A video version of the new arrivals.. for those like me that find it relaxing to sit and watch the chooks for a while. :)
Hope the quality isn't too bad, it was taken on my phone..
Friday, March 27, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Lotsa chooks again
The nesting boxes and feeder house is complete, and just in time for some new additions to the chooky family!
The new house is heavy to move, but not impossible for both of us. It's made of wood and canvas, with a corrugated iron roof, and 3 plastic nest boxes for easy cleaning. The domed roosting house is still being used - that's where they sleep each night, and the dorkings still get excited whenever it's moved (even if it's only within their yard, they'll go in, check it out, and cluck excitedly).
The new additions! Yes, we went to a poultry auction in Wagga Wagga and picked up a lovely little dorking cockerel that we had asked to be there. His father is from Canberra, and the owner had gone there just to get him. Dorkings are hard to get, and roosters can be an extra challenge. Hopefully he'll grow up big and make lots of little ones of his own some day. We also purchased two langshans after the auction. They are beautiful girls, very shy and sweet. On the way home from the auction, we stopped in at Tootool to talk to a man about chickens we'd promised to collect. They're naked-necks, suppose to be able to cope in the heat much better than fully-feathered chooks.
They're settling in fairly well. It's been nearly two weeks since bringing them home and they're starting to mingle as one group finally. The dorkings were not happy about their little trio being invaded, but the new arrivals are all very placid, and certainly not planning a takeover!
The weather is starting to cool down here. More of an Autumn feel with the fruit trees starting to loose some leaves. There hasn't been much rain lately, but the water tank is still almost full. Since we don't use much water in the house, we're sharing it a bit with the garden, which is looking a quite sad after the summer heat.
The new house is heavy to move, but not impossible for both of us. It's made of wood and canvas, with a corrugated iron roof, and 3 plastic nest boxes for easy cleaning. The domed roosting house is still being used - that's where they sleep each night, and the dorkings still get excited whenever it's moved (even if it's only within their yard, they'll go in, check it out, and cluck excitedly).
The new additions! Yes, we went to a poultry auction in Wagga Wagga and picked up a lovely little dorking cockerel that we had asked to be there. His father is from Canberra, and the owner had gone there just to get him. Dorkings are hard to get, and roosters can be an extra challenge. Hopefully he'll grow up big and make lots of little ones of his own some day. We also purchased two langshans after the auction. They are beautiful girls, very shy and sweet. On the way home from the auction, we stopped in at Tootool to talk to a man about chickens we'd promised to collect. They're naked-necks, suppose to be able to cope in the heat much better than fully-feathered chooks.
They're settling in fairly well. It's been nearly two weeks since bringing them home and they're starting to mingle as one group finally. The dorkings were not happy about their little trio being invaded, but the new arrivals are all very placid, and certainly not planning a takeover!
The weather is starting to cool down here. More of an Autumn feel with the fruit trees starting to loose some leaves. There hasn't been much rain lately, but the water tank is still almost full. Since we don't use much water in the house, we're sharing it a bit with the garden, which is looking a quite sad after the summer heat.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Aviary finally finished
Today is a great day to be a little grass parrot. :)
The aviary is finally finished, and Pip and Squeak are exploring it as I type. It's such a relief to see them have room to fly once again.
Lessons learned from building an aviary;
We mostly worked in the mornings and evenings when the weather wasn't too hot.
Little birds in their cage, just before setting them "free". Pip is the green and blue girl in front, Squeak is the yellow, blue and red boy in the back. He has a quiet, shy personality, and a long trailing whistling song that ends in a high note. She has a more bold personality with a simple tweeting song. She rules the roost and certainly lets us know when she wants something special like more bird seed, or some fresh cut grass seeds from the garden!
The first thing they found was the feeder, of course. Their new favourite place in the aviary! After that, Squeak found some bark that was extremely tasty, and quite satisfying by the looks of it. Pip found the log she could climb inside and started chewing at that.
We positioned the aviary so that it gets some morning sun, but only dappled light around lunch, and is fairly shaded by the afternoon. It's one of the most wind protected areas of the entire property, and has a feeling of calm about it. We can also see it from the window that will one day be our bedroom. Marty and I both hope they enjoy their new home!
The aviary is finally finished, and Pip and Squeak are exploring it as I type. It's such a relief to see them have room to fly once again.
Lessons learned from building an aviary;
- First, find out the sizes the wire comes in, and make the aviary to suit the wire. If we had have done this, we would have made the aviary about 2 inches shorter in height, and it would have saved us a bunch of work wiring it up!
- Secondly - the person selling the steel doesn't necessarily know much about welding the steel. Turns out the thin stuff we got (and recommended to "learn to weld" with) was a beginners nightmare according to most everyone else we spoke to after we purchased it!
- Thirdly - lots of patience and perseverance wins the day, eventually. :)
We mostly worked in the mornings and evenings when the weather wasn't too hot.
Little birds in their cage, just before setting them "free". Pip is the green and blue girl in front, Squeak is the yellow, blue and red boy in the back. He has a quiet, shy personality, and a long trailing whistling song that ends in a high note. She has a more bold personality with a simple tweeting song. She rules the roost and certainly lets us know when she wants something special like more bird seed, or some fresh cut grass seeds from the garden!
The first thing they found was the feeder, of course. Their new favourite place in the aviary! After that, Squeak found some bark that was extremely tasty, and quite satisfying by the looks of it. Pip found the log she could climb inside and started chewing at that.
We positioned the aviary so that it gets some morning sun, but only dappled light around lunch, and is fairly shaded by the afternoon. It's one of the most wind protected areas of the entire property, and has a feeling of calm about it. We can also see it from the window that will one day be our bedroom. Marty and I both hope they enjoy their new home!
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