SUSSEX CHICKENS

Sussex chickens

My two sussex chickens with an Isa
 Brown and rooster poking their
 heads in

 A good friend of mine works at an animal rescue centre and every now and then she gets stray chickens in. When she gets a chicken in she calls me up to see if I'm interested in giving them a new home. Yesterday i received a call and she told me that she had these huge gorgeous girls in, but she wasn't sure of the breed. I told her i was interested and she brought them to me that night. Before she left a ranger came in and he told her that they were Sussex. I have a light Sussex hen and a speckled Sussex hen. I'm looking forward to receiving my first eggs from them. Previously she has given me 3 Isa browns and one black hen that turned into a rooster, but we knew there was a risk that that would happen as he was young when we got him. He is due for the pot :( as I can't keep a rooster in suburbia. When we used to live in the Dandenongs we used to have a rooster and so did all my neighbours so it was very well accepted. I don't think that will be happening here. 

Light Sussex chicken

Speckled Sussex chicken

If you are after chickens is it well worth a couple of phone calls to animal rescue centres and they usually don't charge anything or not very much for the hens that are brought in. They are usually required to house them for some time so they will be able to tell you weather or not they are laying. But keep in mind that when a chicken is stressed it is more than likely that they will stop laying so this may not be the most accurate determination of weather they are productive or not. All my Isa browns laid in the shelter but these Sussex haven't. So it will be a waiting game, they look to be in fantastic health and to be young in age so i have no doubt that they will lay, they will just need to get used to their new environment. It will also be depend on how urgently you want the hens and their availability is only when one is lost or abandoned. 

all my chooks having a feed

speckled Sussex chook

TIME TO PULL THE SUMMER VEGGIES!

Well we have had a very sad wet summer in Melbourne, great for the catchments but my patch just didn't preform very well. My pumpkins and zucchinis suffered from powdery mildew and the few pumpkins i harvested split. I barley harvested any zucchini which are usually a bumper crop! The best performers this year were cucumber with half retiring to the pickle jar! I've also had an abundance of chilies with more that half still hanging on the tree begging to turn red! So with the great fluctuation in weather my patch is confused,  one week the veggies are dying off as the conditions are not right for the crop and the next weeks it is a flourish with new growth and the plant looking healthy and productive. But as we head into autumn I think i will be pulling my zucchinis and tomatoes to make room for winter cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower surrounded by spinach, silver beet, beetroot, turnips, parsnips, garlic, onions and celery to name a few. Last week i snuck  a few bulbs of garlic in the ground and already they are sprouting to life. My cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds have germinated and are growing strong! In a few weeks they will graduate to the garden!

Just one of my chili plants that are heavy laden with fruit!

For the labour day long weekend my family went camping around Marysville and stumbled upon a market. a stall holder was selling heirloom seeds and is known as the pumpkin lady! She gave me great tips and i bought a beautiful french heirloom pumpkin seed pack called bumpkin pumpkin! Cant wait for next spring to sow these seeds and have some weird and wonderful pumpkins adorning my garden! This year I grew my pumpkins and cucumber up a garden arch which worked perfectly! It made the veggie patch a little different to the standard patches and saved so much room! It also offered shade to those veggies that like a little shelter from the elements.This winter i will reuse the arches for my peas.

The end of my cucumbers climbing up my garden arch, still bearing fruit as the cold weather sets in!

I found a great supplier of hay for my chicken coop last weekend! I was paying $12 a bale at the local pet supplier and this lady was selling hay for $3.50 a bale! Awesome I bought 10 and stock piled them in the chicken coup! These will also be fantastic mulch as the weather warms up in 6 months time!

My chooks - I'm lucky to have a friend that works for an animal rescue center and when she get's chickens in she calls me up and see's if i'm interested in giving them a home! In return I get beautiful fresh eggs and manure for my garden!

I am after some compost worms as I lost mine in the extreme heat this summer! I am willing to trade heirloom seeds or eggs or comfrey roots for some so if you have surplus compose worms please contact me! I use the casting as a medium to spout my seeds, and the liquid is a great fertilizer for the veggie patch! If you have any knowledge please feel free to share!