Chooks

MAY 2011
Well after having fun raising the Silkie chicks to egg layers and one dying, I decided it was time to find a new home for the one remaining chook.
Now im not sure if they do ok, but I dont think anyone wants to live alone on a balcony 28 floors up so decided to adopt her out to a new home.
She is now living in the countryside with many other Chooks and enjoying more space to peck around in.
It was a fun experiment and proved you can keep chooks in a small space with no smell.
The reality is the production isnt worth the time and effort needed.
I would rather put the time into another aquaponics setup with edible fish.

APRIL 2011
Just when I had given up on ever getting an egg my hen lays 2.
she had been acting weird last couple of days and making a lot more noise than usual, I thought she was just missing the other hen, guess it was getting that egg out the system for first time.
dropped them in the pan for some fried egg on toast, tasted great bit on the small side but very nice, well done Chook.

Regular Chook egg and a Silkie Egg Ready to eat.

MAR 2011
Very Sad
one of my 2 chooks just suddenly died?
it was fine in the morning, fed them as usual in evening its laying on its side barley moving, little latter its dead.
The remaining chook is very distressed and seams to be missing his buddy.
Any advice on the cause.
Is it ok for one single chicken to be on its own!
could it have started its first egg which got stuck!
oh well thats nature but still dosent feel good!

MAR 2011
I finally got My Chooks ( Chickens)
2 Silkie hens, I went for this type as they are more domesticated and because of their silkie feathers they are unable to fly.
I used a plastic fence mesh to cover any gaps on the balcony, then i let them loose.

First off they mad a mess every where and on a tiled floor it was hard to keep clean from chicken poop, and no matter how many times i placed a bowl inside a tray with food they would chuck it every where, so I decided that I would need to make a cage.

This was better but still very messy.

then after a little gardening and changing some pots over i thought of a great idea!

i used the end section of my balcony and placed a small wood coop about 2 meters from end and closed it all in, I also placed my worm bin on top to make it higher.

Then i just tipped soil all over the deck in the pen area. now when i feed them they make as much mess ass they want, and poop back into the soil so they have created a perfect compost pile with them doing all the work.

Now I will rotate the soil into my planters as i replant autumn and spring and place old soil back in pen, perfect.
I did leave some of the veggies in the pen area of which they destroyed the rhubarb leaves and my spring onions striped to soil, but dont ever touch Tomato, Basil , Rosemary or gooseberry plants.

all in all i am happy with the outcome and there is no smell and very little noise just the odd cluck