If you're not an antipodean, or have had strange conversations with us peppered with words like 'rego', 'flanno' or 'stubbie', you might not know what a 'chook' is - so I'm here to rectify that, as I find it very difficult to say the word 'chicken'. It just takes far too long. They say it comes from the English for 'chuck', an abbreviation for 'chicken' - like 'chook', it's onomatopoeic, a sing song call to my poultry when I toss them treats - oats and sunflower seeds, weeds and greens. 'Here chookie chookie chookie!', I call, sounding like a chook myself, or so I'd like to think as I cluck away to my girls.

My birds are also healthy and fat, and very rarely get ill. In fact, the only illness I've had with my birds are minor complaints that are just unlucky, such as a pullet with a dislocated hip or an unidentified malaise that ends with it's death. I've been lucky enough to never get mites, or other problems that can plague a flock, but then I do take a lot of preventative care with them, just as I would my own health (mostly!). In this weather, preventative medicine is food. Coming home freezing myself, I feel sorry for the hens out in the yard, imagining them craving something warm too. My man says I spoil them, and that's fine with me.

‘There should be a word for the way
they look with just one eye, neck bent …
… And for the way they run
toward someone they trust, their skirts
hiked, their plump bodies wobbling.’
from ‘A Glossary of Chickens’ by Gary Whitehead

🐔 A Healthy Chicken Winter Mash Recipe 🐔

I guess a 'mash' is a kind of porridge, and that's where you want to start - with a base. It might be oats, or leftover rice (brown rice is great - full of protein), quinoa (so hipster) or barley. I tend to squirrel around in my cupboard for empty packets or jars of grains, or cook a little bit extra when I'm making a meal for myself.

And so, this is a recipe of 'sorts' as it's really not a precise art. It's a matter of adding what you have, and what you can afford. The point is that it's nourishing and healthy. Try adding some of the following to the base mash.

Seeds of any description - pepitas, linseeds, sunflower seeds. You can grow some yourself, saving them for this purpose. Flax is a good one as it's high in Omega-3 fatty acids.
Good oils - any kind of oil can be added to the mash. I gave them the dregs of my bottle of flaxseed oil this week, but I also emptied out 3 large fish oil capsules into the mix, and a tbsp of coconut oil. Coconut oil contains a lot of lauric acid, which has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties - just what they need to boost their immune system at this time of the year. I credit the oils for my chooks lovely shiny feathers, too.
Garlic - which you'll have to chop really fine or they leave it behind. I tend to blend the garlic with some water or coconut milk first, then I add it to the mash. Mites are meant to hate the smell of garlic, but it's also antiviral and antibacterial. It's excellent to prevent respiratory infections in your flock.
Turmeric - Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial - what's not to love about turmeric? It has an amazing effect on animals and I've seen it work wonders on dogs with arthritis, so in the mash it goes. Makes for a very sunny yellow mash!
Ginger - I put a few slices in the blender with the garlic. It's anti-infective and anti-viral, adding to the immune boosting function of this mash.

Of course, this would break the bank if you were feeding the chooks this every day, and you don't want to - like us, moderation is best. I tend to give them this once a fortnight in winter when the weather is bad, and less in summer - or I might give them more if they're moulting or under any kind of stress or boredom.

Some say that garlic will impart a strong flavour to your chook eggs, but I've never noticed that, and to be honest - garlic and eggs? Doesn't sound like a bad combination!