Update, at last!

OK so I have been a little absent recently. Seems to be a common apology, but I do mean it. I have loved writing this, so would hate for anyone (if I am vain enough to presume anyone is reading this) to lose interest. As I have loved sharing our experiences... no matter how minor, inexperienced or some times graphic, but this is the reality.

I shouldn't make excuses, however I have been away for work for a few days. So Matt was left looking after everything solo.  So I guess you would think I would have little to report, but you would be wrong.

We are yet again a few more birds down. Since we stated around Christmas we wanted to down size our flock, the numbers have been tumbling! Something we need to rectify.

Unfortunately we had to have our resident drake, Patta-duck put down on 7^th; after he had been 'not himself' for a few days. It sounds strange to complain a duck was waddling, but he was not standing up right, but shuffling. He was eating and drinking, as I was making sure he did (and his appetite was still good) so we made a last ditch attempt to save our pet drake. Unfortunately he was not well at all. He had definitely lost weight, as well as being lethargic and not walking properly. The vet also said he was dehydrated and had limited strength in his lower limbs and even his tail. She believed it was a bacterial toxic poisoning; probably something he had ate, as ducks are natural foragers, and with the wet weather we have had he could easily had found something that had begun to rot. So Pat, being a very sick duck didn't come back home. I stayed with him, as I didn't want him to be alone. Might sound strange from someone who raises birds as livestock, however Pat was very much a pet, and could win anyone over with his personality.

Whilst I was away, our remaining hybrid hen; who had earned herself a reprieve, by laying whenever the freezer threat was spoken. Became dog food whilst I was away... and Ffion was very pleased with herself. An expression I witnessed again yesterday, after I went out for an early morning run. Only this time it was one of our your pullets, who we have been waiting to start laying. So for future reference they will be staying in bed, if I head out early and not helping herself to breakfast.

On the subject or our young pullets, we are still waiting for them to begin lay... Only the one (of the two remaining) Old English Game cross has laid, and had done so for a few weeks, prior to the last batch of rain.  Though they are a few weeks older than the others. Our Rhode Island Red crosses and Light Sussex and Sussex cross should have all begun by now, as they are over 6 months old. So I am hopeful it has just been the heat and rain that has postponed their starting. As we have had to buy eggs for the first time in years- free range, of course. I know patience is key, but I would be grateful if anyone had any suggestions.

In more happy poultry news, our Indian game and OEG x Indian game chicks are doing really well. And are in that awkward, not quite cute stage now, where they are developing their adult feathers... I think it safe to say the older 3 are all roosters! And Lucky-Lu (Lucy) is doing really well. She responds to us, and comes (generally) when called. As, as only surviving Light Sussex from the chicks hatched over Christmas, where the others surcome to the wet. She battled on and survived! So is still housed in the shed, claiming the one side of the brooder box as her own. Something that will have to change once the turkeys hatch I guess. But we take her out and place her in the run every day, and bring her in at night, or poor weather.  She actually looks for us in the evenings and happily sits on our hand or shoulder... although this has resulted in a few clothes changes! She even managed to aim for the Madog's head one evening too.

This evening I planted out a few herbs, zucchinis and cucumbers to fast track my garden. As, as you may have noticed we have been a little busy and I am so far behind with starting this year's garden! I also sown my first batch of seeds... so fingers crossed for a good start. I do not tend to have a great history with propagating from seeds. I think I get too enthusiastic and plant them out too early. Ironically one of my best propagation strategies has been separating off section of the pig pen. So if I collect seeds; from garden or claimed from veg from the grocers, I generally feed some to the pigs, particularly if I am planning on allowing part of the pen some recovery time. As they appear to have a higher success rate than I do!  -

So gardening tip, should you wish to start some veg for minimum cost. If you buy your vegetables from a grocer, local produce store or farmers market, they are less likely to be produce from hybrid plant- unlike most supermarket stuff. So if you collect the seeds, they should propagate. Also if you can buy them locally, they are more likely to be successful in your environment. So stuff like tomatoes (you just need one from a punnet), seeds from a capsicum/pepper, chillies, eggplant/aubergines, pumpkins, melons, avocado (though these can be tricky, and be aware the tree and avocado skins are poisonous to almost everything, animal wise). Pretty much anything that would have seeds that you generally discard. I am also told you can place the stems of herbs (such as basil) in water and they will develop roots- this is something I plan on trying shortly... so will document and share. Also celery ends (the root bit) can be placed in water and should begin to grow again- but this is useless in the tropics. Another one that I am planning this winter is potatoes and sweet potatoes that are 'over' in the eating sense. So have eyes on them. Plant that in a barrel and 1 kg should produce up to 7kg! So again, this is another one I will keep you up to date on.  

Smallholders ideal table bird- Stage 2

The weekend saw the arrival of our second ‘set’ of hatchlings. From the eggs we candled when we got back from Perth. 9 we due this week, the rest are younger than that so still have time to go.

I have discussed candling before. This is a process we use to determine whether the eggs are fertile, and/or progressing. Sometimes fertile eggs will stop developing, so we siphon these out too.

