The animal enclosure at the back of our Spiral Garden was finished six months ago and intended for chickens but the Universe put a hold on that plan, seeing to it that we started out with rabbits instead.
I struggled initially to see the value of rabbits but it turns out they do in fact have a very important one for those of us looking to grow healthier plants and i will explain later in this post exactly what that is.
The man from whom we are getting all these animals has a farm which overlooks one of our gardens, a small part of it visible here. Michka the sheep knows me well as she loves rocket & kale.
In April i told you how the acquisition of two rabbits led us neatly to an incubator in this farmer's back room and the promise of natural unvaccinated chickens coming soon from our neighbour had me very excited. It turned out however that his first batch didn't hatch at all (entirely the machine's fault of course) and from the second batch only three hatched. Two females and a male. He assures me that his third batch will be fully successful and before the end of the year we will be able to take as many chickens as we want but for now there is only one female available.
Acknowledging the way in which Universal influences are forcing us to go slowly on the chicken project i thanked him for this great opportunity and agreed to take one female chicken in exchange for a few home made goodies from our homestead with an equivalent value of €10. One pot of fig & ginger jam, one pot of sweet kale chips, one pot of pesto and a small bundle of honey baked sesame snaps.
We transported our new chicken friend in a cardboard box and she was very calm while we walked the short distance from his land to ours. She was released directly into the enclosure and seemed immediately at ease.
I have personally not had any experience with chickens so was quite surprised at how friendly she was, permitting us even to pick her up and pose for photos.
Knowing she might be scared on her own that first evening we had our dinner in the garden and kept her company.
She explored the area outside her new enclosure while we ate.
Esteban was flapping like a chicken in excitement.
When it was time to leave we locked her up in the wooden house and let her know we would be returning in the morning.
The following day i went at first light to let her out but she seemed quite hesitant to move from her perch, while the rabbits on the other hand were keen to say hello.
Eventually she made her way to the door but still didn't want to leave.
Once the white rabbit (Marshmallow) jumped on her house however...
...she didn't hesitate to exit and have a little munch on her seeds.
Esteban's rabbit (Tummy) was very curious about the chicken and kept trying to smell her. This was met with a gentle tap on the nose, as if to say "don't get too close please".
Marshmallow tried next and was met with the same tap on the nose.
Very quickly it was established by the rabbits this creature was not to be messed with, so they just watched her from a distance...
...before descending into their extensive underground labyrinth which begins under the chicken house.
There are five holes like this one now but while they stay within the confines of the enclosure i really don't mind.
Occasionally they will dig in the correct direction, twice yesterday!
Sometimes they even make it through to the other side but are always met by the metal grill, put there to keep foxes and other rodents from digging their way in.
All tunnels going the 'wrong' way are filled with stones and it won't be long before all possible exit routes around the edge are blocked. Sorry rabbits.
Marshmallow is constantly exhausted & dirty as a result of all the digging.
Must be great down there! I took this shot with my arm fully extended down the hole.
I have a small concern about their relationship however because sometimes it appears as if they have been fighting.
Will stay observant and see how this plays out.
Wonderful soft fur they have, probably good for lots of things.
Let me take this opportunity while we are focused on the rabbits to tell you about why they are so beneficial to us homesteaders.
Rabbit manure
The poop from these fluffy burrowers is basically the best all round provider of essential nutrients for your plants.
While swine manure scores higher on the nitrogen and sheep manure scores higher on the potassium, neither of these score high on the phosphorus, unlike the rabbits who score high on all. Making them extremely worthwhile animals to have around.
Rabbit manure is easily manageable, coming in small pellets of a uniform size. Plus rabbits always poop in the same area, making the collection process simple.
A few days in the sun to dry them out and they will store well for future use.
We don't use the pellets directly on the soil but rather we make a 'tea' with them, leaving the pellets in water for a week (stirring daily) before filtering out the remains, diluting with water and applying directly to the soil around any plants which need a boost.
