Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[Bens-Hens]

Nature can be an awesome force of destruction. We only get storms that blow down a few trees, although a few years ago we had a more severe one that took out a 50m wide half a kilometer long strip of forest somewhere in the mid parts of the country.

So, you finally found the Mondeo of your dreams. Station wagon or sedan? And what engine? (What color?)

We were a bit worried about Veera the other day, since we had a two day break in laying, but the neighbor told me they had collected the eggs while tending to the chickens that day, so false alarm. I've told them that it's custom to get to keep any eggs that are laid while chickensitting, but I want to know how much they weigh. Veera seems to be laying in longer and longer stretches, so far she's kept a one day break between strecthes, and has laid 3, 3, 5 and now today 6 days in a row. Viiru didn't start as actively, she first laid an egg, then took a pause, then laid two days and paused yesterday again, but her's have been 33g every time, so a bit better size than with Veera. I have a feeling that if the weather clears up soon, we might be getting an egg from Virpi today or tomorrow too.

Evening thunderstorms seem to be a good way to get the chickens into the coop though, yesterday we didn't have to lift anyone in. I'm not going to make the mistake of forgetting to close the coop latch again though, like I did on Friday. Really unpleasant to wake up to crowing at 5 in the morning. Inside the coop, the insulation keeps the sound from being loud enough to wake us, but from the run it really carries nicely.

We really noticed the difference when we had a new crower that was in the coop and not in the night box.

We got a 2011, Mondeo, hatch, 2.0l turbo diesel and dark blue. Had almost everything Alicia wanted except leather, but it was always a long shot picking up that option.

 

[vehve]

We really noticed the difference when we had a new crower that was in the coop and not in the night box.

We got a 2011, Mondeo, hatch, 2.0l turbo diesel and dark blue. Had almost everything Alicia wanted except leather, but it was always a long shot picking up that option.

You should get pretty nice mileage out of that, while still having a bit of power in it. Does it have a trailer hitch? That's one thing I always would look for buying second hand, costs an arm and an leg to install afterwards, but doesn't add anything to the price if it has one. Leather seats are easy to keep clean if you spill a lot, but require frequent oiling to stay nice, and are less comfortable than fabric. And now I'm reminded of another thing for Karin to add to my honey do list. If only she would clean that car first

We stained the deck today, first we did it with a clear oil which brought out the brown in the treated wood, but we ran out of the stuff half way through, and while buying some more, we decided to put on another coat and change it's color to grey at the same time. Turned out pretty nice I think.

On the left you can see the beginning of our little shed/storage cabinet project.

I also took a picture of Viiru's and Veera's eggs next to each other, nice difference in color. Veera on top, Viiru on the bottom.

 

[Bens-Hens]

What a lovely home you have. The deck looks great, if it's anything like out patio...a perfect place for chickens to poop!

Your girls are laying well, I can pic up most of our eggs and know who laid them, I can even pick a fair number of the egg songs and know who is getting ready to lay or just finished. A little variety in the eggs makes this so much easier.

We are in for some more 'less than pleasant' weather today, so the chicks will be staying in the brooder while we do the bank and car yard trip thing.

 

[Fancychooklady]

What a lovely home you have. The deck looks great, if it's anything like out patio...a perfect place for chickens to poop!

Your girls are laying well, I can pic up most of our eggs and know who laid them, I can even pick a fair number of the egg songs and know who is getting ready to lay or just finished. A little variety in the eggs makes this so much easier.

We are in for some more 'less than pleasant' weather today, so the chicks will be staying in the brooder while we do the bank and car yard trip thing.

Lol, don't forget the GST. Hubby flew up to NSW and drove out to gosford to look at a horse truck just this weekend . He's very happy with the truck but not happy that guy neglected to tell him that he wants another $9000 GST. Not happy Jan!

 

[Bens-Hens]

Ouch! GST was included, but we have to pay the stamp duty. We get a month to pay that, only $455 though, nothing near 9k!

I will get some chicken pics and upload them all tonight after training

 

[vehve]

What a lovely home you have. The deck looks great, if it's anything like out patio...a perfect place for chickens to poop!

Your girls are laying well, I can pic up most of our eggs and know who laid them, I can even pick a fair number of the egg songs and know who is getting ready to lay or just finished. A little variety in the eggs makes this so much easier.

We are in for some more 'less than pleasant' weather today, so the chicks will be staying in the brooder while we do the bank and car yard trip thing.

Thank you. Yeah, those little poopmachines really do a number (two to be exact) on the terrace. I'm hoping the oily surface will make cleanups easier.

How much tax is added to car prices in kangarooland?

 

[vehve]

We just had breakfast with Karin and decided to have a little egg tasting again, since it's been a while since the last time, and the taste has really developed. The yolk was an incredibly intense orange, and you could really taste all the foraging work the girls have put into making them.

Ben, took a look at Mondeo prices here, the seven first 2011 2 litre diesels had about 200-250 thousand km on them, and cost between 12-14 k€. The one's with ~120000km go for about 16k. Multiply with about 1.45 for AUD.

 

[vehve]

I keep flooding this thread, but I need some input on something again. Veera has been laying her egg in the morning, after having a bit of breakfast, but now it seems she's started to stay in the nest, sitting on 2 golf balls and her freshly laid egg for an hour or two after she's laid it. Is this the first sign of her going broody? Can a chicken go broody 3 weeks after starting to lay? Should I chase her off the nest, or is there some other way to break this? Should the golf balls be removed? Any other tips? She hasn't pulled out her bottom feathers yet, and leaves the nest with a little protest when I shoo her away, but nothing major.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I would take the golf balls away now that she seems to know where to lay. Just be sure to collect the eggs everyday and yes they can go broody just after they start laying.

 

[vehve]

I would take the golf balls away now that she seems to know where to lay. Just be sure to collect the eggs everyday and yes they can go broody just after they start laying.

What about the one's that are about to start laying, will they just follow suit, or should I still keep the balls in for them? And she doesn't sit the balls alone, only after she's laid her own egg.

*Edit* And between me, Karin and the neigbor's kids the eggs are checked about ten times a day