Basically by using a bright torch and carefully placing it against the egg, in a darkened room you will be able to see the silhouette (or lack of).  

So as I was saying from this ‘sets’ eggs we had 2 that didn’t make it- 1 non-starter and 1 that was just too weak. To be honest I would rather have a non starter than a chick that doesn’t make it because its too weak, so hasn’t developed properly... but I guess that’s why the saying goes “don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched”. And I think any bird breeder (not sure I think of myself as one, but guess that’s right) would agree with that statement.

So we have 7, fit and healthy chicks. These guys will be staying indoors until the rain has definitely gone.  I guess we learned a lesson this year, not to hatch any eggs over Christmas- New Year (or generally up til the wet season).

I am hoping to continue to photograph these guys regularly, and document them; in the hope that we can learn about their progress and potentially even sex them. And use that for future hatchlings too.

3 of these guys are pure Indian games, the others are a cross between Lavender, our Old English game/layer cross and Ronnie our Indian Game rooster. So potentially stage 2 in our long term experiment for the small holders ideal ‘table’ bird.

As a smallholder, we breed and rear chickens, both for egg production and meat consumption. It’s not for everyone, but this is the lifestyle we have chosen. Now many years of mass production has developed ‘hybrids’ designed for one or the other, but not both. Many of the traditional breeds are considered ‘dual purpose’ as they would have been more for the average family... though most would probably have had ‘mongrels’ or crosses too.

So the ultimate goal is to produce offspring, from which the roosters provide a good eating bird and the females fair egg production... minimising waste and flock numbers.

I am hopeful that these Old English Game x layer crossed Indian Game may produce an interesting ‘table bird’ line. Though so far none of our, well for want to of a better word- expectations (no that definitely the wrong word) have eventuated. Well any way, anything we suspected may result from this cross so far has been in correct. As I had, had an incling (I wouldn’t call it an expectation) that the Old English Game cross chicks may  differ in appearance from the other, as I suggested they would inherit the grey legs of the Old English Games, as the entire first cross did. And I have seen photographs of Indian Games crossed with Australorps- another grey legged chicken, inherit grey legs. As opposed to the dark yellow of the Indian Game. All the chicks have yellow legs!

Well here the background to our experiment, for those who don’t know.

Following my unintentional purchase of an Old English Game rooster last year. We did incubate 1 ‘set’ of eggs. The result of which was a poor fertility rate, but produced 9 crosses- mostly roosters, but a few hens.

All inherited varying levels of Dads colourful plumage... even the hens. 2 of the hens we still have- Lavender and Welly2, both are beautiful golden coloured birds; Lavender with a purple-y tail feathers and Welly2, was clearly the result of a cross with our Welsummer hen- if her markings are anything to go by.

Now whilst as a breed we found the Old English Games to be quite ‘wild’, in terms of their natural survival instincts. Dad, more so than our OEG cross hens, but even these practice these instincts...strange when compared to our experience with other domestic chicken breeds. They usually roost off the ground (usually in trees or on top of high fence posts/ wire) and are more than happy to forage for their own food. Also found the roosters to be quite aggressive, but then we only usually had contact with them whilst they were confined- so guess it could be that flight or flight instinct. But I could definitely see why they were used for cock fighting!

Anyway back on track, this cross produced a few roosters, all of which had fair meat quantity and quality for their size. Whereas the hens were smaller in size and smaller than our general laying flock, they have delivered a fair number of eggs, or at least so far.   Therefore we were hopeful that experimenting with this offspring and the Indian Game may produce a fair (or at least improved) laying, table bird... every small holders dream.

Well this is stage 2, guess we will keep documenting our progress.

Back home, update

Well we had a wonderful time in Perth. And have to admit, we would seriously consider a future move to WA... though not yet. I would definitely have to see what the winters were like. As it was very dry (at the moment, as they have a Mediterranean climate), so cooler, wet winters do not seem appealing; though would be necessary for growing and pastures. Guess any move would be complex, but in the right ‘thing’, I think we would be very tempted.

Back to Queensland, and our absence saw a few ups and downs. Our poor house/ animal sitter had his hands full. And we are very grateful for his help, though I think over all he enjoyed his “farm stay”.

Anyone eho owns 'property' will know, going away is a little more complex... anyone with a pet can appreciate the planning and worry that goes into taking holidays. So finding someone willing to take on a larger property with a variety of animals is rare- so we really are grateful.

The night before our house sitter came to stay- as he stayed from the Sunday, though we didn’t leave until Tuesday morning, so we could show him the ropes and the dogs could get used to him being there, and being the one who fed them. Any way Saturday night, we lost the first of our Christmas hatchlings; think the wet weather just got to it- found it lying in an undercover corner in the wet. Though we are always sad to lose a bird, it was one of the 2 Sussex hens, we had hoped to keep.  So we moved them to higher ground- although they still had an upstairs area to their hutch/run to be high and dry. We even put them all inside in the evening, only for them to wander straight back out and huddle in the rain!