Any excess pellets are put in the compost which is unquestionably more healthy this year than in previous years, producing decent looking soil from raw materials in less than two months.
The effect of the tea has been visible almost instantly, seen here in these amaranth (also known as elephant head) which have boomed into life since we started feeding them.
The cucumbers too appear to be getting a second wind of production since we started feeding them.
Rosita bonds with the family
Chickens are great not only due to their egg production (which we can expect to begin in the next few months), but also because they eat the undesirable bugs on our kale & tomato plants.
In addition to this they will follow you around the garden, keeping you company while you do your work, waiting for the good moments to jump in and eat some unsuspecting bugs.
I get the feeling they don't like to be alone, always staying near enough to know where we are and what we are up to.
Sabrina & i chose the name Rosita for her as this just felt good to us.
Here she is being introduced to the xylophone which has been waiting on that wall since April and she did seem very interested but i suppose it will be a while before she is cracking out the tunes.
Esteban in particular is infatuated by her, offering up a kiss here.
She will really respond to a person if they are calm and just hold her gently.
Feels weird to say this but she has quickly become a part of the family.
Here she is stepping directly on Luna's paint palate.
Walking blue paint across the table which was very amusing for everyone.
Even our garden cat (Tichat) was sitting in her seat that day, happy to watch the festivities without any attempts to chase the chicken.
Tichat has taken to sitting on the enclosure roof in recent days, watching the animals from above.
Not sure what i think about this but i'm letting it go for now.
So long as she doesn't make holes in the net with those claws of hers.
Whenever we are in the garden Rosita will be free to roam around as she pleases.
But when it is time to go she must be locked in the enclosure to keep her safe from foxes. Knowing she may spend a fair bit of time in here i put up an extra perch for her this morning.
She seemed really happy up high where she can survey her surroundings and I was able to caress her easily from here.
All in all am so excited for this little chicken and can't wait to get more!
Baby cats
We had intended to take our two adult females to the vet this year for neutering but Fifi surprised us by showing up a few days ago with four more! Three of them seen here.
This was odd for us because it means she was still feeding the previous litter when she became pregnant again. Didn't know this was possible till now and had assumed cats only produce one litter per year. With this in mind the vet appointment will have to be in the next month or two. Not something i like doing to cats but they leave me no choice as we are running out of people to give them to!
They are still a bit shy never having seen humans before but they are certainly not hesitating to make themselves at home in our courtyard.
It probably looks like a giant playground to them!
For now the plants are still looking intact but it won't be long before all the baby ones, less strong than this palm tree, will be getting squashed and chewed.
The physical value of cats can of course be found in their ability to catch rodents on your land which have the tendency to borrow holes everywhere, sometimes directly through the roots of a plant which will then 'mysteriously' die.
While this is a fairly good reason to keep cats on your land, the same cannot be said for keeping cats around your home. Unless of course you have a rodent problem. Like the rabbits they don't instantly reveal their most important qualities and it wasn't until just a few days ago that i realised why we've always had so many cats around us.
My wonderful friend in Romania said the following words to me:
"Dogs are physical protectors. Cats are spiritual protectors."
"Yes!" i said to myself. This feels right. When i think back to the months in which Sabriba & met in Thailand i remember how i lived at that time in a house of cats. There were 13 of them in total and Sabrina kindly helped me look after them all. This was such a definitive moment in my life and i cannot deny that i felt guided and protected at that time, not only to take the seat next to the beautiful French girl on the four hour bus ride between Chiang Mai & Pai, but also to cement my relationship with her, the future mother of our children.
Children who are for the most part blossoming into wonderful creative creatures, last night putting on a show for us in our living room.
The program and a selection of snacks were presented to us when we handed them our tickets.
It was a joy to watch them collaborating on this project rather than being in competition as so often is the case.
Without a doubt this show, which took them one week to prepare, has brought them closer together.
So i think that's it for now.
Am going to shoot a film in the next few days to give you a live tour around the gardens.
They are just looking so very beautiful at the moment and would like to share this with you.
Love & Light everyone 🌱