Learning about chooks

Now having been the proud owner of four pullets for all of six weeks, and far from confident as a chook owner, I was happy to be able to get to a poultry keeping workshop today run by Paul Healy, the well-known breeder of Barnevelder poultry who I bought my birds from. It was held at Huon Falls, his property at Judbury. Paul is best known for his talkback on ABC radio on Saturday mornings which is amazingly popular and the columns he writes for Organic Gardener and the magazine insert in The Mercury. After more than 40 years breeding poultry, you could say he knows his stuff... but he says he's constantly learning as people's situations, the climate, illnesses and pests never remain constant. So if you go to a workshop, take pen and paper and don't expect notes or a handbook, as the advice will almost certainly change.

I learned a lot, from the best way to catch and hold them, what to feed, how to worm them, how to house them safely, best types of runs and nest boxes, common mistakes, how to prevent and treat mites and lice, what to grow that they like to eat, and finally how to kill and skin a rooster, one of those non-fun but necessary parts of owning chickens... except for the eating bit of course. And I must say - it is hard to beat a box full of Barnevelder chicks for cute value!

At lunch we were able to wander down to the banks of the Huon River where it is considerably narrower and more turbulent than here downriver at Franklin. It was a great day for me where my head was cleared of work for the first time in ages. It was just a shame that the valley was filled with smoke from burning off nearby... more on that in another post.