Cane Mulch a hit at Hensington Palace!

We have had a little bit of rain since I put the chooks into their summer coops and I find that the roofed run is getting slightly damp around the edges because it's got open sides, even though there's an iron roof over it. I felt the need to do something about it, and went to my local produce store with the aim of buying some straw to scatter as I had finished my old bale when I set up the broody box for Bertha.

Alas, the guys at the feed barn didn't have any straw, so I asked for a bale of lucerne. I told the guy it was for my chook run, and he said "Well, you're going to find lucerne a bit expensive for that, what we use with the chooks we're selling here, is Cane Mulch. It's a good bedding and they like to dig around in it, and it won't cost as much as hay.

I had already gone over to their pens when I arrived, to admire the lovely little POL pullets they had. Very nice little ISA Browns and Australorp Commercials. Healthy, calm, happy and mildly curious about us, which is what I look for when I am buying chooks, but I don't need any POLs atm as I am hoping to get some nice ones from Bertha's clutch.

Anyway, the cane mulch was in use in those pens, and the little chookies were indeed having a lovely dig and scratch and dust bathe in it, so I accepted the guy's advice. (It was cheap, too only $9.90AUD for enough to cover 7m². That is more than enough to do my little run a few times and I have read that this type of mulch doesn't go soggy, so that will be a plus.


I went up and tossed some into the run this morning and then was going to get my rake to spread it out with, but I changed my mind when I noticed the petticoat gang's reaction to it. Oh! The digging, the kicking, the scratching and wing flaps of excitement! This was the newest sensation since Kangaroo meat as far as they were concerned!

My dismal, rainy day depressed chooks turned into jolly scratching machines as they cooed and clucked and raked through the sweet smelling mulch for anything of interest. I'm sold! I will continue to buy this mulch when necessary to supplement the leaf mulch I use from the gardens and keep the hens entertained with something to scratch and roll around in.

I also was lucky enough to be near the nesting box with my camera today when Rosie was making her "Egg laying purr" sound. I recorded it to share.

Changing Coops

With the warmer weather here in force, I decided it was time to move my chooks out of their winter coop and into the summer one, today. The chooks were turned out into the yard for free range early this morning and I got to work after breakfast.
Until today, the chooks were housed in the coop at the top end of the sheds, where you see the wheelbarrow in this shot. I took 5 barrowloads of litter and old, composted manure out of this coop. There was no terrible smell, either. I just love the deep litter system. Everything falls through the straw and hay onto the sandy floor, leaving the coops smelling fresh and barny while the poop decomposes underneath.  It wasn't too hard to clean out, either as the bedding was dry and quite light to handle. It all went onto the compost heap up the back.



The winter coop after all the litter was raked and shovelled out. Tomorrow or the next day, I will wash the perches down and then spray the wooden areas with a permethrin solution to kill off any lice and mites that might be still hiding in there and then the coop and roost will be rested over Summer while the chooks move into their cooler runs for the duration.
The summer coop is a lot more open and has wire sides to allow better airflow so that the




chooks won't suffer so much from the heat of our summer. There's even wire next to the nesting box, so anyone who is laying can get a cool breeze while she does her hard work. The greenery you see in the top right of the photo is sprouted wild bird mix which we have been growing to make the transition to the new run less painful for the girls. It is in a run that has a wire roof and will be lovely for them to get some sunshine and fresh air, while still being able to find shade in the other half of the coop which has an enclosed iron roof. I think they should be pretty happy in there!

23 September 2011

We have had a busy week in our garden again this week. Spring break for Sandra, means she has wanted to get a few things done, both indoors and outdoors while she has some time off from attending classes. She has tidied her study and now it puts mine to shame! *blush*
In the garden, Sandra dug a new garden bed, but sadly, the place where it is located has very poor soil, so that has been a bit of a wasted effort. I don't know if we will just let it grow over with grass again, or try and build up the soil. We used the chickens to help with the work of digging, by setting up a temporary tractor for them using garden stakes and some netting we bought cheap from the reject shop. We draped an old piece of shadecloth over it. The end result was makeshift, but was sufficient just to keep them pnned there for the day while they scratched over the ground.

Maybe the lack of digging and scratching by the hens should have alerted us that this soil was pretty lacklustre. Oh well, live and learn.

So, now we need to find an alternate location to plant some more veges and try to build up this area's soil as our ultimate aim is to have the vege garden close to the house so that it is easy to get fresh produce for the kitchen.

Sandra also created a compost bin from one of the plastic garbage cans we bought from Bunnings with the gift vouchers I received for my birthday in August. She cut the bottom out of the bin so we could then turn it upside down to use as a compost bin. and the lid now sits nicely on the 'top' (what used to be the bottom) of the inverted bin. There are some grass clippings in here already and next time the Bokashi is full, I will put the contents into this bin with some soil so that it can break down into compost.

The chair standing behind the compost bin is to protect newly planted choko vines which we have put in here to train them over the chicken coops for shade for the hens in summer.

Of course, this compost bin may end up being a smelly, slimy failure so we have a backup plan in case that happens.

This is your common, garden variety compost heap just grass clippings at the moment, but I will soon be adding deep litter from our chicken coops to this as I am about to clean out the roost and run and replace the litter with fresh litter for the warmer months. I use a deep litter system as it only requires cleaning about twice yearly. In between clean outs I just add new litter on the top whenever the pens start to get a bit smelly. The chickens keep it turned over with their scratching around in the run. They can be encouraged to scratch more by tossing some grain down on the floor once a week.

