We Got Chickens! Bringing Home Vanilla, Chocolat & Honeycomb

We got chickens! And because we inherited our girls from my sister's friend, we didn't (re)name them Molly, Duffie and Pepper as planned, but kept their original names, Vanilla, Chocolat and Honeycomb. We didn't want to confuse them, or the girl next door, whose name is Molly.

They are very good looking hens - handsome - and they are sisters, about a year old. We expect them to start laying again when it gets a little warmer, and probably continue laying for another year or two. I don't want to think about the other end of the life cycle, and while Sam is opposed at this stage to keeping chickens that don't lay eggs, I'm all for the pet part of the experience for as long as the old girls will hang in there. I'm sure he'll come 'round, despite the fact he is yet to hold one in his arms. (Poppy: "C'mon Dad! Honeycomb is your chicken! You have to hold her!")

It was quite a lengthy process to bring the girls home to their new coop, but we ended up doing it all in one day. As you will have noticed with the one-day no-dig garden process, I like to do things all at once! We have two more garden beds to build next weekend, so we thought we'd timed the introduction of the chickens to the landscape pretty well.

We knew we had to get the girls home from Eumundi by dusk, so they could settle into their new surroundings, which are quite cosy without the extended run we're planning to build around them, but before that, Poppy and I had to find the good feed we'd read about in our Barastoc Chook Book, and add new, dry, sweet hay and pine bark chips to the coop. I'd read about this fancy schmancy Deep Litter Method (DLM) on an American chicken forum, so naturally we had to try it. Everybody I spoke with about it said, "Why don't you just let 'em scratch around in the dirt? THEY'RE CHICKENS." But I wanted my chickens to be cosy after the distress of a move, and I quite liked the sound of not cleaning out the coop every week. In fact, if we did it properly, we might only need to clean out the coop every few months, or once or twice a YEAR. (Sam: "Who'll be cleaning out the coop?")

No doubt looking like the kind of scurrying chooks we were about to acquire, Poppy and I jumped into the car - finally - after two o'clock and took off! We'd been parked in, in our own driveway, after our housewarming party on Saturday night had given a friend a good reason or five not to drive home, and I didn't want to move her car. We'd found other things to do up until two.

Timing was everything! We raced to Kawana, where the big pet shop is. Poppy remembered it, because it's called Best Friends and her pets are always her best friends. Awww. We found the feed there, but the staff didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and said, "Why don't you let them scratch in the dirt? THEY'RE CHICKENS". I glanced at waterers and auto feeders and the like and decided to leave with the feed. We stopped by another pet store on Wises Road, for shell grit, and then Buderim Garden and Landscape Centre for the pine bark chips (no one at the garden centre knew about DE either. I'll have to get it online), put aside two palettes to pick up during the week (note to self: pick up the two palettes we put aside on the weekend), and took off to Eumundi, which is sooo far away when you're in a hurry.

It was almost 4:30pm and we arrived at my sister's place before she did! So we chatted with Mike and Oscar, and met their chickens - four black Australorp beauties - and then the kids ran across the land, as you do when you're a kid and you discover that you're surrounded by open space, and picked a heap of grapefruit, which Poppy carried back to the house in the folds of her dress. Now we need to make marmalade to use them all! It was getting dark and cold when Ana finally got home. She'd got caught chatting, and then there was the matter of catching the chickens! They were so cosy in their box that we thought it best to get them straight home and into their new quarters before dark. IMPOSSIBLE! I'm always very optimistic about getting somewhere on time, and then I never seem to leave soon enough, so it was no surprise to get home just as night was falling. Of course we - and by we I mean I - had to lug the hay bales and the pine bark chips around the back first, and lay it out in the coop. Poppy's job was to talk to the chickens and make sure they stayed for a while longer in their box. This was a job she was happy to take on right up until the point she decided that she wanted to help lay the hay, and then Sam came home, so we put the bag of shellgrit on the box to keep them safe and warm in there for FIVE MORE MINUTES.

Of course it was dark! And only a glimmer from the nearly-full moon, largely obscured by cloud. And I hadn't picked up a chicken for more than ten years or more, so I was determined to just do it, and move them on in there without a fuss or any stress to either party. These girls were bigger than we'd all expected so they were heavier to pick up than I'd imagined, but one by one, in they went, into the sweet straw-smelling roosting box for the night. Sam was impressed with my chicken-picking-up skill set, but it's thanks to Oscar's expert demo back in Eumundi that I could feel so confident about it.

