Going commando with the chickens

I experienced chicken massage for the first time today – that is laying on your tummy with chickens crawling all over your back.
In the pursuit of collecting all the eggs that our new hens are laying all over the place, I spent hours today under our “chook villa” commando crawling to get the eggs and the girls were happy to get up close and personal.
When a new flock arrives they don’t yet know where their nesting boxes are and you end up with lots of eggs on the ground, or in this case, under the trailer.
It’s going to be a trying week while they adjust, but we’re so pleased with the egg quality and how calm and healthy our hens are.
Hattie took great delight in eating the first egg we collected in a special baby scramble and it looks like I’ll be getting good at slipping eggs into all kinds of recipes.
Our hens arrived on Saturday – the most eventful day we’ve had for a while.
The drama all started with the generator in our pump shed catching fire and burning the shed it was in and the bore casing too. It’s not ideal considering that’s how we pump water up to near the house and then out to our water troughs, but Dean is working on getting it fixed as soon as possible.
Big thanks to the Eldorado CFA and those travelling past who stopped to help. The CFA is such an important part of the community and we couldn’t be more thankful.
The chooks started arriving soon after and have been entertaining and frustrating in equal measure ever since as they settle in.
Under the watchful eye of Aldo the Maremma, they are doing well.
There’s a few Houdinis in the flock and they are full of personality, following us around, pecking my hands and even laying their eggs, just inches from my face.
One chook squatted outside like she was going to lay an egg, so I picked her up and took her towards the nest – and surprise, surprise, she dropped an egg mid air, and it didn’t even break!
Let’s hope they catch on with this laying in nest boxes soon.
In the meantime, anyone interested in a special egg collection bootcamp? Maybe it could be the next fancy exercise trend? Followed by a chicken massage?
If you’re keen to stock our eggs, get in touch by emailing hello@kilmuir.com.au or phoning 0410 922 451

Natasha xxx