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You are here: Home / Archives for Learning

Saturday, 26 May, 9-11 am – Keeping Healthy Backyard Chooks With Kirstie Henning

20/04/2018 By

Keeping chickens in your backyard can be simple and enjoyable if done correctly. If you plan to own chickens, or already have chickens, this workshop will give you in-depth information on housing, fencing, diet and general health maintenance. Kirstie Henning is a qualified holistic Animal Nutritionist. She has successfully bred a large range of purebred heritage breeds including a range of exotic breeds of bantam chickens at her acreage property in North Arm near Yandina. Whether you are a beginner, or already own chickens, you will learn lots of tips and tricks for keeping poultry including natural alternatives. Bring along your questions on the day as it is an interactive workshop. To book click here

​Tea & coffee will be served after the event, please bring your own mug as YCG strives to host waste free workshops. Also note the workshops are all weather events (rain or shine).

Filed Under: Featured, Workshops Tagged With: backyard chooks, chickens, Chooks, Healthy backyard chooks, Kirstie Henning, Learning, sustainable living, Workshop, Yandina community Gardens

Healthy Heritage Chooks

20/04/2018 By

Why Heritage Breeds

Heritage or traditional breed chickens have been around for hundreds of years.  They are purebred birds that have stood the test of time and adapted to their environment. These birds tend to be more foregiving when it comes to novice chicken keepers as they can survive with some basic care.  In their day these birds were considered the champion egg layers but since cross-breeding and hybridisation they are no longer the super egg layers, this title belongs to cross-bred birds.  Heritage breeds lay eggs for up to 7 years, although the number of eggs might taper off. Hybrid birds on the other hand, only lay for about two to three years and then they stop laying.  To preserve the heritage breeds it is important for backyard chicken keepers to  continue to keep and breed these birds.

Caring For Your Chooks

Shelter: Chickens require shelter from the rain, sun, wind and predators. A good sturdy chicken coop, that foxes and other predators cannot burrow under is ideal.  The coop should also have 1 or 2 laying boxes where chickens can lay their eggs. Laying boxes should be protected from direct sunlight and they prefer it to be a little dark.  Put some hemp  bedding or straw in the bottom of the laying box.  Also if your coop is on a concrete base or simply on the ground, use an absorbent material such as straw, sugar cane mulch or hemp to put on the floor as this will absorb the droppings and keep the coop clean.  Both the laying boxes and coop should be cleaned regularly and the straw taken out of the coop can be used in the garden for mulch and compost.

Food & Water: Chickens require access to fresh and clean water daily. This is particularly important in hot weather. Food should include vegetable scraps, a good seed mix or layer mash and where possible some bugs such as soldier fly larvae.  If birds are free ranging they find bugs for themselves.

Companionship: Chickens are very social creatures so ensure you keep more than one and handle and talk to your birds regularly.  Chickens are able to recognize up to 200 faces, so don’t think they don’t know when you are around.

Illness: Chickens can get ill, some things that can plague them are worms which gives them diarrhoea (dirty pants). The chicken will look ill, lose weight, have a poor appetite and drink more water than usual. The remedy for worms is feeding them comfrey leaves and garlic. Also scatter wormwood leaves all around the coop. Prevention would include feeding them oats weekly and putting garlic and cider vinegar in their water. Lice, fleas and mites can be prevented by keeping the coop clean and dusting their coop with diatomacious earth

Happy And Healthy Chooks

Healthy chickens have the following:

  • Bright, full and waxy combs
  • Bright, shiny and alert eyes
  • Clean nostrils and no sound of laboured breathing.
  • Heads and tails held high
  • Breasts full and plump
  • Abdomens firm
  • Feathers smooth and clean
  • Droppings firm, greyish brown with a white cap.

Happy chickens do the following:

  • Scratch in the soil looking for bugs
  • Take dust baths
  • Maintain a pecking order
  • Go broody and mate (if there is a rooster about)

Selecting The Right Bird

It is important to find the right bird for your situation and requirements.  Below are some things to consider

CriteriaDescription
Climate HardinessCan the bird selected survive the temperatures of your area? Living in South East Queensland heat is a big consideration when selecting a bird
Roosters Or HensIn the city one can only have hens and no roosters, check with your local council on how many hens you can have for the size of your property
Egg ProductionAre you keeping hens for egg production then select a breed that has high egg production
Meat ProductionIf you are keeping chickens to slaughter for meat then select a bird that is plumb and meaty
Handling Ability & FlightinessSome birds do not want to be handled. If you want children to enjoy the chickens then find a breed that does not mind being picked up. Some breeds are very flighty and thus are hard to keep confined to a backyard.
BroodinessIf you want to breed with your chickens then a hen that gets broody often is good to put fertilised eggs under, otherwise broodiness is not desireable as egg production ceases when hens are broody
OrnamentalIf you do not care about eggs or meat then you might want to keep a pretty bird

