THE ONE EQUALS THE MANY - Same work, more benefits!

One of the principles of Permaculture - according to its founding father, Bill Mollison - is that in a sustainable garden system, all elements should fulfill at least two, if not three, different functions. One example would be a fruit-bearing tree that gives fruit to eat, rinds for compost, leaves for mulch, twigs for kindling, and shade for humans, animals and other plants; Or chickens which provide eggs, meat (if you eat it), manure, feathers, carbon dioxide, methane and heat for other nearby life forms. (They also promote vegetation by dispersing seeds, pollinating plants and eating insects so probably time to get some chickens!)

I started to wonder what else this could be applied to in life and to analyse some of my daily activities in the light of whether they fulfill more than just their one, primary function. To my surprise, the three activities I picked off the top of my head all had a lot of hidden value: Creative pursuits - such as art-making in my case - provides not only a product to enjoy, share or sell, but also gives me spiritual fulfillment and relief from stress. Likewise, going to a fitness class - as well as the obvious health benefits you would expect - also provides me with social interaction (which counterbalances a lot of time working alone) and also a degree of learning. Then, of course, there is gardening which, as well as providing an aesthetically pleasant place for myself and my partner and our friends/family and pets to enjoy, gives me multiple health benefits as not only do I get to eat more tasty, home-grown, organic food but I also get exercise and relaxation into the bargain!

The perceived value of our regular activities can really go up when we analyse them in light of the varied benefits they give us and - in these days of overflowing inboxes and hectic schedules - this might help us in our daily lives to sort out where our energies are most usefully spent...Just as it does when we come to planning what to grow!

For more insight into Bill Mollison and Permaculture watch: In Grave Danger of Falling Food

With thanks for additional information for this article, to:
Permaculture-Sustainable Farming/Ranching/Living
About Permaculture

Read More......

...And in health

THE CHICKEN BLOG: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW FROM THE GROUND
July 2008
I was down buying chicken feed from the shop and saw a tiny notice offering Andalusian hens of all colours for sale. Of course this had to be followed up and one evening I went with Paco to a rural cortijo up in the hills. I was amazed to find I now had an introduction to Almuñécar's main breeder of speciality hens.

Although he sells surplus birds, he assured me it was his hobby and was keen to show me the hundreds of birds he keeps – mainly Javas and Andalusian but with plenty of pretty bantams. There were also birds who could only be kept alone as they are fighters. The Andalusians came in all sizes, and the cockerels as always were very showy – standing almost a metre high with very long wattles hanging down.

Although the notice had only been up three days the breeder had already sold out of grey hens and almost out of grey and white mottled ones – but luckily there was still a small one left (plus all the males) so we agreed a price of 12 euros and after resisting pressure to buy a puppy or two, at 10.15pm I left to settle special one in…

You would think that one hen is much like another and that they’d adapt quickly to new and improved lodgings, and although she seemed keen to become part of the flock, the older members were very put out and have behaved in an extremely unfriendly manner. They have chased her unmercifully and attack her beautiful feathers at any opportunity. So much so, that I have had to separate her most of the time. While she is in the special pen, the others glare at her through the netting and march up and down the perimeter fence in an intimidating fashion, while she makes a pathetic squawking in a vain attempt at getting sympathy. The other five are real bullies, and the dilemma now is whether to attempt further integration – and risk a bald chicken – or keep her in isolation and continue to stoke the others’ jealous mood?

Read More......

In sickness...

THE CHICKEN BLOG: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW FROM THE GROUND
March 2008
Illnesses can crop up but generally if chicks are kept in good conditions you just have to keep an eye to see if they have worms or if they have trouble eating or drinking. Sometimes they look poorly, with droopy and colourless combs and wattles but usually they recover, especially when fed on yoghurt garlic and extra protein-even tinned cat food is recommended!

Occasionally they hunch up their shoulders and seem depressed – usually briefly just before laying a poor quality egg…For the beginner it is inadvisable to look at all the sites on the internet relating to chicken health and sickness – it makes very frightening reading for the small hen keeper.

