Well, so far we've made two excursions across New Zealand's most beautiful and sparsely populated island (the southern one, that is) to the Remarkables Market near Queenstown.  It's always fun to get out, though some of us are more comfortable face-to-face than others.  And sometimes the weather cooperates more than others...last time we were slowed down by a rockfall which severely damaged the highway!  But it's a pretty good time, and if you want a good look at our latest hen house design this is a good place to do it!

Oamaru has always had a bit of an attraction for us, being a somewhat more antique area than typically found in a youngish country like New Zealand, so when we received an invititation from organizer Faye Ormandy it didn't take a whole lot of convincing to go, even with the three hour drive!

Early last December I fearfully snuck a look at what I, through clenched teeth, referred to as my vegetable garden.  The previous June and July I had carefully limed and cultivated the soil in preparation for the warmer temperatures to come (and we’re still waiting).  However, being a serf in the modern feudal lord system of the New Zealand dairy industry, I hadn’t exerted useful effort there in four months.  What met my eyes screamed more for a machete than a hoe and I thought I caught a glimpse of a Mayan ruin poking up above the nettles next to the plum tree, but it also might have been the compost bin.

After receiving an invite to the poultry show from the board, we loaded up one of our Ark Chicken Tractors,

packed some camping gear and headed on the four hour trip from Tapanui to Oamaru, NZ.  Arriving a little after 3:00 p.m. on Friday, the Secretary Mr. Hill was kind enough to orient us.  Wow, what a lot of birds...and bird noise!  We got a good laugh out of the high-pitched crowing of the bantam cockerels (little-chicken syndrome?), then headed out to find a camp spot.  After a fairly cold but comfortable evening we headed back in the morning and set up.  Yes!  There was room inside the hall for us to bring in The Ark.  Shortly someone showed up with hens he wanted to sell and we were all too hapy to oblige.  Three happy point-of-lay White Leghorns spent a busy day scratching in the pine needle litter and eventually even had a huge white egg to boot...their thanks for being rescued from a show cage for the day? 

Our Chicken Story: Beginnings

Having experienced the difference between eggs layed by pasture-fed chickens and store bought eggs, we knew we wanted to keep our own hens. At that time (several years ago) we moved around a lot, so having gigantic chicken coops and keeping chickens didn't really seem like an option. Then everyone warned us against the damage hens would do to our lawn. When we eventually moved to a farm and kept the chickens in a big fenced yard, the hens quickly eliminated every sign of plant life. It seemed we had a problem!