Popular Heritage Breeds

  • Australorp
  • Rhode Island Red
  • Wyandotte (various colours)
  • Silkie (small breed, great for small gardens & children)
  • Welsummer
  • New Hampshire
  • Araucana (lays blue eggs)
  • Frizzle

Chickens & Permaculture

Permaculture is about understanding and encouraging a healthy relationship between plants, animals, humans and the environment and in so doing creating benefit for all.  Chickens not only provide eggs and meat but produce manure for your garden and their scratching habit can be used in all sorts of ways like turning your compost pile. Chickens are also ferocious bug hunters so they make quick work of catching all the unwanted bugs in your orchard or veggie patch.  From a social perspective they are a delight to have around teaching children and adults alike how to care and interact with birds and the environment in general.

YCG will be hosting a chicken workshop, to book click here

 

 

Filed Under: Chickens, Featured, Sustainable Living, Workshops Tagged With: caring for chickens, chickens, Heritage chickens, Heritage chooks, Learning, workshops, Yandina community Gardens

Saturday, 28 April, 9-11 am – Make your own wax cloth-wraps

18/04/2018 By

Join Gayle Richens from our ‘Give Plastic the Flick’ group to make your own wax wraps. This is a hands-on workshop.

Please bring

  • A fine cotton material, you may have some at home or check out Op Shops as they often have small pieces of cotton material, must be cotton, not poly cotton, suggested sizes – Small ( 12x 12 cm), Medium ( 23 x 23 cm), Large( 33×33 cm). You need to wash and dry your material prior to the workshop. Gayle will also have a plentiful supply of material available on the day for a small fee.
  • Pinking Sheers if you have them
  • Cool drinks and morning tea ( fridge available ).

This will be a relaxed fun morning. To book, click here

Tea & coffee will be served after the event, please bring your own mug as YCG strives to host waste free workshops. Also note the workshops are all weather events (rain or shine).

Places are limited and bookings essential.

Filed Under: Featured, Workshops Tagged With: Learning, plastic free, sustainable living, Wax-wrap making, Workshop, Yandina community Gardens

Saturday, 14 April, 9-11 AM – Composting & Worm Farming At Home With Sandie Johnston

19/03/2018 By

What better way to turn waste into a resource than by working with nature in our own backyard. Organics make up more than 50% of our waste on the Sunshine Coast and this workshop will show you just how easy it is to recycle with composting, worm farming and everything in between.

Sandie Johnston is the Sunshine Coast Council’s Waste 2 Resource Education Coordinator and she will give troubleshooting tips and advice on creating an efficient, hassle free system to recycle your organic waste. This workshop is great for all types of keen gardeners, so whether you’re new to the composting game or maybe struggling with your system come along and get the answers. To book click here

Filed Under: Sustainable Living, Workshops Tagged With: composting, Learning, Sandie Johnston, sustainable living, Workshop, Worm Farming, Yandina community Gardens

The Decline Of Australian Frogs

10/02/2018 By

Australia has many different frog species, with over 200 described and probably more to be discovered. However, Australia’s frog populations are declining, as are populations worldwide, for reasons that are as yet unknown. This is a disturbing trend because the presence of frogs is a good indication of a healthy environment. Read more…

Yandina Community Gardens will be hosting a frog and frog pond workshop. Book here

To get involved with frog conservation become a member of the Queensland frog society

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: frog ponds, frogs, Learning, Living sustainably, Shaun Morrow, Workshop, Yandina Community Garden

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Our Location & Hours

41 Farrell street, Yandina, see map
Mon, Tue 8.30am-2pm, Sat 8.30am-12pm Closed public holidays

Workshops

  • Saturday, 26 May, 9-11 am – Keeping Healthy Backyard Chooks With Kirstie Henning

    $5.00 – $15.00
    Select options
  • Saturday, 28th of April – 9 – 11:00 am – Make your own wax-cloth wraps

    $25.00
    Read more
  • health

    Saturday, 19 May, 9 – 11 am – Your Health Is Your Wealth And It Starts In Soil With Leonie Shanahan

    $5.00 – $15.00
    Select options

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