How to keep chickens out of your garden pots

Our chooks looove to jump into the potted trees and have a good scratch around. 

That's not so good for the roots as it can damage them but it also leaves them exposed to the elements, as the chooks seem to scratch the dirt over the side.

Actually, it's only the wyandottes, as the silkies can't get their feathery butts up there.

Here is Anakin Skywalker having a good old nosey at what I'm up to.

So I came up with this not-very-beautiful solution which seems to be working. I throw on any old, dried plants (that get tossed over the fence to the chooks when I'm gardening) and I've weighed it down with rocks and bits of brick.

This is a feijoa tree, I might put it in the ground round the front when the rest of those pittisporums come out.

Here's one of the boys' miniature cherry trees we gave them for Christmas, looking rather forlorn as it loses it leaves. But it didn't seem to like having it's roots messed with either. 

The chooks now don't bother getting up there much and can't access the dirt with their claws if they do. The little monkies have plenty of other dirt round to scratch about in.

Now, I just went to online to check out if daphne (the plant) is toxic. 

Somewhere in the back of mind I must have heard it is because when I sat and looked at this photo, something in me went uh-oh.

That daphne bush has been out the back for a few years now and it's a favourite spot for the chooks to hang out. They've now been here for nearly 5 months so it hasn't affected them, but they haven't been here when it's been flowering, which it's about to do.

Poop. I would hate to have to get rid of it but it seems like I may have to. I do love the smell and the one out the front has just recently inexplicably died. Well, it's looking more dead every day so I think it's on it's way out. 

The girls are still laying after a brief hiatus, only two of them though and I'm still not sure which two.

But have a look at this teeny, tiny egg we got the other day.

The big one of the left is a real size chook egg and the others are from our bantams.

See the teeny one? It's about 3 cm long. 

Got some winter veggies in the garden too, just waiting for it all to grow now....if it ever stops raining!

Weekend stuff

My vacuum cleaner had it's last gasp on Saturday. It has now been assigned to vacuum cleaner heaven, thanks to one happy dismantler and his father.

We also had an actual 7th birthday. 

This is the much-desired lego x-wing that was put together by it's proud owner over the course of 2 days. 

How easy is it when all your kid wants is lego? I dread the day when they outgrow it.

Miss Broody here appears to be having a good zzzzzz. 

She just hangs out there all day if I let her, so sometimes I lift her feathery butt down and plonk her in front of the feeder. I have even been known to shut the door to the run after her so she can't just dash straight back up the stairs and settle in again. 

I relocated this orange tree on the weekend too. It was languishing in a pot round the back with the chooks, who took great delight in scratching the topsoil out of the pot, thus disturbing the roots, which citrus trees hate.

That's the lemon tree in the background, less lemons this year but much larger ones. And behind that you can see where the pittosporums are coming out. A work in progress as those trees are deep rooted and thick trunked. (Is that even a word?)

Baked apples. Yum. 

They do take a lot longer in the oven than over the campfire though.

That was my weekend. Lots of random stuff.

It's footy seaon!

Auskick has started again for the season and this year, we've got both boys in it. 

Technically, the lil' guy at only-just-turned-four is not old enough, but seeing as hubby put his hand up for coaching this year, they've bent the rules for him. 

So he's in with one little mate who's also only four and all the others are meant to be five and above.

His footy top is an old soccer top from a friend that I cut the sleeves off to look more footy-ish. 

Lucky it's the right colour.

You see, we bought him a top last year, got it numbered and all, and it has vanished off the face of the earth. Someone (most probably me) has put or left it somewhere and despite turning the house upside down and inside out, it is not to be found.

Footy boots still to come and he prefers short socks, so he will continue to look cutely mis-matched.

It was birthday party weekend too.

A joint one this year, while we can still get away with it.

Two cakes.

Like my monsters?

Pretty easy to make once your m&ms are colour separated. (Kids job.)

The party was held at the dojo where the boys do karate. A karate party, perfect.

Must light own candles.

Me too!

Ah, seven years old. And four! When did that happen?

It was just yesterday they were cute toddlers

and squishy babies.

Time is flying!

Homemade indoor rock climbing finger board

Hubby has fairly recently gotten into rock climbing. 

We have a couple of good rock climbing centers within easy driving distance but unless you're in there every day, you sorta need to do some training on your own, if you're at all serious about it.

Well, this is what is now hanging above our bathroom door frame. 

This is something the hubby rigged up one afternoon, after a bit of banging round in the workshop, one lot of cursing after eye-balling and not measuring, and some sawdust on the floor.

Mostly made with leftover bits of wood from various projects, bits that I've scavenged for the kids to hammer together and paint on (see the handprints? Good placement, huh?).

Good for dangling painfully from your fingertips by.

Complemented by another gadget we already had, to do pull-ups and chin-ups etc on. 

And just so the boys don't miss out on the action (must do everything daddy does!), hubby rigged up some rope with a couple of handles to wind round the chin-up gadget and hang down at kid-dangling-height.

We've taken the boys to the climbing gym a few times, Mr nearly-7 LOVES it, Mr just-turned-4 is ok but even at his extreme-4-yr-old height, he's not quite tall enough to reach between some of the holds.

I can totally see hubby doing this to the house one day....

The great outdoors

We went camping the week after Easter. Remember the Farm? 

