New chicks on the farm
The more the debate rages around the term “free range” with respect to egg-laying chickens, the more popular the backyard chook house has become. Many of our elderly neighbours are from migrant families for whom owning chickens, along with growing vegetables and making whole foods from scratch were simply the way things were done.
From early origins as fighting birds in parts of Asia, chickens have been farmed for at least 2,000 years. Their ubiquitous nature as part of our lives is demonstrated nowhere more fully than in our every day parlance in which we encourage people to not count their chickens before they’ve hatched and to work out the pecking order.
These days, backyard chicken owners are fare more likely to be keeping their feathered girls as quasi pets than seeking them as a means of making a little extra cash on the side. In the era of cage hens, it also feels good to be able to offer genuine room to roam in exchange for a regular supply of eggs.
We’ve kept a few chickens for the better part of a decade on our tiny farm. For us, chickens represent the perfect companion for our gardens – providing manure and eating bugs – and our kitchen – helping us dispose of the food scraps.
Our current brood of three are all rescues – one gorgeous old girl was given to a vet friend of ours to be put down and we agreed to take her in instead. The other two came to us from a family who had to move away and couldn’t take their girls with them. They’ve mostly run their race in terms of egg-laying but we love them, and so do the kids.
So much so that our youngest has been very keen to have a chick of her own for a little while now. And we felt there was room enough to expand the crew, with a few extra perches in the hen house and an extended run into the back yard.
While we have mainly had Isa Browns in the past, we were keen to find some heritage breeds to add to our flock. Sticking with heritage rather than hybrids suits us on many levels: it aligns with our gardening philosophy which tends towards heirloom fruits and vegetables; we appreciate the longer life span and laying cycle of these girls; and, while this may not be accurate, it just feels more natural.
After a reasonably long drive we arrived at our heritage breeder and were able to narrow down our preferred breeds to the Orphington and the Welsummer. Both are reasonable layers (upwards of 150 eggs per year), not too flighty and fairly docile. The owner selected a couple of chicks of each breed and the final choice was made by the kids. And that is how Mango and Passionfruit came to join our tiny farm!
They are less than a week old so are being kept inside under a heat lamp (much to the kids delight) for a few weeks yet before being slowly introduced to the older girls where – we hope – they won’t be hassled too much as they settle into their new home.
Welcome to tiny farm!