Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Conchita & Consuela...and the evil possum

Being a guardian of a flock of boks necessarily entails endless contemplation over the acquisition of more and more hens...who knows why this condition exists in chook keepers but it's always there.
Pumpkin mandarins and flowers from the garden

So when I found 2 araucanas in need of a new home I couldn't resist. I'd been thinking of adding to our flock for a while now anyway but the thought of a massive dustbowl that I thought might ensue always held me back.  5 full grown full size hens roaming the backyard without a care.

Another thing to ponder.  Why is it that araucanas are always named Conchita and Consuela?  Surely not every buxom lass in South America is a Consuela or a Conchita?  No doubt if I ever acquire an araucana rooster he will be named Inigo Montoya.  In fact I think I'll get a rooster just so that I can name him after one of my favourite characters.

I digress.

So in the peak of the crazy storm in Melbourne last night, there I was on a wild hen chase aquaplaning through water past my tyre tops on the freeway making my way to the hens.  Of course the part of the world they were in was quite dry but they endured crazy driving on the way back to my place.  I'm sure they snored in the dark the entire way ignoring the erratic driving and the pelting rain.

Today, their first day, they spent in the coop learning that it is now 'home' whilst the other bok flockers roamed the garden as usual.


Conchita (with tag on her leg) even laid us an egg!  A green egg.

 


The other girls however are still freeloading *FROWN*

Welcome Conchita and Consuela!


The tragedy that is feeding local wildlife unintentionally

Meanwhile can someone confirm that it is a possum (we have LOADS of them on our street) that has eaten ALL of our capsicum and ALL of the red chillies (having left the unripe green ones).  Surely not a chook could be so neat?  Not a scrap of fruit left.  Neatly bitten stalks left behind.  No signs of scratching.  I've never seen the chooks up on the apple crates but I have seen possums sitting on our fence laughing at us.


 
GONE!  ALL GONE OVER NIGHT!




GONE!  All the red chillies - GONE!

13 comments:

  1. Ingio Montoya is the perfect name for a rooster, Mrs Bok.

    Our girls are settling in well and growing beautifully. With a bit of luck we might get an Easter egg or two! I have NO IDEA why I haven't posted about them yet. What is wrong with me?!

    The new Araucana girls are gorgeous. I hope they settle well. x

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  2. The new Araucanas are lovely! And hope they all settle in their new home verysoon :)

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  3. The new girls are fab, love the names. And possums , yep will be the little blighters for sure. They have trashed our lame attempt at a garden and are now so brazen they are sneaking in at night to get the scraps under the toddlers chair while we are up watching tellie a metre away with all the lights on! BRAZEN creatures. I just dream of turning them all into furry hats whichthey are legally allowed to do in NZ. melx

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  4. Hola Concita! Hola Consuela! You've really landed on your feet there with Missus. :-)

    You could do with some netting over those chillis then (or would they just eat through the netting?)

    What do Possums taste like - no jokes about yours tasting hot! ;-)

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  5. er - Mrs Bok, all I know is that hens love chillies. No, really really love them. Apparently the capsicain in them (that's what makes them hot) doesn't affect your chookie. I'm not as confident about the possum ...
    Love all your girls, but the new aracaunas are gorgeous - and productive already!!!
    Hola! Love Greenie x

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  6. My friend had terrible trouble with possums eating her chillies when she lived in apartment. They loved them so much they would climb up to her unit balcony just to gobble them all up! So possums is quite likely. The chooks would have munched on the leaves also for sure - no way that is chook damage...

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  7. aw they're so cute. I hatched some lavender ones last year but they were all boys. I kept one and named him King Bertie!

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  8. Conchita and Consuela must be pretty happy to be there as they have already gifted you with some eggs!

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  9. The hens must have good Karma for they have ended up in your flock. Congratulations to them. A possum? We have them here, but very seldom see them. How did you fix the eggs? I love your sense of humor.

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  10. I hope they bring you many more green eggs to show you their appreaciation. not sure about the possum, perhaps after all the chillies he will not come back again?

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  11. It's the C and C egg factory! Nice to see that they're already on the job, unlike others we won't mention :)

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  12. What a pretty egg! Hooray for new additions!

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  13. I love your new additions!! We bought our first brood yesterday which I'll post about in the next couple of days. But I'm already looking to acquire more. What can I say, they're addictive like that. ps I've nominated you for a Liebster Award, hope you don't mind :-) Mel xx

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