We won't let them out of the coop until tomorrow, Thursday, which means they will have settled for four days before we let them free range and roam about the yard. Supervised visits outside only of course, due to the new vege garden, the pool, the trees and the neighbours. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about their first day out! I'd prefer to have the run built and get them used to the place by degrees but let's just see if they are happy to follow directions and return home to the coop for the night (and not choose to roost in a neighbour's tree!). I know. They're chickens. They'll do whatever they want to. But I've been feeding them treats in the afternoon, which will surely have established a delicious routine they can't resist conforming to. Treats include spaghetti - it's hilarious watching chickens eat spaghetti - and cheese rind, grapes and (popped) popcorn. Of course, if it's super cold I make them porridge in the mornings.

Do you have backyard chickens? What are their favourite treats? Do you spoil them or do you, you know, just let 'em scratch around in the dirt?!

building our organic no-dig vege garden - how we did it in less than 2 hours

Today we built a garden bed! Yes, it was exciting because we've - meaning I've - talked about doing so for a LONG TIME. And now we've - meaning I've - done it! I had some help from the girls, but when they got sick of layering and layering I let them leap into the pool! BRRR!

First of all, we sent Tayla's mum a text message to say you know we don't actually plan much, but today we're building our garden bed, which we've planned, and we'd love Tayla to join us if she had no other plans for the day.

HOT TIP: Invite for a play date, a little friend with good manners and a big smile, who is enthusiastic, joyful, fun and hard-working.

Luckily for Poppy (she was a little concerned about the HARD WORK part of "building" a garden, which I'd mentioned earlier), Tayla was able to join us. After hot chocolates with the local theatrical crew at Your Place Espresso, we raced off to pick up Tayla and get some hay and mulch and stuff from Tracie at Tanawha Hay Shed. She was about to shut up shop (we'd taken our time getting hot chocolates and Tayla), and she was happy to stay and find what we needed for a lot less than we would have parted with if we'd bought everything from Bunnings. This is what we got from Tracie:

• lucerne
• sugar cane mulch
• compost
• clippings 

N.B. The clippings come from the lawn and the floor of the shed, and they may contain bits of the string that tie the bags of stock feed so if you have animals in your yard you are well advised to avoid using the clippings. I was looking for the least expensive way to get my materials together, and in the least amount of time. I expected to make one or two more stops after Tanawha Hay Shed. 

We went for a lovely country drive, through Eudlo and Palmwoods and bought manure from a property with a fancy gate. Clearly, they sell lots of manure. Although it was an honesty system with a sign that instructed us to put $2.50 in the letterbox in exchange for a bag, the bags of manure were on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL. Maybe their business is so good they don't need to trade on Sundays. I respect this notion but WE NEEDED THE MANURE MORE THAN THEY DID. I discovered, while the girls said hello to the horses, that I could reach over the wall and lift two bags over it before I thought my arms would actually drop off, so we left $5 in the letterbox for those. As we were leaving we spotted the kids, three of them, doing the work, shovelling manure into a wheelbarrow. We waved and they didn't wave back. Clearly, manure can't buy happiness.

On the way out of Palmwoods we saw another place selling bags of manure for ONE DOLLAR. So because Poppy likes a bargain, I stopped and picked up two. At once. They were half-full. Like, one dollar's worth. When we got home they were the bags the girls were able to lift and carry from the car to the back yard so well worth the additional gold coin.

So we'd gathered our materials first. That is unusually organised for me. I'm the sort who bakes a flourless chocolate cake not for any reason other than that I open the pantry to see that I HAVE NO FLOUR.

ONE MORE STOP. Everyone was getting hungry. It was well past 1pm. 

HOT TIP: Feed the workers.

We stopped at Bunnings for mushroom compost, seed raising mix and seasol, and I enjoyed for a moment comparing the ridiculous prices of the very same sugar cane mulch and compost! SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS, PEOPLE! It's the Sunshine Coast! It's all here, if only you are happy to drive more than 5 minutes to get it all from your neighbours! Except for liquid seaweed products, seed raising mix and mushroom compost. Nobody seems to have those. Oh, and molasses. There ain't no honesty boxes for molasses. And you won't find it at Bunnings. In fact, I completely forgot to find it at all, the secret ingredient to the no-dig organic vege garden. 

