So much has happened since my last chicken update. We sadly lost the fabulous Tina Turner last year to peritonitis and I did not realise just how upset we would all be. We had all fallen in love with them, and she especially had us enamoured with her cheeky feisty personality. I took her to the vets to be told she had to be euthanised (sniff) and we gave her a fitting burial in a shoe box down the bottom of the garden. She lived up to her name and simply was the best.
Then we heard a new chicken rescue was happening in December, and now feeling like seasoned Chickeneers we requested FOUR more!!
My parents are currently visiting from the UK and so they and the kids named them: Doris, Brenda, Patty & Selma. My Dad has made them a fabulous chickenarium (his word!) and they now have 3 hen houses. They're the most pampered pet hens!
Caged eggs are now banned in NZ. These latest rescues were in way better condition as they hadn't been caged but were going to be killed. I'm still really wary of peritonitis and Shawn from the animal sanctuary in Matakana advised Grapefruit extract oil in the water has helped with her rescued hens and this common problem.
Another problem was pigeons!! We were being invaded by them after the kids scattered grain so now we only scatter grain inside the chickenarium and have some self feeders from dinachook and also feedomatic. Their cost has been well worth it based on how much grain we (the pigeons, sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes and myna birds) were going through. Our current set up is working really well!
Treats they currently LOVE are grapes, peaches and sweetcorn but I won't get this colour on my toes again haha.
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Our three hens were rescue chickens. They are my first experience of keeping chickens and already our lives are so much richer for it! These girls had never seen anything other than the tiny cages they were kept in, and were literally egg laying machines. This clip is the first morning in our home. They had big patches of no feathers, sore red bums and were really timid.
They were only 18 months old, which is the age that they go off laying for a while why their adult feathers come in, so they would get slaughtered at this age as the battery farmers don't want to feed unproductive hens for the time they are not laying. I was so sad when I heard this, they're so young! And so, our beautiful ladies - Beyonce, Tina Turner and Princess Leia came to live with us late February 2022.
The life they had known prior to this was caged 24 hours a day in a tiny space, unable to stretch their wings - literally egg laying machines just there to eat, poop and lay.
It has been BEYOND WONDERFUL watching them discover the world around them. We have had them 3 months now, they are now free range back yard chickens and the cheekiest, fearless chikky babes, we all adore them! They come running towards you and have the funniest personalities. The noises they make are so cute! They cheep and chirp when they are happy and actually purr when they are super happy!!
Here is a little clip from the weekend where they were living their best lives in the sunshine, having a dust bath. The chicken on the right with the big tail feather is the one named Tina Turner. It has been so cool for her to aptly shake her tail feather! We are all very proud of that feather - she was the nakedest bird with the barest reddest backside and its SO LOVELY to see her (and all of them) getting their feathers and enjoying freedom
The chickens have been a fabulous source of inspiration and they feature in our newest Boopino colouring poster
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We don't live rurally and have no clue in chicken matters but liked the idea of giving them a nice life, and the eggs would be a bonus.
When I heard of a Battery Farm Rescue being planned I decided to enquire.
The fabulous Animal Sanctuary Matakana would soon have around 800 rescue chickens to rehome. These young hens would be normally be killed at 18 months old when they take a break from laying. This broke my heart and decided to commit, but I had questions! I had heard bad things and good things about keeping chickens in your back garden.
Are chickens smelly? - Yes they can be smelly if you don't look after them, like any pet.
Will chickens shit everywhere? - Yes free range they will deposit poop allover the place so don't let them places where you don't want poo! (or dug up for that matter).
Will chickens bring rats? - Yes they can bring rodents if you don't secure their food away. So far we have had no problems, it's just the local bird life who like to steal their food.
Chickens as pets
I wish I had known earlier in my life what amazing pets chickens make! They are hilarious, have great personalities.
Chickens near vegetable garden
Chicken wire off your veggies, as they too love them! They make excellent little tractors and will dig through and deposit excellent chicken poop manure for your soil!
Chicken Coop
Chickens just want to be kept dry, safe from predators, out of the wind and have some where to lay eggs. There are loads of flat pack chicken coops on line which we did start off with but ended up using our friends disused child's play house, it was bigger, more weather proof and easier to get inside to clean. They are meant to sleep on a branch but ex battery hens don't know how to do this so some never learn and are quite happy snuggled into their sawdust at night instead. I love going to put them away for the night - they take them selves to bed at dusk and chitter chatter away to each other.
We have had them now for a couple of months and can not imagine life without them! They have already brought us so much laughter - they make AMAZING pets, their personalities are hilarious. Definitely recommend them as pets. I like to sit outside with them and decompress from the day, chat to them and watch their antics. Love them!
Chickens have been a total source of joy and inspiration and make their debut in our newest Boopino colouring poster coming very soon called 'Don't forget to play!'
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