On Wednesday afternoon, a courier delivered a dozen fertile eggs which I had ordered for our broody hen, Bertha. I had been anxiously awaiting their arrival and keeping close to the house whilst Sandra worked on compost bins, heaps, and garden beds. We eagerly opened to package to find that, sadly, two of the eggs got broken in transit. They were quite crushed, but the other ten were in good condition. We placed them in the bathroom on the counter to rest for twenty-four hours before putting them under our hen.

I put the fertile eggs under her about 6:30 last night. She is such a patient hen and didn't fuss about me slipping 10 eggs under her. She just soflty clucked: "buk-book-buk buk-book-buk?" as though gently welcoming each new egg. She's such a good chookie, I really hope these eggs hatch for her.

New Council Rules for Poultry

Image from Come Home to Health

I spent most of last night, drafting a submission to my regional council in response to some proposed changes to the local bylaws for keeping animals in our region.

Currently, the rules are that anyone may keep up to 20 head of poultry on their property, with provisos made for the type of enclosures that the poultry should be kept in, including distances from boundaries and adjoining properties. The current rules are very reasonable, and there have not been huge numbers of complaints relating to poultry in the region, but because the council was recently amalgamated from about five separate shires into one, the rules had been a bit higgledy piggledy with all five regions having a different set of rules. The council, understandably wants to change this so that it is easier to administrate, which is quite acceptable and reasonable.

What is not reasonable, though, is the severe reduction of poultry numbers under the proposed new rules. The council proposes reducing the number of poultry permitted from 20 head down to only 6 head.
My submission to council on this change is below.

In their vision for the Sunshine Coast, the regional council states that the aim is to make the Sunshine Coast: "Australia’s most sustainable region—vibrant, green, diverse." I support this vision 100% but I have to say that I question how this vision can be held on the one hand, and yet the proposed new rules for animal management within the region appear to counter it.

Local Law No 2 (Animal Management) 2011 Subordinate Local Law No 2 (Animal Management) Schedule 3  2011 will preclude the ability of the average family to raise their own poultry for eggs and meat.

The average chicken lays eggs for a maximum of 2-3 years and then must be replaced with new point of lay or laying hens. Purchasing new hens as older ones go off lay is not sustainable.  In order to operate in a sustainable and self-sufficient way, roosters are required for the purpose of breeding more chickens so that a reserve of chicks, pullets and hens is readily available.

Residents should have the right to grow and produce their own food within reason and should not be subjected to overly punitive rules which make it difficult, if not impossible for the average family to provide an adequate living from their own property. I believe that a middle ground can be found which will satisfy all Sunshine Coast residents and contribute in a real and positive manner to council's stated vision for a sustainable, green and diverse future.

Recommendations:

I submit that the council revise the proposed rule on the keeping of poultry to reflect the following:

Up to 20 poultry or birds can be kept on an urban property if they are adequately enclosed to prevent escape and the enclosure is not within:

1 metre of a side or rear boundary
10 metres of a residence or any dwelling on adjoining premises
10 metres of a road.
Feed should be maintained in a manner which prevents vermin access

The enclosure must have a minimum floor area of one square metre per bird and be constructed so it can be hygienically cleaned.

It is recommended that a deep litter system be used to absorb any potential odours. Deep litter should be replaced at least annually and disposed of as garden mulch or in a tied bag in waste bin.

On any other land than rural land, a license is required to keep a rooster. For such a license to be granted evidence of a suitably constructed and attenuated enclosure including night boxes for management of noise and membership of local poultry club or online forum must be provided.

I know that I am not the only resident making a submission, and so far, the ones I have seen are quite similar to mine. I really hope that the council will see reason on this and revise the proposed rules to properly reflect their vision for the region as far as sustainability and diversity is concerned.

Image via Come Home to Health

Litter Systems in my chook pens

There is much discussion amongst 'poultry keepers' about the best type of flooring for chicken coops and that has been the case recently on the Backyard Poultry forum I chat on. I use two slightly different methods of flooring for my chicken pens and I thought I would post about them here in case anyone actually reads this blog and is interested.

Here are photos of the two different systems I've got going in my chook pen. The first one is of the deep litter I use in the roosting area.



This is leaves and sticks that I have raked up from around the yard when the weather was dry, and scattered into the roost over sand on top of a cement slab. It is dry and crisp and gives my heavier fowl a soft landing when dismounting the perches.


This one is the actual run and is done slightly differently. It has a dirt floor, again over a concrete base, and I scatter mulching straw over that, and add in weeds, vege scraps and some garden cuttings. I scatter left over laying mash from the feed hopper over this to encourage the chooks to scratch and peck at it. Every few days, I rake it over to get poo to settle into the lower layers as well, because the chooks can't turn it all over by themselves. This system keeps the chooks' feathers and feet beautifully clean and I am really pleased with it.

All of the food and water is either hanging from the ceiling, or otherwise elevated to keep them from kicking litter into it. It works really well and is low maintenance. The chooks are only in there from about 4PM-10AM each day and spend most of the time free ranging when the weather is fine. If it is wet weather or I am going out, there is an adjoining run the same size with a dirt floor that I open up so they can dust bathe and have some space to move around.

I've got one chook in moult at present, so there are also a lot of feathers in the mix.