New pullets have settled in

Our latest batch of Isa Brown pullets has settled in, and the girls like their protector, Bella the Maremma (which is just as well) ! This is a flock of 350, or 340 now as we sold 10 to the Rhyll Trout Farm on Phillip Island.

We often sell off a few of point of lay pullets as long as we have enough for our own egg production. The plan is that this flock will start laying in a couple of weeks and will quickly get into full production to help meet demand. Then in November, a flock of 200 will arrive and hopefully we will be able to cope with demand over the December/January holiday period.

It's probably a forlorn hope, as demand always outstrips supply - especially if really hot weather kicks in early.

Three dogs and a goat

Daisy,Lill, Lexie and Baz the goat, enjoying the sun

The clocks went on to summer time today, so it was a slow start this morning as everyone tried to get used to the clocks going forward an hour.
As it was a very sunny day, the dogs made the most of it - basking in the sunshine just about all day, and they were joing by Baz the goat who thought that just lounging around was a great idea.
Pansy, the Jersey cow wasn't so impressed!!

New flock is out exploring

The 300 fifteen week old Isa Brown pullets in our new flock are spending their days exploring their paddock. Here are some of them under a stand of eucalypts.
There are two mobile sheds in the paddock but many of the young hens prefer to roost in the trees rather than spend their nights in one of the sheds.
Hopefully, once they start laying eggs (in two or three weeks) they will get the message that the nest boxes in the sheds are wonderful things.
The pullets quickly realised that their Maremma, Abby, is a friend and she now has an air of self-importance because for three weeks she didn't have a flock to protect.

The only good fox......

It's always hard to know how many foxes our Maremma's kill but every now and then we come across a body of one who has tried to sneak in to grab a chook.

This morning I found one dead under one of the mobile roost houses. The hens in that paddock are protected by two dogs, Monte and Chicca so they are working well together.

The numbers of foxes appear to building up again and we hear their constant calling every night.

Without our dogs we wouldn't have a chicken left within a few weeks.

We are reluctant to call for a massive baiting program in the region because of the potential problems for other wildlife - such as Lace Monitors which could take the baits. But it does seem that fox numbers are more out of control than ever.