Getting chooks - the arrival

One of the plans upon settling down after our big tour was getting a few chickens to produce eggs. The planning has been underway for a little while with Santa expected to feature in the not too distant future. To that end 10 meters of chook wire had been ordered and received and the shadiest corner selected for the chook equivalent of the Hilton.

Much googling for chook information has been undertaken so aside from the sleeping quarters, everything else from colour, food requirements, and a price point had been decided.

Lately chickens have been a little difficult to come by. It seems the drier climate hasn't been much help in the industry and some suppliers wont be nearby until well into the new year. Luckily, though, the little country market at Jung had their monthly event early on the last weekend and their regular "chook lady" was in attendance.

The dreaded Flu (not the H5N1) had me out of the frame but Liz went along for a look see. Not having a roost organised, we thought we probably wouldn't purchase even if the chook lady was there but deep down I knew Liz wouldn't be able to resist and such was the result.

Sure enough, 30 minutes later I get a phone call to advise 3 brown and 1 black hen have been added to the growing menagerie. I dragged my flu ridden body out and threw up a temporary fence across the pre selected corner. Just finishing as Liz hit the driveway.

And here they are. Still about 7 weeks shy of "point of lay", the girls have taken to their new home with enthusiasm. The earlier idea of including the 2 bushes in their pen turned out to be very popular as did landscaping the area so they have plenty of scratching room to kick around in. I popped a few large plastic flower pots in for them to hide in if they wished, but they are pretty relaxed and untroubled even when the dogs come up to the wire.

As dusk drew near they started to "peep" a bit and started patrolling the boundary so we put them in the man shed with all those nice cupboards and crates to settle in.

At a guess I'd say they are living the chook version of the "Good Life." With growth pellets plus veggie scraps I look forward to some nice eggs eventually. Ones with really yellow yokes.

Pic 1. The chook hide. Unlike our native wildlife, they are unfazed by humans drinking coffee and making "chook" noises at them as they go about their chook stuff.

Pic 2. Howzat for a jury rigged fence? Hopefully it will look a bit flasher after the Santa thing.

Pic 3. Enjoying not living in a horse float any more.