Unfortunately our house sitter had to deal with finding them one, by one. We agreed with fewer numbers, in the larger side of brooder box; whilst not ideal, would be the best place for them... sadly we came home to one little sussex hen. So “Lucky” will hopefully have a long and happy life with us. We just have to wait for this rain to stop so she can be let outside! I have been handling her often (since we’ve been home) and taking her for a “walk”, morning and evening- where she happily sits on my arm or shoulder and has a good nose around, spreads her wings and even met Madog- much to his confusion.

 I still hope to desensitise them to birds (or at least Madog), but don’t think I will ever trust them, with them... as our recently purchased Mammoth Muscovys were testament to. Although we’re upset to lose them, neither of us can bring ourselves to be mad with the dogs. Especially as the birds made it into their run, so I guess its instinct... I guess if they were left to fend for themselves they wouldn’t starve; Ffion especially.

On a happier note; before we left, we had purchased a few new Indian Game additions. One of which had begun showing signs of an eye infection. Unfortunately this and respiratory infections seem to be common- though we had been told to treat them with ‘Breath-easi’ and had previously picked up an antibacterial eye ointment that appears effective.

But as we were leaving, we had separated her into a cage in the shed and asked our house/animal sitter to spray her morning and night (and feed/water her obviously). To be honest, we hadn’t expected her to survive. But to our surprise she had, and although the tissue in the eye lid is still swollen and her eye was watering, she appears healthy in herself. So I am currently bathing her eye morning and night with warm salt water, then applying ointment to the eye and misting her with regularly with the breath-easi. This appears to be helping, but I did catch her scratching the eye yesterday, so I may need to fashion a cone for her. As she seems strong and we want her eye to clear up ASAP, so we can have her free ranging with the others; as although I know she has “enough space”, we hate seeing any animal confined.

On the plus side we did have 3 new arrivals whilst we were away- 1 Indian game chick, 1 Indian game- Old English Game cross chick and an Old English Game cross Rhode Island Red chick. So we will see what comes, in terms of sex etc. As I missed the opportunity to sex them by their wings (again)- which apparently you can do from day old to 2-3 days. But I have a feeling the more distinctly marked bird (which is surprisingly the first to have hatched, the Rhodie Red, OEG cross) would be a male... purely as males tend to be more colourful, and as chicks would be more marked... guess we’ll see.

The pigs and cows were fine- guess their relatively self sufficient and resilient. I have to admit I can not wait for the rains to ease, so we can look at separating part of the pigs paddock off to let it grow! At the moment it is just a mud bath... Not that the pigs seem to mind.

As for Streaky, I am afraid our plan to separate her and Smokey was not successful. The 3 weeks came and went (pigs estrous cycle is an average of 3 weeks- 18-24 days) and we left her out- partially as she was getting frustrated and the pen’s ground was becoming very muddy, as she was tearing up such a small area. But also as the others needed access to the permanent shed for shelter from the rain. So on the Friday we left her out, only for her to come into season on the Sunday! So I really don’t know whether I will be able to get another chance. I hope so, else she will be for the freezer and we will have to source another gilt/sow.

Rain, rain go away and goodbye to piglets and chooks too

Well we have had a very eventful week!

We began the week with a weather warning. This resulted in us having over 390mm of rain over 2 days.

Thursday saw localised flooding; however no one and little property/infrastructure was affected... nothing beyond the expected for this tropical climate. I guess a wet season is a given here and having experienced record flooding in 2008, I was confident our property would with stand that quantity and consistent rainfall.

The rain that had been predicted to hit here though passed quicker than anticipated and later dumped almost a meter of water on Bundaberg. The effects being televised the world over, and is still causing havoc throughout the South East and New South Wales.

Fortunately for us the worst affects we felt were a few days without any Telstra services- phone line), no internet and probably the most disruptive was the lack of Eftpos facilities. Our mobiles are not with Telstra, so we still had them. And then Monday evening we lost power for a few hours; so the generators had a good run. Nothing devastating, just challenging to our now ‘civilised’ society. This was no consolation however for my family back in Wales, seeing images of “Queensland” under water. And not being able to make contact. I have since reassured them that we are in fact safe and well.  I fear our greatest challenge is yet to come, as the main highways have been compromised further south; so I foresee supplies being scarce in the coming days. Which on reflection is a minor inconvenience compared the devastating images of the areas affected by the deluge, we were predicted to receive.

With rain comes a flourish in the garden. Unfortunately weeds appear benefit ten fold! SO I did manage to make a dent in jungle that was once my veggie patch. Something that intend to attend to later this week. Hopefully this year will be more successful and productive than last.

The weekend was more eventful in livestock terms. We said good by to our first litter of piglets, as they were collected one by one, to live out their lives in their new homes... some destined to be longer than others.

