2 Women on 2 Acres

The Good Life

Archive for the ‘Chickens’

Jan17

Give A Little Tenderness

The power of animals to recover from abominable treatment never ceases to amaze me. We brought three leghorn chickens not long after we moved onto the block and when we picked them up, we met the seller at a fruit & vegetable shop at a half way point between when we both lived.

It was a scorching New Zealand day, blue skies and no shade. We arrived at mid day for the pick up and when we saw ‘our girls’ stuck in a sealed cardboard box, which stank of chicken droppings, it was SO bad, the box has started to disintegrate and if that wasn’t bad enough, the box had been stuffed in the airless boot of the car for over an hours drive to say we were horrified was truly an understatement.

Worse was to come though…
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Jul01

The House That Suzi Built For Jack!!

The torrential weather continues, flooding is rife and the animals are suffering. It breaks my heart, the scrawny animals we see in the paddocks all around are a sorry state, and to think it lambing season. No, I cannot think about that too much.

On the block, our animals are in fine fettle. However, the strangest thing happened the other day, looking back it was all my fault, but still it gave me a huge shock, the second one in as many days.

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Dec23

WOW!! We have babies YAY!!

Well, I’m pleased to announce we are the proud parents of 5, YES FIVE cute cuddly little chicks….

I really thought we were NEVER going to have any chicks at all.

I mean our hens just haven’t been interested, then all of a sudden THREE go broody at once, reminds me of waiting for a bus, none when you want one then three turn up at once!!

Going broody is one thing, sitting on eggs is another matter all together.
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Oct26

Spring has Sprung But What the Heck??

I know it’s spring because we have had the clocks go forward, day light savings had been changed to a week earlier than usual and it took us by surprise..not having a tv or newspaper to remind us.
But WHAT has happened to the weather?
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Jun04

The Wheels of Fate Turn

Things in life have a funny way of happening, have you noticed that? When we moved to our piece of paradise, our intention was to become self sufficient and work from home.

And although we have been working towards that goal, it seems fate is telling us we have been dragging our feet, so it has intervened in a way that fate does, giving us NO choice but to open our eyes and take stock of our lives…
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Mar18

A Sad, Sad Day

Yet another storm has reeked havoc in our neck of the woods. After months of NO rain, we have had a week of hurricanes and torrential downpours.

Trees, power lines and goodness knows what else have fallen down. But the sad, sad news is we suffered more than structural damage.

I’m afraid to say Doris ‘the toughest damn chicken in the whole wide world’ died in the storm on monday and we found her on tuesday morning, along with Angus and Benji, who were also taken from us…this is for you all, guys, as a way of a thank you…
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Feb16

The Things that Make Our Day…

I don’t know about you but I look forward to what the day holds when the rooster’s, Solomon and Caesar, wake me up at 06.00 EVERY morning. They work on the assumption that lie in’s are for wimps..and the early bird catches the worm.
They could be right, all I know is, I look out of the window to see all the crew: the ducks, chickens and the goats waiting, sometimes patiently and more often than not, making SUCH a racket it motivates me into action.
They know the routine, a bucket of food scattered far and wide and their day has begun with the sun barely up over the horizon.
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Aug09

Choosing Your Chickens..

Why in the world would you want to keep chickens???

This has to be the first question you ask yourself…
For us it was two fold:to tend to our vegetable beds with the added bonus that they produce THE BEST eggs you will EVER have the privilege to taste…
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Jun28

Up Date on Doris

Well, what can I say???
Our Doris is doing very well after her run in with two of our dogs. I have no doubt in my mind, she is the toughest chicken that ever lived…
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Jun05

Catch Them if You Can…

We have decided to follow Lynda Woodrow’s plan for a permaculture garden, this involves using chickens for the mundane work of tilling the soil. If you have ever seen a group of chickens at work, you will know they are more than qualified to do this.

It’s quite amazing how they can demolish weeds, scratch and turn over the top of the earth until in no time at all, it has a fine sieved like appearance. All in a days work, they love it.
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  • Photo of the Moment

    Tall Paul2
  • What To Sow Late Summer to Early Autumn

    Outside Vegetables
    Winter Beans
    Beetroot (pre-soak seed)
    Winter Cabbage
    **Carrot
    **Lettuce
    Salad Greens(Arugula, Miners lettuce etc)
    **Parsnip
    Radicchio
    Radish
    Silver beet (pre-soak seed)
    Swede
    Turnip
    Brussels sprouts
    **Leeks
    **Spring onions
    Bulb Fennel
    **Celery
    Broccoli
    Kohlrabi
    Winter Cauliflower
    Winter Squash

    Sow to Grow in Pots (Glasshouse Needed)
    Asparagus
    Artichokes
    Capsicum
    Chilli Peppers
    Dill Pepper
    Cucumber
    Melon (Cool Weather Variety)

    Herbs
    Basil Dark Opal
    Basil Thai
    Chervil Curled (French Parsley)
    Chives Garlic
    Dill
    Lemon Grass
    Oregano
    Parsley Gigante Italian
    Parsley Triple Curled
    Peppermint
    Russian Tarragon
    Sage
    Sorrel
    Sweet Marjoram
    ** Seeds to sow directly into the soil as they don't like being transplanted**

  • Southern Hemisphere

    CURRENT MOON