Chickens!
I finally managed to convince Grant that it was time for chickens, and they are delightful! Grant has built a simple and kinda movable chicken tractor so we can rotate them in conjunction with the goats.
Every week or two we move the goats around the farm using portable electric fencing. Once we have moved them we put the chicken tractor in their last place. By doing this we are utilising the chickens to aerate the soil that they have trampled as well as using their enthusiastic scratchings to break down the manure the goats have left behind which helps to disperse it into the soil. They also eat weeds and insects. All in all, we hope this will help with long term soil improvement as per regenerative farming practises. I really like Joel Salatin's work on regenerative agriculture and how well managed livestock can actually help improve soil health, increase topsoil and aid biodiversity.
In the future we hope to add cattle and maybe pigs for our families consumption. Though the pigs at least will be a little way down the track. Slow and steady and all of that. And we need a bigger freezer.
Our chook shelter is a simple A-frame building with nesting boxes on each side. Grant has built it from salvaged/scrap materials so the cost was minimal. There is a door that can be closed at night to secure them from predators and it has branches inside for perches as well as nesting boxes which are filled with clean wood shavings. In time, once my lavender and wormwood plants are big enough, I'll also add worm their clippings to their boxes to help with natural mite control.
The chickens are left to free range through the day and they spend their days foraging for bugs and weeds. They also get a quality layers pellet, kitchen scraps and a glurp of garlic infused apple cider vinegar in their water to help with natural parasite control. By allowing them to free range, they get a diverse and varied diet as well as being able to undertake all their normal chicken behaviour, so they are very happy chooks.
Henry especially loves the chooks and he has assumed most of their day to day care, with a little help when it comes to tipping out the water and cleaning out their laying boxes. He will hang out with them for an hour or so at a time to talk to them, cuddle them and feed them. I also love the presence of the chooks about the place. Their funny fluffy bottoms as they run to greet you, their clucks and crows throughout the day. They bring a kind of simple joy to the place.
Emma
xx