"Berky" with the white face, we are keeping

Sunday was also collection day for 5 (4 hens and a rooster)of our first Indian game hatchlings, now 5 months old.  Leaving us with 2 hens to replenish our own stocks and 2 roosters to try for the table. And whilst we said goodbye to some poultry, we welcomed others. As we gained 3 turkeys; 2, 6 month old females and a 1 year old male from another location- so separate blood lines. Which is good, as I think I collected our first egg yesterday morning. I was definitely the wrong shape and texture for a chicken or duck egg, but I think goose eggs are much bigger.

Now don't get me wrong, we don't do this to make money. But the excess stock we sell assists in the costs of raising our own livestock. Therefore making this lifestyle more sustainable... and possible

Christmas is coming

Well the festive season is in full swing (already). This weekend was relatively quiet farm wise, as we joined in the merriment of the festive season. I can not believe next week we will be into December, and that there are less than 4 weeks til Christmas and only 5 weeks left of this year!
So with our both of our work Christmas functions being on Friday, we are pretty much celebrated out now, so can focus on our pending deadlines.
My family arrive in under two weeks; meaning we still have tidying to do- few things around the garden. And most definitely shed. Along with sorting a few last minutes (or should I say, shouldn't have been lat minute) things. Such as a booster seat! Since my nephew will be 6 years and 9 months when he comes, and you have to have one for children under 7. Only a booster seat appears really hard to find.
Other than that I have a bit of spring cleaning; wash and freshen the bedding in the spare rooms and put the Christmas decorations up!
In farming deadlines, we are on count down to P-day... PIGLETS! So this coming weekend we shall separate her; since she still hasn't begun to nest in either shed.

Also we set a batch of eggs in the incubator. So by the weekend we should know whether any are fertile. These are for our 'meat brid' experiment. Though we only had one egg from our Indian Game hen, so comparisons maybe hard. We had also set them as we want chicks whilst my nephew is here. So if they are not showing signs this weekend, we have time to collect another batch; now we have returned our roosters to thier original stalking grounds.
Rocky instantly stamped his authority on the laying hens, "doing his rounds". Whilst Ron appears much more comfortable in the smaller pen, not having to move too far, or contest for food. 

And my garden in looking a little more green thanks to the 16mm of rain we had Satiruday night... unfortunately so are the weeds. So full steam ahead this coming weekend.

Poultry progress... let the egg tally begin

The geese have settled in well. And the ducklings are growing in both size and bravado! They still manage to squeeze through the fencing, so they wander freely around the front garden and hel themselves to the Indian game’s food supply.

As for the chickens we will be collecting eggs this week for our ‘meat bird’ program; as we swapped our roosters around a few weeks back now. And they should have settled into their new homes and be ‘working’ sufficiently.

As I have explained in the past, most commercial ‘meat birds’ are bred from, or variations of the Ross cob. This cross was bred for its mass, weight gain and appetite.  However I struggle to rear these birds due to their rapid growth and appetite, limits their natural behaviours and their quality of life is affected.  Struggling to stand or walk, sitting in their own mess, eating! We even had to remove their food at night to stop them eating constantly... and ended up rehousing them in a shelter with bedding on the floor, as they could not manage ramps or steps; but then this increased their risk to predators.

Young Indian Game's

So we made the decision to breed and rear our own table birds, that will hopefully be capable of laying eggs. Similar to that of http://castlefarmeggs.co.uk/?page_id=787 . In the hope that they would be able to free range better and have a longer, better quality of life. The idea being we cross a good dual purpose/ or larger breed layer, such as the Sussex or Australorp x’s we already had with a game bird. We have had an Old English Game rooster cross with our layers, and the roosters from that combination carried a fair amount of quality meat for their size. However they also carried the athletic and aggressive traits of the rooster; the same reason we no longer have him. However these are also supposed to be a good free ranging layer. So I still have hopes for the few pullets we have raised. 

But in our quest for a table bird we decided to try them with our resident Indian Games, or Dark Cornish. This breed is heavier, carrying a lot of breast meat and although still flighty, they are far less aggressive... though the females can be pretty feisty when protecting their nests. Matt says they look like a roast chook with their feathers on. And I must admit they do have that neat shape, so hopefully a cross between these birds and the layer may work.

We are unsure which will work better; the Sussex rooster over the game or the Indian game over the layers? I have read a few things that suggest Sussex over Indian game produces a better table bird, though the productivity is likely to be less as Indian game hens produce fewer eggs per annum. Though the layers produce more regularly, there may be issues in regard to whether the Indian Game rooster is capable of servicing the females sufficiently for a good fertility rate due to his stature.

We know both roosters ‘work’ as we have had a few batches of layers from Rocky and we currently have 9 young Indian Game pullets and roosters from Ronnie. These birds have gorgeous patterns and colours through thier feathers- something I hope will pass to thier young, even when crossed.  

We are hoping that these birds will still produce relatively productive layers. As when it comes to maintaining our laying flock, we obviously generate a supply of roosters. Therefore the most efficient format would be to have a single strain of birds that we could raise the females as layers and the males for meat.

