushed fresh garlic to their water as a bit of a tonic.

 

Keep on adding as many fresh greens as you can to their food.

 

Plus a teaspoon of linseed to their pullets will give them a twinkle in their eye. As though they didn't already have one when looking at your broccoli seedlings. 



Chook house blues

KEEPING your chooks dry when it buckets down can be a challenge.

It's days like today when the heavens open, that I am glad I went for a hutch on stilts.

There's a good article on the Organic Gardener magazine website on this important chook architecture topic.

Cluckingham Palace sits about 35cm above the ground,

allowing for circulaiton when it's hot, somewhere shady to relax in summer and for

water to drain past inth the yard behind when it pours. 

 

It may be great weather for sucks, but hens hate having wet feet even more than we do.

 

By raising the hutch off the ground you'll avoid lots of problems. Just make sure it is rodent and fox proof.