organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
a very fine plymouth barred rock hen on a sunny winter's day So you think your chooks aren’t laying well? Maybe they’re not. If it’s winter, hens have got better things to do, like planning their summer holidays and catching up on some reading. It’s no time to be raising chicks. Laying eggs is a daylight sensitive business. Commercial egg … [Read more...]
If you've raised some chicks and have a rooster or two beginning to find his voice, I'll be running the workshop on Sunday 13 March 2011 at 10am at The Kitchen Garden for you to learn how to slaughter and prepare your birds for the table. You can also deal with older laying hens at the same time. I've currently got a waiting list for this workshop. … [Read more...]
Chooks and chicks do best on a diet rich in greens, bugs and dirt in which they scratch about. However producing an egg takes a protein-rich diet so most chook owners use supplementary pellets. Chicks also need special chick crumbles. They'll all enjoy some extra wheat or maize for which to scratch in the grass. In Wellington your best options are … [Read more...]
I'm still refining my mince pie recipe since making slow-cooked Christmas mincemeat and favouring mini pies over large. Silicon bakeware takes the stress out of removing them from the tin, washes in the dishwasher and doesn't need greasing - hooray. I used made this sweet, short pastry for one batch and it worked well. I like the fact each pie has … [Read more...]
Nelly, the hen, has just hatched ten chicks out of the ten eggs she was sitting on. Rodriguez is father to them all. Mums are either Plymouth barred rock or Rhode Island red hens. All are now sold but I've got another hen due to hatch chicks next week so email me if you're interested. I was remiss in excluding a cookery book from my last post. A … [Read more...]
Pickings can get a bit thin in winter, even for free ranging chooks. Here a few treats for your chooks: 1 worms - high in protein, with that added 'thrill of the chase' element for bored chooks. If you've turned your kitchen waste into worms in your wormery, you'll be turning it into eggs and meat via your chooks. 2 silverbeet (swiss chard) … [Read more...]
I've sold my two charming black pullets, hatched end of January 2010. They have the right heritage to be both excellent broody hens and egg layers. Their mother, Mabel, is a small, black hen of unknown parentage who lays large, brown eggs. Their father, Rodriguez, is a very fine Rhode Island red rooster. If you want to hear about when I have … [Read more...]
These are Mabel's six little chicks - grumpy like their Mum, Mabel, and proud like their Dad, Rodriguez, our Rhode Island red rooster. Not sure whom they'll resemble in looks. Here are some tips on raising chicks if you feel you'd like some of your own. Some books don't recommend raising your own chooks, but if you want to keep a particular breed, … [Read more...]
There's a world of difference between the yellow-coloured white sauce you make from custard powder and real vanilla custard. It's easy to make, so don't compromise with anything other than the real thing. It's the perfect accompaniment for rhubarb crumble. If you use genuinely free-ranging chicken eggs it will be bright yellow without any … [Read more...]
Ten Plymouth Barred Rock chicks to be precise - raised in an incubator as Mabel resolutely refused to go broody. Now fostered by a most diligent and experienced hen who happened to have just brought one of her own little chickies into the world and had room under her ample wings for a few more. The best way to raise chicks is under a broody … [Read more...]