So this week will begin collecting for incubation. I will be marking the eggs as to their source (which rooster over which females). So we can assess the virility of the roosters and the success of the resulting offspring as either layers of table birds. So expect a regular egg collection report, this probably wouldn’t hurt so we know when the Old English Game cross pullets and Sussex and Sussex-Australorp cross pullets begin to lay.

Chicken Keivs

Sorry this is not a recipe for Chicken Kievs, though that may come in time. What I wanted to discuss was last nights Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket. I know I have mentioned this series before, as it aired in Australia that week. And begun with rose veal. I must admit I read the best tweet the other day, where a lady asked if anyone had tried rose veal and to put in perspective (in terms of misconceptions), she added "its just like eating lamb". But back to the keivs'. 

The series ended last night with the ‘reinvention’ of the cheap chicken Kiev. I have to admit I was quite impressed with Jimmy's passion. Even if I wasn't too impressed with Tescos buyers. But in fairness they kept to thier word and bothe the kiev and a re-worked version of the sausage made it to stores. (Let's just hope the rose veal makes it too). So Woolworths, Coles this can be done- take notes!

The keiv was probably his most successful product- both in terms of early sales and in meeting the Tesco expectations, as he found a meat source that was cheaper than their commercially bred broilers.

Majority of commercial producers use purpose bred ‘broilers’; a selectively bred Ross cob chicken. I myself have purchased these birds from a hatchery (via a middle man) in the past. I posted at the time of my concerns regarding their development and quality of life... I would not have them again.

Broiler vs layers (same age)

As these birds, even when free ranged put on weight at such a rate that their bodies struggle to support. They are lethargic and do not scratch, or do anything normal chicken do; guess this is what makes them ideal for mass production. They will feed day and night, if they are allowed. We took the food away from ours at night, probably why ours grew to about 8-12 weeks, where commercial birds take half that. By this time we had to kill them, as their quality of life was suffering... we even had to provide them with a new shelter, as they could not climb even the smallest ramp.

 Jimmy’s cheap chicken was actually chickens! “Spent hens”, now I am not a fan of this term, but it is a reality that hens raised in the most ethical environments have an expiry date. This is true of battery farmed hens too, but these would not be in any condition to be sold as meat and are often sold for other purposes. The lucky are sold as ‘recue hens’, something I am in two minds about. As whilst the animal deserves a chance of a good life, by purchasing their ‘waste product’ you would be financially enabling them to continue... but this is off topic.

It is true, and I have heard others who breed chickens discuss it in the past that a hen’s prime for laying is its first year. As they do not lay until they are 5 months old. Most commercial and many domestic birds will become surplus to requirements at 18months of age. This may seem a little harsh, but by this time they have served their purpose and are no longer financially viable to support and will be dispatched, one way or another.  So I guess a cheap alternative free range meat is a good outcome. I guess there is a stigma about older chickens being considered ‘tough’. Though in the instance of the Kiev the firmer meat was an advantage and the age increased its flavour. I guess it is just a case of using them for the right purpose. They may not be as desirable for a Sunday Roast, but are ideal for mincing or slow cooking. So why do we breed young birds for these purposes?  

This got me thinking about our own birds. We have a few older birds, we still have 4 of our ‘originals’ (we had 3 Rhode Island Red crosses, followed by an Australorp, Light Susse and a Welsummer- we no longer have the Australorp or whitest of our 3 RIR x’s) and we have agreed that these ladies have earned their keep and will live out their days here; guess we think of them more as pets than livestock. 



Originals



They still produce eggs; they are just more temperamental when it comes to cooler weather, or the wet. We currently have our Welsummer in the front yard; keeping Rocky and our Indian Game hen company whilst Ronnie enjoys some time with the rest of the flock. And I have collected 3 eggs from her in the past week. So whilst her laying has slowed and is more than sufficient for the home kitchen, it would not be viable for commercial hatcheries. But I have to be realistic, we cannot keep raising new birds to maintain our egg supply and feed the older birds too.

We have four ‘commercial layers’ (Australorp crosses) bred for their egg producing qualities and a Rhode Island Red bought as day old chicks last July/August. And I have been told the commercial birds will slow up more dramatically than our other breeds/ crosses too. So I guess I have to be realistic that the pullets we have to replace them, will replace them.

They are lovely birds, but I am not emotionally attached to them in the same way we are with the ‘originals’. And with a current poultry count of 61 birds (between geese, turkeys. ducks, ducklings, chickens, pullets and roosters) we have to be realistic, this not a number we will be able to maintain. So whilst some were bred ‘for the pot’ and I have reconciled myself with the fact they have had a far better and longer life than they would have elsewhere. I guess my next emotional challenge is to accept that some of our hens will eventually (and probably in the not too distant future) reach the end of their prime and may themselves be destined for the Kiev.   

A not so happy feathery start to the day

Went to feed the animals this morning (as per normal, before I head off to work). Only to find a trail of black feathers from one of the shed dorrs to the water tank. Follwed by the appearance of two very pleased looking dogs!