Of course there comes a time in every hen's life when a decision has to be made about her future. For two of our first hens, I think I made a mistake due to lack of knowledge of the local conditions here in Spain. With the best of intentions I allowed them to free range but forgot that among the weeds there were also poisonous seeds and plants – very common in this area – such as castor oil plants and datura, and they both died after a few days of getting weaker. One of our first hens was savaged by a wild dog before we had built the reinforcements necessary – this is very important when deciding to keep hens here.

More recently one of the younger hens had a severe prolapse and after much worry and consultation with the other hen fanciers on line, I decided she could not be healed and needed to be killed. What to do? I was unable to take action myself, but luckily in the campo there are always people who know how to deal with this and our good neighbour's son took her away to do the deed. I always think now that if I can’t even put a hen out of its misery, how could I possibly deal with a close friend or my partner asking for help to die….

The other dilemma is what to do when their usefulness – i.e. egg production – goes down after a couple of years, and there’s only so much room in the hen-house? (They need several square feet each for comfort.) Some of our hens are indeed getting older and we are now getting some poor quality eggs, though two seem to be laying ok. It could be the stress caused by a snake, or rats, but most likely the combination of the menopause and hot weather! Although we get enough eggs for our needs, we haven’t sold any for ages, As the girls (or should I say older ladies?) have molted and had to grow new feathers they are also eating huge amounts, and definitely not earning their keep. Mrs. Black, as oldest, seems to be in her prime with a gorgeous back/blue feather coat but clearly has better things to do than lay eggs these days! As our hens are pets we’ll probably keep them until they die naturally. Although we don’t eat meat, we would be happy if anyone wanted to use them for soup – they are not fed for meat eating, so they would be too stringy!

But I do go and look for new members of our little flock and am keeping my eyes open for one or two special breed hens, such as the Arucanas which lay blue green eggs, or the original andalusian blue grey hens. It remains to be seen if they will assimilate easily, be bullied by the rest or even rule the roost?

Read More......

Feeling Broody

THE CHICKEN BLOG: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW FROM THE GROUND
The one thing you can say with certainty about broodiness, is that it passes! Just as well really, otherwise we’d live in a totally overpopulated world full of millions of babies and chicks. Our two broody hens have been on an off for about 3 months now. At first it’s difficult to know why the hens start losing tail and neck feathers and stop laying: Are they ill? Have they got parasites? It soon becomes clear that ” something is up”. As we don’t keep roosters, there is no chance of fertilisation i.e. baby chicks. (N.B. the Spanish word for male chicken and the one eaten is “pollo” - it is most important not to use “pollA” as its´ meaning is very different!)

Both Mrs Black and That One retired behind their curtain where most eggs are laid, and waited. And waited. In fact they would have preferred not to emerge at all, especially when the others tried to find a place to lay. There was then a bit of a contest to see who could take charge of the clutch, with both getting very upset when the eggs were removed. (Apparently this discourages broodiness, though I fail to be convinced, as the two continued in their resolve.)

Twice a day I would dislodge them and push them outdoors as its important, at this time, to get them to feed and see to their other needs. At this point both would cackle loudly, fluff up their remaining tail feathers into a fan shape, fall over (pins and needles in their legs from too much inactivity?) and do a huge and very smelly poo! After a brief snack they would dig holes in the dust and roll around - a useful activity as it helps dislodge mites and cools the overheated birds down. But all too soon they spot another egg and go into purdah again.

Interestingly, broodiness is a trait which has been largely bred out of domestic fowl these days, though there are certain breeds which are used to incubate eggs, such as the Silkies. Others tend to lose interest after a few days and are generally considered unreliable. Most breeders seem to use incubators. I intended to beg a fertilized egg or two from the man down the road as an experiment, but did not catch him in… There are various suggestions as to how to deal with excessive broodiness. It’s possible to keep the broodies happy by marking an egg and leaving it in the nest, or use a china one. Some birds are separated from the flock and put in a hanging cage, but this seems harsh to me. After all they are only following instincts…

In our case, as the whole hen house under the pool needed a good clean out, the birds were shut out in the run all day (which always causes alarm and despondency.) I changed the curtain for a new one, and suddenly both broodies had lost interest and were back with the rest.

