Perth Chickens

I always think it’s worth sharing pictures of first pullet eggs, because they represent more than just productivity and tummy treats. When you’ve incubated and hatched chicks yourself, then nurtured them and watched them grow and become more and more confident in themselves and their place in the flock, it’s like a ‘coming of age’ moment. You hold in your hand the beginning and the end of the circle of life as the two points of curvy time meet. The egg you gently placed into the warmth of the incubator was just the beginning, and has yielded another new beginning. If you look at the circle from a different angle, from alongside rather than from above, it’s actually the first full cycle of a spiral. The circle of life is actually a spiral with each full cycle marked by a little elliptical, beautiful, edible delight like this one.

The speckles won’t hang around for long for this little lady, they are a special starter treat for her human mumma to enjoy before the entire shell of her eggs become a single, dark chocolate continuum.

The 3 sisters have started laying within 2 days of each other, it’s incredible!

It’s difficult to catch the deep chocolate browns of our first pullet egg this morning. It’s always when the girls first start to lay, and she is the first of 3! Within a fortnight we should be getting 2-3 of these each day to add to our rainbow 🌈

Chick pics!!

The colouring of this one is spectacular. Can’t wait to show you more tomorrow as they get their flufffffffff on!!

When you’re off school sick and feeling sorry for yourself, what better way to spend the morning than sitting amongst chicks, drinking hot chocolate and doing your rubick’s cube? 🥰

Chick therapy really is a thing.

Nervous system reset with crochet and a chick. 🥰 Both of us benefit from these quiet cuddles.

Sometimes a chick hatches but doesn’t thrive like the rest. If these little guys want a chance at making it through the tough first few weeks of life, they often need some extra attention and cuddle time away from the other curious (and often peckity) chicks. I’m not sure how this little one will go over the next few days, but I will give it lots of extra love and body warmth to give it the best chance it can get.

I need a bit of extra love sometimes too, so this works well 😍🐥

Aaaaand the chick spam begins 😍

My girl found the best chick blanket EVER in her doll house 😂

What 6 year old doesn’t want to cuddle a chick in a techno colour fuzzy blanket?!

Preparing the cot for the new babies due tomorrow 🥰😍 🐣 🐥

So excited!!!

It’s been a looong time since my household could manage chicks again.

Capacity is everything when you decide to shepherd new life into the world and usher it through to independence, and it’s not something that should be held lightly. You have to be able and willing to emotionally navigate the spectrum of life’s experience - not only joy, wonder and excitement, but also illness, death, grief and helplessness.

For me, this past year has been about survival, and there’s been no space in me for any of life’s experiences, aside from the necessary ones.

This new batch of babies, about to pip their way out from the safety of their brittle wombs, feel like a mirror for my growing capacity to hold all of life’s complex experiences again, after a year of retreat in my own safe shell. When these babies emerge, I will be able to meet their needs and move with the waves of all the parts of the experience, without being completely overwhelmed (God willing!) and I’m feeling very grateful to feel capable again of undertaking this magical little adventure.

Stay tuned for more pics and updates as they begin to hatch!

The girls needed a new nesting box and we needed to access it without having to go into their yard and get **p on our feet 😂

Watch out for the video in the next couple of days 😊 I love picking up roadside treasures and transforming them into something useful!

Decided to sell my first perth-bred trio of Araucanas - these girls are the fully grown first hatch-batch after my move to Perth, and they are in amazing condition. They’re my smartest chickens by far, and their prized green eggs have been brightening up my egg basket for around 10 months now, minus the 3 months I gave them off the job over winter as we moved house 😛

It’s time to find them a forever home, and they will need to go together. If you’re interested, or know someone else who might be, feel free to like, share, tag or DM 😊

Reckon they need their wings clipped? 😅

Despite her being my dream theatre role, no, this is not me channeling Elphaba in a private show for my chickens.

I’m mixing up a new batch of layer pellets with home-grown Moringa Powder for an extra nutrient hit. It’s used as a livestock supplement all over the world to improve health, immunity, growth and egg production (for chickens). I grew my now adult Moringa tree from a precious seed many years ago and it’s finally found a place in the dirt to grow old and mature, after living in pots until late last year. It’s first year of full, ground-dwelling foliage gave me a bag of powder to supplement my chicken’s feed and add to my own smoothies. It’s not just amazing for animals!!!

So satisfying to have a miracle tree like this in my own backyard!