We have recently introduced 4 of our 5 Old English Game cross pullets to the 'normal' chicken run, along with 3 (slightly younger, but now larger) Rhode Island Red crosses. We hatched these ladies (along with 4 males- still separated) from the Old English Game rooster I accidently bought at auction back in May.
Having happily incubated the eggs and raised the chicks. I had completely forgotten how athletic and agile (and completely frustrating) thier father had been. We had hoped that they would have inherited some of the size from thier various mothers (Australorp, Sussex, though I think some maybe Wellsumer- not a big bird)... but no such luck.
As a breed Old English Games are fantastic free range birds, if you want them to scratch for food, roost in trees and generally fend for themselves.
Personally I have 2 "poultry loving" dogs (as dinner, that is). Therefore whilst my birds, happily have free run of the rear garden when we are home (as the dogs a out the front, or inside) and have a large run during the day. Unfortunately these young pullets feel the area for the general population is not good enough for them, and continuously seek the free run of the front yard.
To date the dogs have been relatively good with them. The birds have been calm and have even followed them around. Ffion (our staffy) generally only get excited when they flap or run.
But this morning appeared to have been the massacre we had thoght inevitable. Matt had threatened to eat them himself, rather than them see the fate of becoming the dogs dinner- though neither would be pleasant, I know which would be worse.

Anyway our 'pup' seemed very interested in the far corner. So I investigated further, to find one of the colourful EOG birds trapped between the 2 layers of fencing. Clearly distressed and a few ruffled feathers, but seemingly OK. Now I would have thought the dogs could have gotten her from there, instead he proudly showed me wht they had done?
I freed the bird and returned her to the rest of the flock; checking her over (just in case). She immediately spreang to her feet and followed to the enclosure for thier normal feed.

I ten counted 2 or the 4 birds, both black ones were missing... I now feared the trail may have been 2 different crime sites.

Returning to my duties, with a heavy heart. I secured the dogs out, without thier usual treat. And set about feeding my remaining flock and pigs. As I left the shed to tend to the younger chicks (in the totally inclosed run) there was a ruffled looking black OEG pullet, happily helping herself through the fence.... So they only had one!

To my surprise, as I set off, reversing my car out to head off to work, there was the last bird; wandering around the yard, looking to return to the main (feeding) flock. Not a feather out of place!

So I assisted her over the high fence and happily left for the office. Feeling slightly guilty for thinking so badly of my gorgeous puppies. Who had obviously had some fun with then birds, but not actually committed the crimes I instantly assumed they were guilty of.

Hopefully now the young birds will have learned thier lesson, and stay with the main flock, and realise that the fences are their for thier own protection.

Weekend of bikes, chicken poop, bean poles, cider and roast duck

Saturday was our local charity bike ride. It's in its 3rd year now and was great to see 1100 riders dust of the bikes and tackle 4 different distances all for a good cause.
We also when about sourcing another bed. Not for ourselves, but in preparation of our visitors in December. So I am pleased to say, no one should be sleeping on the floor in our house this Christmas... except maybe the dogs.

Sunday was a little more farm orientated. I had a list of chores- cleaning out all the chickens was top of my list. So all old bedding and manure collected and placed in the composter. All fresh hay, shredded paper and saw dust laid for comfy roosts. Even if our young Old English Game cross hens (recently introduced to the chicken run) insist on trying to roost upon the fences or in the garden. To which I have persisted with taking them to the hen house, in the hope they will learn.
We had hoped that crossing the Old English Game with a heavy layer (like our Australorps or Light Sussex) would have made them a little heavier- less agile and possibly more docile… Definitely not the case. We have 5 beautifully marked, lean and athletic pullets, determined to do their own thing.
I regularly find 2 in the front garden, around the small enclosed run; that I usually house the young chicks (before they are big enough to join the rest of the flock). Where they were initially housed, and where their rooster siblings are still. I am hoping once we move them out, they will not want to return there. Luckily the dogs have not been particularly bothered by them (so far). Matt even called the dogs in yesterday, so that we could catch the bird; only for the birds to follow quite happily behind.

So whilst I up to my elbows in poultry poop, Matt strimmed the edges and fence lines and then begun turning my pallets into an extra garden bed-  Something I had intended to do whilst he was away. However (as difficult as it is for me to admit) I just couldn’t get the boards off the pallets. So was grateful he did, so we filled them and begun transferring some of my quicker growing/producing veg over. Allowing more space in the other beds.

I weeded (for hours), flowing the few days of showers and constructed a few bean/ bean supports from bamboo and twine- In what will now be the bean bed. They look the part, so hopefully they work. As I also transplanted out the last of my snow peas, bortotti and butter beans and interplaced some strawberries and spinach. It sounds like an odd combination, but apparently they make good companion plants and should grow quite nicely on the ground, whilst the beans and peas grow up. So saves on space and hopefully less ground coverage should equal fewer weeds (fingers crossed).

So this week I will progressively reorganise my garden beds (again). I pulled out the over bearing coriander and mint plants ( as they had gone into flower and we now have some in the herb patch) along with the rocket; as it had also gone to flower and both Matt and myself decided that neither of us are actually fans. If you pick the young leaves they’re great, but these were established, mature plants (and quite bitter), but the pigs were grateful.

