Naughty Chickens

Today I found the chickens scratching for insects on the bush turkey mound!  Naughty birds!  I brought them all back home and told them not to go into the bush because there are snakes, foxes and ticks in there.  I don't think they listened.

Funny thing happened later, went I went outside to check on them there was a bush turkey in their house!  Hmmmm, I guess that is only fair after they scratched up his house!  : )

Who would have thought four chickens could find so much mischief each day! 

Today (Monday) is one of those hot days, 27 degrees doesn't sound that hot but the humidity must be pretty high, when everything in the forest goes quiet except for a light breeze in the tree tops.  All the birds have settled somewhere shady, just like the chickens and even the cicadas have stopped their shrill. 

Abbey, Skeeta, Ruby and Lucky are all resting together in heavy shade in the garden - I'm the crazy one rushing around doing all the work.  I love how the chickens chat to each other while they are resting.  Every now and then one will give a few quiet "clucks" and they will close their eyes only to open them quickly if a branch moves or something disturbs them.  Abbey just got up and chased Ruby and Skeeta, what a bossey boots!

The jury is still out on whether Lucky is a hen or a rooster, today he/she looks like a rooster and he/she has now got black speckles down his/her back that Ruby and Abbey don't have!    

Go easy on the slopes guys!   : )

Our new gate!

Another photo of Skeeta, Ruby and Lucky with the intruder.

Today is hot and dry and the chickens have been panting.  I put the sprinker on for awhile but they weren't really interested so  I moved the large water container from their pen and put it in the shade where they like to rest.  Abbey stood in it and had a drink so I went back inside.  Later I heard them making a lot of noise and I ran outside only to find a very large goanna also having a drink from the same container.  Yes, today is hot! 

I was afraid it would bite the chicks but they were definitely more interested in it than it was in them.  I opened the gate and let it out as it couldn't find it's way back out.  I was surprised how close the chickens went to it!   Just read that they will attack chickens and they are after the eggs, will have to keep an eye on that one.

Enjoy the cold weather!  : ) 

One thing I really enjoy seeing is a perfect hen shaped depression in the fresh straw when I collect the eggs, it's one of those fleeting moments like seeing a perfect shaped leaf or flower, it makes you stop for just a second.

In the photo we can see the different colours of the eggs, the light one is from Skeeta and the darker one is from Abbey, which is strange as Skeeta is the darker chicken and Abbey is the ligh Sussex. 

Still no rain here which makes it officially the driest November on record and this is a La Nina year (?) Parts of our garden are really suffering, so we are hoping for some rain very soon.

Enjoy the snowboarding over there!

One simple pleasure that never diminishes is collecting eggs from the nesting box each morning.  I always tell Abbey and Skeeta how clever they are!  And today I baked a pineapple, coconut, banana and rum cake using their eggs.  This cake uses olive oil instead of butter and light ricotta cheese, roasted coconut, vanilla and rum for icing.  Love trying different recipes!

The chickens are lying low today, they are all resting together in heavy shade keeping cool.  It is 29 degrees with only 49% humidity, a dry wind and no rain forecast.  The sort of weather I dislike most because I can see the garden wilting more and more each day which means I will have to start watering and that is time consuming.  Where is La Nina!  Hiding somewhere in the Pacific ready to pounce probably.  : )

Thanks for all the tea varieties, I am having a great time trying them all.  Today I had High Mountain Good Tea.  And they are right!

Today, Monday, I clean the house. I do it every Monday just as my mother, my grandmother and my great grandmother always did. I makes sense for me as I then have the rest of the week to tick off the other activities I have planned. I clean deliberately and with love as my house is my haven and the reward is walking through a clean and organised house with a gentle breeze blowing through the windows - it is extremely psychologically satisfying.

Today is hot and the chickens are scratching around in the shade enjoying themselves.   As we live in a rammed earth which has very thick earth walls with strategically placed  openings to promote flow through ventilation, inside is very pleasant indeed.

Later I must scoop the bamboo leaves out of our garden pond. Every Spring it sheds masses of leaves!! It is black bamboo and it looks gorgeous but??? Don't ever grow bamboo near a pond! We didn't know it dropped so many leaves and visitors often say "What beautiful bamboo!" Our response is often hmmmmmmm. More musings tomorrow!

 Skeeta, Ruby, Abbey and Lucky!   Ruby and Lucky are now abour 9 weeks old and growing fast.  They are free range chickens and spend every day scratching in the garden, having dust baths and generally enjoying life.  They have a beautiful large pen (photo to appear later) but they prefer to be outside.  Abbey is the "head chicken!"  She is big and the other chickens get out of her way!  : ))))