Still the bout of broodiness has taken its toll and Mrs Black and That One are still not yet laying. Either they are going into moult or they are building their feathers up again - apparently they can´t manage both at once. Mrs Black features in the photo before she lost her feathers - she has refused any press coverage in her current state!

Read More......

The Chicken and the Egg

THE CHICKEN BLOG: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW FROM THE GROUND
Bingo! It’s midsummer day and there are six eggs in the hen house. Well actually there are five behind the curtain (a favourite spot) and one from the rugged individualist (there’s always one!) who insists on leaving her offering just inside the door on the floor to see whether I am clever enough to avoid stepping on it in the dark.

This is the first time for ages there has been a full “clutch” due to seasonal affective disorder (not enough sun, too much sun) broodiness or young hens wanting to gad about before settling down to their main purpose in life.

It is getting quite hard to give away the eggs as many expats are going to the UK now and the neighbours mostly have their own. There are two elderly Spanish neighbours who take them, but insist on paying 50 cents or a euro to contribute to the feed. They are both useful sources of information about hen care, but neither really understand the concept of hens as pets: If they don’t lay, they should be eaten….

Anyway, back to eggs. There are numerous sites on the web which give interesting views on egg shell colour. As a general rule, hens lay eggs the colour of their ears (yes, they have ears but definitely no teeth) which means that red hens lay brown eggs, white hens lay white eggs etc., but I have not yet encountered a black or grey egg, so it doesn’t always work out that way. Last year I was more or less able to tell which hen laid which egg but now it is difficult as the amount of sun also makes them lighter in colour. Incidentally the black hens lay white eggs and the greys, light brown.

About once a week there is a double yolk-er, or at least two that are about twice the size of the others. Sometimes there are eggs with no shell, which are jellylike, and occasionally there are broken eggs - I presume a fit of jealousy …. I have also found the odd egg right at the back of the pool equipment where an enterprising rat (or snake??) has rolled it, but has been unable to hoick it over the pipe to its private quarters.

————————————————–

The Other One says she’s heard it said a lot lately that if you want to reach a certain goal in life, first you should imagine all the side benefits that might come along with the achievement of the goal; then you have to think of different ways you might get these same benefits or feelings. Apparently, The Other One says, creating these conditions first puts you in the right mindframe to have your goal become a reality. Sounds just like the chicken and the egg to me…
Mrs Black

Next blog will cover broodiness. Mrs Black is not interested in pursuing this topic at the moment!

Read More......

The View From The Hen House

THE CHICKEN BLOG: A BIRD'S EYE VIEW FROM THE GROUND
We’re just a small flock of six hens. We still consider ourselves young though admittedly we are not spring chickens any longer. I’m not sure we are what you’d call free range but we’re happy enough with a large house for nesting and roosting (under the swimming pool) and a big outside fenced run. Baby One did get out last week but she didn’t get far.When she came back she said we were better off here due to the large numbers of abandoned dogs roaming the area…
Mrs Black (Head Hen)

On choice
The first problem is how to stock the henhouse. Do we go by age, colour, breed, gender, laying form? In the end some are definitely more beautiful than others; some are better at laying - either more often or bigger eggs.

Do we need a rooster for them to be happy? Definitely not! As I said to a (male Spanish) neighbour passing by who suggested we needed a ¨good cock around the place¨ they are generally greedy, noisy, lazy and too much trouble.

On Feeding
What hungry birds our hens are! They eat loads of grain but also most greenery from the garden. In fact what they really like is Bermuda buttercup (clover-like with a yellow flower) and they jump up to get the freshest morsels from my hand. It’s then we discover that some can jump, and indeed fly higher than others. Hence the bareness of the terrace wall of any green weeds at all!

The different chickens make very different choices when given a variety of food. Some kinds of fruit and veg are always popular but some are rejected. Why are melon seeds a favourite whilst pumpkin seeds get stamped on? Beak wiping seems to indicate disgust with an offering but maybe it’s the equivalent of a napkin?

Read More......