Matt also began his first batch of cider (well a blend of cider and perry). Now we have made cider from one of those tins, but this time he had use apple and pear juice.  Now we haven’t gone as far as crushing and pressing the fruit ourselves… especially being in the tropics as soft fruits do not grow too well. But this is a step closer, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

And for dinner last night we roasted or first hatched and raised duck. I have to admit I was wary, as we had skinned them and duck is renowned for being greasy. So I admit I had concerns as to whether it would be dry (without the fat). But it was delicious… well worth last weekend’s efforts.

D day for our 1st hatchlings

**Some of the images toward the end maybe disturbing to some, so use your discretion**

Sunday was D-day for the roosters and ducks (drakes). Having advertised them for sale and successfully selling one pure Sussex rooster and 1 drake and one hen from the ducks, it was time to deal with our excess birds. Now this is never a pleasant process, but I do stand by our decision to raise our own food. This, as meat-eaters includes our poultry. As a matter of hatching and raising chicks for layers, we accumulate roosters.  We also (as we keep and raise ducks) have an ongoing source of ducks. However this does mean we have to deal with the excess livestock to fulfil their purpose and fill our freezer.

These however were our first batch of poultry, hatched and raised here.  The 3 roosters were now 20 weeks old and the now 10 week old ducks (males at least) were growing rapidly, as was their appetite.  So whilst we have reared and culled our own chooks in the past, these were the first we had hatched and our first ducks full stop.

As with our previous birds, we set up our temporary station, cleaned and set up the table, knives, poultry scissors and bucket of water.

Our station consists of a stand and 2 cones. I have seen/read a number of ‘effective’ and ‘humane’ methods of killing poultry. But a number include the use of a ‘cone’ shaped item and either cutting the throat or in some cases the head off and bleeding the bird. The cone helps minimise the movement and (hopefully) stress.  We do try to keep the kill as clean as possible, as we do not want to put the birds through any more than we have too. And stress itself affects the meat, which in turn defies the point in doing this.
We had in the past, attempted a technique from a Butchery book that involved piercing the brain/nervous system through the beak, before bleeding. It is supposed to be instant, however we were unconvinced. As it was awkward and if you were to do it incorrectly, then surely you were putting the bird through more pain/stress. So we have since opted for the more direct approach.

I guess regardless of how it is done this is the part of the process I struggle with the most. Once they are dead I can process the bird; skin and gut, I guess as it becomes a matter of wanting to respect the life you’ve taken and not wanting  to waste it. I know many would view my stuggle to be over sensitiveity, and other would question why do it then? And more so why document it? But I guess I will always struggle with my meat eating philosophy and my animal loving instincts... I hope I never change. As I don't hink (or hope) I will never be complacement about taking a life. And will therefore want to respect and make the most of any meat, all meat, but especially those we rear.

Some may also question our method of feathering. As I have documented in the past that we choose to skin our birds, for time and health reasons. It's more time efficient and whilst many argue that the skin is the tasty part, I remove it whilst or after cooking anyway. So might as well save ourselves the extra work.

I will admit skinnin the ducks was far more work than the chickens. As without going into too much detail, the skin was alot tighter to the meat and I needed to gentally coax it way with the knive, also the layer of fat under the skin was initially baffling. But persistance was key.

Result a stocked freezer-3 chickens weighing 1.3kg, 1.6kg and 1.9kg and 6 ducks, the smallest being 1.1kg, all the others being 1.4-1.6kg, some duck livers for making pate. And some very well fed dogs for some day to come.

The smallest bird was the larger of the younger birds we were raising.  We still have another, which was much smaller, 2 that are still in that awkward yellow fuzzy stage- one I believe is a boy, the other could be a girl as ‘she’ is smaller. However this could purely be down to her lameness and ability to complete for food. We also kept the only other hen (other than the one we sold). Matt decided as they were our first ducklings he wanted to keep one and as she was the only girl it wouldn’t be as if we were increasing our resident numbers too much. His reasoning being the females are drastically small and he was worried she wouldn’t be carrying a lot of meat. To be honest I would have to agree, as she would have been smaller than the youngest male. So a reprieve for her at least.

Sunday has been a poultry day all round.

First thing we culled and skinned the last of our “Meatbirds”. These were a replacement batch from the hatchery of specifically developed “Ross cobs” (originally a Scottish breed- though these were a New Zealand version). These birds are commercially used for “meat birds”. And whilst they fulfil their purpose (and currently stock our freezer, along with the one roasting in the oven). I have some issue with their lack of chook instincts. At 12 weeks of age these birds were probably older than any we have raised (of this breed) for the table in the past. Mostly as this time around we regularly removed the food and tried to encourage them to scratch and graze- normal chook behaviours.
As commercial poultry these birds would have access to food day and night and be kept in a lit shed, meaning they wopould quite contently sit and feed constantly. Ans as a result are ready for the supermarket shelves in 40 days- ½ the time of ours.
Although I have to be honest, whilst I am always sad to see an animal go. And I know that is what they were bred and raised for- something I reconsile myself with as I know that their life (however short) was probably better for being here. If we had of kept these monsters they would not have been long for this world and it would have been cruel- as their quality of life was dwindling and would probably have died due to the stress on their bodies from their size alone.