The Farm was not in use these holidays and we'd been advised that there were some lovely camping spots around the place AND we could light campfires and dance round naked if we wished seeing as it's private property. All 3000 acres of it.

So we did. Light a campfire that is, not dance round naked. A tad too chilly for that.

We spent the first night in the homestead, seeing as we arrived after dark. The next morning saw us all out on the hill with hubby and his remote controlled airplane.

Then we drove to our recommended campsite (a 4 wheel drive would have been handy here but our trusty old sedan made it), right on the Goulburn river. Being autumn, the weather was perfect for having the campfire burning all day, though we did manage to peel off our fleece jumpers at various times when it almost felt hot.

See those grey clouds in the background? Yup, it rained about 2 minutes later. We had a few short showers that first day but nothing torrential.

After a chilly start the next day,

Exploring we all went. Plenty of wombat holes around and although the kids had us out both nights after dark with torches, no wombats were seen in action. Plenty of fresh wombat poop though, so we know they were there.

Too cold for an actual swim but they still managed to get wet of course. The river was running quite high, so even if it was warmer, I'm not sure they'd actually be swimming.

A bit of afternoon chess, lots of s'mores making, roasting apples, spuds and corn cobs in the embers.
The sun went down by about 7pm and so did we. Apart from wombat hunting that is.

Another chilly morning, not quite a frost, but almost. Who can breathe out the biggest steam cloud?
Listening to the kookaburras and magpies serenade the dawn.

Beautiful countryside

And we got to see the sun rise through the mist.

We spent two nights in the wild and one more night up at the homestead before heading back home. A lovely trip and a first intro for the boys into 'camping in the wild' as we called it. Pooping in a hole, grass in the food and lots of fresh air.

Must do it again soon, though we may wait till close to summer I think...

Pirates, arrrrr! Oh, and my homemade chicken feeder.

We had pirates in the backyard yesterday

They had a treasure map and all

They came wielding light sabers

They didn't always agree with each other

Or with me....

They kept a look out

And spotted something for dinner

(Hmm, photographing a black chook and a white one in the same photo gives my camera conniptions)

But the dinner was eating her dinner

And do you like my home made chicken feeder? 

I saw this on the web somewhere and thought I'd give it a go, I wanted some way to stop the chooks from flicking their pallets everywhere as they don't seem inclined to ever clean up the stuff they've flicked around and I think it was starting to attract rats. And pigeons.

I took a large yoghurt container (free brand advertising there, I never bother to remove labels), cut four holes around the bottom (you can see one of them in the picture), hot glued the container on to a largish, deepish dish (I used a thingy that is meant to go under a plant pot, bought it from a large hardware store), filled up the container, put the lid on and there you have it.

I also put any other (small) kitchen scraps I give them in the dish too. The chooks free range our small backyard and really only go in their coop at night, so now I pick up the whole dish and put it in there with them when they go to bed. Their coop is rat proof, so we've seen no more evidence of any critters in the backyard since I've started doing that. 

It's deep enough they don't flick food every where and they have yet to tip it over.

And, they are all now confidently using the ramp!

 Dangermouse (that's the black silkie) eventually figured it out and now trips up and down there several times a day, easy as you please.

The wyandottes are being less annoying too, so they have a reprieve for now, though I really would like a small flock of silkies, they're such silly fluffies.

A happy and safe Easter to all!

Digging up the yard

The hubby was busy today....

Not bad for a guy with this in his shoulder, right?

This happened late last year and he has to have the plate out later on this year.

Aaaaanyway....

He was digging out the pittosporums that line a fence on one side of our small front yard.

Beyond the fact they need regular heavy cutting back to keep them a reasonable size, I thought the space might be better utilised growing fruit trees. 

Or maybe that was hubby's idea? Can't remember.

This is what the ground was like once they first came out. Dry, very arid looking and still full of roots.
 Apparently there are water pipes under there somewhere so he can't just go all out digging.

I thought we could put in the mini nectarine trees the boys got two years ago for Christmas, maybe the orange tree that's in a pot, maybe the feijoa that's in a pot and not sure what else. Maybe that will be enough, but there's a fair amount of work to do first.


Speaking of working, we are getting two eggs a day now from our chooks. So exciting!
I think the white silkie and one of the wyandottes are laying, they are somewhat more mature looking now than this photo.

But I'm feeling like the wyandottes are on notice, as they are a wee bit aggressive, they go for the feet of whoever is out there and don't mind giving them a good old peck. I don't go out there barefoot any more and sometimes if I head to the compost bin in the corner of the yard, I turn round to see a small grey chook charging at me wings akimbo.

The boy is very unlikely to sit here watching the chooks like he is here the way the wyandottes are now.

Wondering if I can sell those two (that would be Anakin Skywalker and Penfold) and get 2 more silkies?

Shh, don't say anything to the boys...

Someone laid an egg!

No idea who, though the silkies are about two weeks older than the wyandottes, so maybe it was one of them.

And was it in the comfy, cosy little nest boxes, all set up in hopeful anticipation of some egg laying?

No no, we found this one at the side of the brick path. ON the brick path actually.

They only use the nest boxes for sleeping in I think.

Ah well, I'll just be doing a perimeter check every day now, though the perimeter isn't that large so it's not too much trauma. Silly chooks.

Or maybe it's these two clowns that keep them away from their nest boxes...

Hmm, I wonder...?