Tuesday 4 October 2011

The Butcher's advice

After months of tireless work, the 'chook nook' is just about ready for the arrival of our adopted chooks.

On Saturday we visited them at their current home, firstly so they could get to meet us and secondly, to size up their current living quarters and to see how it compares to their soon-to-be new environment. While they currently have a grassed backyard to occasionally run, scratch and peck in, they don't always spend time free-ranging and are often confined to their fenced yard and hen house.

We decided that our fenced chook yard was considerably bigger and would offer them a new experience in that it's a totally secure environment, fully fenced top and sides. We live on the edge of a national park and a roof was essential to provide security from the likes of dogs, foxes, predatory birds, quolls, snakes and cats including black panthers. Okay, they may not be real panthers and more likely very large black feral cats and although cats have been domesticated for over 4000 years, the hunting instinct is still strongly imprinted in their brain and dominates their existence when they go feral. A vulnerable chook or two would be easy prey for these quiet predators, not to mention a cunning fox so our solar electric fence will be deployed as an extra deterrent.

Safety and security are important features of any chook nook no matter where you live. I've known people to 'come home' with a chook or three, totally unprepared and its usually a disaster for a few weeks while they play catch up trying to build a chook house and yard.

Although you don't need anything too elaborate, you do need to be ready with some essentials prior to their arrival. This includes a secure, warm, dry permanent structure where they can sleep, roost, feed and lay their eggs and of course, hide if necessary. They need a fresh water supply and lots of food, and as ours are already laying they could need up to a kilo of food each per week. So over the months, we've been preparing our chook nook to provide all these things and more.

A slinky black panther roaming on the edge of our permaculture garden is one thing but to be honest, my biggest concern is the two dogs over the road who are young, stupid and apparently deaf! We do want to allow our chooks to free range across the terrace beds occasionally and as I watched the two of them tear down the side of our house the other day with their owner in hot pursuit, I got thinking they're going to be our biggest worry. It will only take seconds for a dog to kill a chook or two. And while their young owners are trying hard to train them, from my observations they still have a long way to go before they will actually 'stay' or 'come' when told to do so and once they get the scent of chooks in their nostrils nothing is going to stop them.

I am slightly sympathetic because we also have two dogs but the difference is our mutts are adorable, well trained and highly intelligent and they'll be trained up and spooked right from the start to ensure they clearly understand that chooks are scary and out of bounds.

Although the chooks have been somewhat dogerized they've also had their wings clipped which may be a problem given that flying is a very handy escape mechanism to have when being pursued by a dog.

As for what to do about the dogs over the road, I may just have to call on my friend the butcher for some expert advice!