Recent content by kmart60

  1. kmart60

    Did I get dealt a crap hand or….?

    We're somewhat in between - no vet, but no stewpot either, except where culling is necessary for the well-being of the flock. Old hens are given a happy retirement in recognition of their service.
  2. kmart60

    Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

    What about Dubbo? You could get 25 acres with this - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-chookie-mcmansion.76954/
  3. kmart60

    Checking-In On Peeps - Post Here To Say Hello!

    Thanks for checking in on me, and reminding me what a nice community this is. My paid work has been increasingly demanding and emotionally draining the past couple of years, and I've tended to spend my free time as far from a computer as possible! I'm still loving being a chookie mum and more...
  4. kmart60

    Does anyone else herd their chickens?

    I would have been the same about letting them take their time, but we needed to integrate them quickly before we went away for the holidays, and this seemed the best solution to have them meet on neutral ground. Our first hatch integrated with their mumma at about 12 weeks and it was seamless -...
  5. kmart60

    Does anyone else herd their chickens?

    Ours have a day run of about a quarter acre, but when we let them into our one acre house yard - only when we are outside to supervise, as neighbourhood dogs sometimes come to visit - they take a slow stroll around the perimeter, stopping to scratch and dig in a few favourite spots, then after...
  6. kmart60

    How do you deal with the emotional aspect of culling a rooster you're attached to?

    We got some fertilised eggs from a neighbour to set under our eternally broody Light Sussex, and got 5 chicks. The hubs said from the start "we cull any roosters, right?" and I agreed, having suffered childhood trauma from them in childhood. He identified 2 as roosters early on, bt I made him...
  7. kmart60

    3yr old flock laying few eggs - keep / eat / sell?

    I have no judgement to make on people culling their chooks - l'm a country girl, well used to helping out with the chicken "harvest" as a child, but we chose to start our own flock a couple of years ago because we wanted to see if they'd make an impact on our fruit fly problem, so eggs were...
  8. kmart60

    Books, books and more books!

    Oh me too! I read my first Victoria Holt at about 11 or 12 - Readers Digest condensed books - Mistress of Mellyn. And my eldest son is named after the hero of another one of her novels. And my daughter after a minor character in an Agatha Christie mystery. And my youngest after the pastor...
  9. kmart60

    Large, Open-Air Coop in Central NC

    Yeah, you can. Our auto door cost $300 and has a 3 year warranty. Assuming it only lasts as long as its warranty, that's 30 cents/day to sleep in or stay out late. Cheap as... :D
  10. kmart60

    "Honey, I'm building the coop!"

    Time for an update, I'm thinking... Pleeease 🙏
  11. kmart60

    Books, books and more books!

    When playing the game "What 10 books would you like if stranded on a desert island?" my first 6 are Miss Austen's. :D (My son says he'd have "Raft construction for beginners" and "How to navigate by the stars", haha)
  12. kmart60

    Official BYC Poll: When You Travel, Who Looks After Your Chickens?

    Our setup - automatic door, two large-capacity treadle feeders, nipple waterers, means it's easy for the neighbours to just pop over and collect the eggs when we're away. We do the same for them, and also the neighbours on the other side. We live in a cul-de-sac of 7 25-acre properties, everyone...
  13. kmart60

    Books, books and more books!

    I know this is an old thread, and nobody asked, but... You just left it there??? What was the freaking error??? Do I have to read the book all over again? Am I even going to find it, if I invest the time, in this increasingly time-poor world with so many other great books out there? Please...
  14. kmart60

    OYSTER SHELLS

    We really like oysters. And wine. We really, really, really like wine.🥂😊
  15. kmart60

    OYSTER SHELLS

    What we've crushed up to date was poured into our OS tube with some commercial stuff we bought when we first got the chookies, I think it's been all eaten. Nobody died.🤣 We smashed it up until no pieces were bigger than 0.5 cm, but the majority smaller than that. We thought that creatures that...
See more
Back
Top Bottom