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW WITHOUT IT?

I guess we'll see. Unless I cave and get some tomorrow. In which case, it's too late to pre-soak the sugar cane mulch and newspaper in the stuff! That baby's gonna' go right over the top, along with another lot of seasol! (Oh yes, there are worms and worm castings to come too. Remember, I'm on a budget!).

HOT TIP: Don't forget to buy your sugar cane mulch from Tanawha Hay Shed for a third of the commercial price, and a lovely chat with Tracie.

I lifted all the bags except the few that were manageable for the girls, and we stopped for lunch. It was 2 o'clock! Poppy's friends are always surprised when I don't bring out sandwiches (we do sandwiches for high tea, tiny cucumber sandwiches). No one is ever disappointed, just surprised. I served big bowls of vege soup with feta cheese crumbled on top, the sort of delicious dish I'm looking forward to making with our own fresh, organic veges, picked straight from the garden; good wholesome farm food! 

We put Tayla to work, soaking the cardboard, which will stop the lawn and the weeds growing, and decompose during the whole process to eventually enrich the soil beneath. Then we layered up, as if we were makin' lasagne, just as Nicola Chatham, the organic no-dig vege garden queen likes to say. The girls thought this was hilarious. HORSE POO LASAGNE. WHO WOULD EAT THAT? HAHAHA. Seven year olds are fun.

HOT TIP: Give the kids gloves and boots. Bare hands and feet shouldn't really be messing about in compost and manure. Make sure they have a lovely shower and a cup of tea after the hard work is done. (A cup of tea served in pretty china is the BEST treat!).

The girls worked together to get the dirty work done! They invited the neighbour over to help and we gave her the hose...

HOT TIP: Give the hose to a known child!

It was fine. It was fun. They laughed and made rainbows, and stomped across the muddy cardboard to "help it sink into the ground to make good earth".

Then we got out THE MANURE. EWWW! But the girls were having so much fun that they didn't realise we were building our garden and that we were nearly done!

HOT TIP: Don't tell the kids "Awesome work, everybody! We're nearly done!"until you're done.

While the girls were in the pool (at whatever sub-zero temperature) this happened...

Ta-da! I finished layering and witnessed the universal light shining down on our little garden, blessing it in abundance and all things wonderful, natural, organic and good! 

HOT TIP: Stop and smell the...compost. Seriously, take time to enjoy for a moment what you've achieved in just under 2 hours without the help of your significant other (who was in Brisbane emceeing the Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the biggest orchestra. And they smashed it!) Phew! Everyone happy!

I've been a bit obsessed for some time now about getting this garden started. It feels good to have begun a more sustainable way of living. It was time. We've been making gradual changes for years, adding in organic food, doing away with products containing palm oil, teaching our child to read and consider what is actually in the food she's eating, cutting out fast food, learning about organic gardening and permaculture, taking notice of what Dad and others are able to grow in the same region, seeking out like-minded people and community garden groups, buying seasonal fruit and veges, planning to grow our own... it's a good start and now the next phase begins. Tomorrow we're digging a pond, looking online for the native shrubs, vines and bushes that will encourage birds, bees and butterflies to the area, and ordering our Aerobin. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM ABOUT ORDERING OUR AEROBIN. Actually, I'm still considering constructing a two-compartment or three-compartment compost system out of recycled timber, but I know that will take longer and I'M IMPATIENT DAMNIT! 

I'm pretty happy with this start. I don't like this last photo - I'm trying to ignore the fact that my skin isn't flawless anymore, and more and more lines are appearing AND I often look much more tired than I feel - but I'm posting it anyway because quite often we - meaning I - stop for a selfie that is a selfie for selfie's sake. This moment was actually a glimmer of self-satisfaction at doing this thing myself. (I used to do a lot more by myself. We forget what we're capable of)... With some help from my little friends, of course. Thanks little friends, everybody did an awesome job! We're nearly done! (Come back tomorrow and help me dig the frog pond, yeah?)!