Considering Chooks

Yesterday I was able to attend a free 'Keeping Backyard Chooks' workshop run by Gosford Council. What a great workshop! It was lead by a very keen chook enthusiast who referred to the chickens as 'her girls' throughout the workshop, which I thought was just gorgeous! She did talk about roosters, but I don't want to share what she said to do with them :-/

Here's one of her babies that I got to have a cuddle of. I think she's an Isa Brown, about 3-4 weeks old. Luckily she did a big poop on the lady I handed her to and not me!

We are trying our best to practice sustainable living in our little pocket of the world, I really feel like it is our responsibility to do so. Sometimes it does seem like a lot of work and we've got a long way to go before I am happy with the systems in our household, but we have to start somewhere! Next weekend, I'm off to a worm farm and compost workshop also run by the council. The chooks fit in nicely with the big picture.

One thing I am sure of is that my 'girls' have to be free range. There is no debating it. This comes with a few complications for us, which I was able to discuss with the chicken lady yesterday. She reassured me that my worries were somewhat unfounded!

PROBLEM: We have a low fence leading onto bushland. Worried about chickens going bush. 
SOLUTION: Chickens are creatures of habit, they'll always (?) come back to roost. They won't wander too far into the bushland. One wing can be clipped so that their flying range is reduced.We may have to fetch them out of a tree to begin with, but they should be fine.

PROBLEM: We have bush turkeys that wander in our yard. 
SOLUTION: Shoo the bush turkeys every time you see them and they'll eventually go elsewhere. Bush turkeys will try to mate with the hens, so keep an eye out. 

PROBLEM: We have two cats.
SOLUTION: Cats + hens = cat wishes it could. Be more concerned about dogs and foxes.

PROBLEM: We have snakes
SOLUTION: Chickens are carnivorous. They will gang up on smaller snakes and peck them to death. Snakes are not after the eggs, they are after the rats and mice that the leftover feed attracts. Make sure you don't overfeed chooks and it shouldn't be a problem. Cats will deal with rats and mice before snake does.

PROBLEM: We live in a paralysis tick area. 
SOLUTION: Chooks don't mind a bath! Then mist their feathers with a spray bottle (water mixed with grapeseed oil) and the ticks won't be able to get a grip. All of the other parasites can be dealt with by placing a clove of crushed garlic into the chooks water. 

After the workshop, I felt reassured and realised that I have very little to worry about. I'm always one to over research my choices when it comes to keeping animals as part of my family as it's a pet peeve of mine when people impulse buy and neglect the needs of their pets. 

Following a few more hours of research on the Internet and a visit to Bunnings today, we have decided on a lovely chook shed for our girls to roost in at night. For a bit under $300, it is spacious, sturdy and comes with a nesting shelf. It'll be near the back of the yard under some shady trees, so the girls should be pretty happy with it!

My next research task will be deciding what breed of chook to buy, which will be largely determined by what is available locally. The kids would love some Chinese Silkies so they can colour them pink and purple (thanks Krissy & Fay), but I think we'll need to go for a hybrid or sturdy old Isa Browns. Really looking forward to searching for and collecting our first eggs!