From kitchen waste to fresh eggs
On the weekend we visited my in-laws, who have a fantastic vegie garden, fruit trees, a few sheep and a lot of chickens. At home we put our kitchen waste in the compost bin, but when we stay with the in-laws, most of it goes into the ‘chook bucket’.
I like feeding the chickens - they’re very soothing company, even if they are a little stupid. When they see you coming with the chook bucket they get so excited, it’s pretty funny. They also provide manure for your garden, and eat a lot of pesky insects. But the fantastic part is the fresh eggs…
Our garden is just a bit too small to keep chickens. However, if we had a standard-size block I’d definitely keep a couple. You can go upmarket with the Eglu, but Josh Byrne from Gardening Australia has free plans you can use to make your own chook pen (pdf), big enough for two chickens (or three if they’re a small breed). Gardening Australia also has plenty of information about keeping backyard chickens.