But these final birds does mark the beginning of our own “meat birds” (think I prefer the term “table birds”)- A cross between game and dual purpose layers. Hopefully these will be able to free range happily and hopefully be more chook-like.

Today also saw the arrival, and passing of some ducklings. The ill fated batch from the borrowed incubator. As a result this will be returning to its owners by the end of the week.
At present we have one running around contently in the brooder box with the Rhodie red crosses and the 2 w/o duckling with the bad leg. We are waiting on 3, that have pipped and unfortunately the first to pip, struggled to break free. And even with assistance it had begun to dry out, inside the egg and much of it was stuck to the egg or itself. It just didn’t have to strength to survive. So from 20, so far only 5 have had any signs of life. Maybe the settings of the incubator in those early stages were just too high and had already done the damage.

And then this weekend was the annual Sarina Show, so having dropped Rockie and Ronnie off for their Show debuts bright and early yesterday morning.

Rockie- Light Sussex

Ronnie- Indian Game

We collected them lunch time today. Both had placed (3^rd & 2^nd) in their respective classes. Even if I did (unintentionally) enter them both as “cocks”- so they were competing against fully fledged roosters (nothing else). As opposed to the “cockerels” that they should have been, which are birds under 12 months. The confusion lay as I understood cockerels to be a young male, as “pullets” are young females. Only once a female is laying (usually 18-22 weeks), I thought they were then “layers“ or “hens“. And by association young males become “cocks” or roosters once they are crowing and working.

But apparently not, guess as the saying goes "you learn something new everyday". So considering they were being compared to fully grown birds, they did very well. But I have to admit this is an experience neither of us are too keen to repeat. Whilst I entered them as a bit of fun, fun was the last thing it seemed for our birds. It was stressful, and clearly something they were neither used to, or comfortable with- confinement. That is without the stress caused by catching them (and to me and the scratches I sustained as a result), as well as transporting them there and back. Whilst this seems a regular thing for many of those locally who keep birds (as well as all around Oz and at home). I guess it just wasn’t for us, I’m happier watching our birds roam, and being birds.

How do you know if your chicks will be roosters?

Roosters to re-home 3m/o

This week I have advertised our 2 young roosters for re-homing. These were the 2 birds we kept from our first hatchlings. And as our first hatchlings I admit that I am making a bit of an effort to re-home them, as opposed eating them. Yes this is a fact of raising chickens, but as our first I guess on some sentimental or emotional level I just want to give them a chance.

The Sussex should going to a new home on Friday- thanks to Facebook and a page Mackay Poultry & Waterfowl for sale. The other, being a cross may not be so fortunate.

My efforts to re-home them meant a friend asked, how can you tell a rooster from a hen? As we have identified ours as roosters, although they are not crowing yet.

So I thought I'd share my experience on this.

Now there are plenty of people who have given us advice on this. And suggested ways to determine the sex of younger chicks, but most seem to be old wives tales.

1st hatchlings

Some such as males are bigger, show their combs and wattles earlier. If you pass a foreign object over the birds the males will stand up, whilst the hens will duck and hide, all sound reasonable or to have some merit. Though to be honest it’s still guess work! I am not convinced they are truly accurate.

Unless you vent them; which can be dangerous to the bird (if performed incorrectly), and this still has a margin of error- hatcheries employ professional to do this. Or are breed from sex-linked stock; which appears to be more effective, but not useful if you’re not cross breeding ( see links) then the answer is (like us) you just have to wait.

Sussex Rooster (being re-homed) 11w/o

When they are older 6-8 weeks onwards; some may need to be a little older, as some are easier to distinguish than

others. Then I look for the following;

Pointed neck feathers, hens have rounded feathers.

 

"Pointed", long think feathers are visible
on our Sussex Rooster (approx 8m/o)

Where the female sussex has rounded neck feathers

Curly tail, again females have small upright tufts, males develop a more flamboyant display. Males also tend to be more colourful, this is common amongst many birds, though again this can be hard unless you have something to compare with.

Indian Game/ Dark Cornish- Rooster closest, hens behind
Male has; curled tail, more colouful, larger comb & wattles.

Larger wattles and combs are a good guide, but a female will also develop these. And if there is no male in a flock, one may be more prominent than others, they sort of assume the alpha role.

Hens, Sussex & Wellsomer (approx 6m/o)
You can clearly see thier feather patterns

Males will also fight with other males, young males may live together for a while, but eventually they will need separating. But even hens have their pecking order, so the odd squabble is normal. This sort of throws a spanner in the works, if this was your only evidence.  But this may be useful confirmation if supported by some of the other identifiers and you’re still not sure.



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Or you just wait until he starts to crow!