Some plants are toxic to chooks. Some of these plants are quite common in the average garden. Have a look around your garden and check if you have any of the following plants. Remove or prevent your chooks from visiting these areas.
Avocado flesh and stone, box hedging, daphne, eucalyptus shoots, inkweed, oleander, green potatoes, lantana, daffodil, kowhai leaves, oak leaves.
Silkie bantam
The Silkie has soft fluffy plumage and feathers on their feet. They are quiet and make great mothers. They can lay around 100 cream-coloured eggs a year but typically go broody wanting to hatch anything they can sit on, including gold balls. Having a small
frame they are not as destructive in the garden as the larger chooks. Being so gentle they can often get bullied by larger hens. They have black skin, bones and greyish black meat – not the best for the Sunday roast!
Worm farm
Avoid feeding your worms large amounts of citrus, onion or garlic. Avoid meat, fish
or any spicy food. Never add cat, dog or animal faeces. Not only is it unhygienic but if the animal has been wormed recently the chemicals could still be active in the animals faeces and could still kill your worms.
Eco Tip
Save old engine oil and mix into a bucket of sand (beach sand is not advised). Dip gardening tools into the sand bucket to clean and cover your tools with protective oil to stop them rusting.
By Janet Luke
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