Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

not to worry we know what your saying. mmmmm trout.

Not a lot happening on the AP front unfortunately, I've been busy being sick, looking after sick kids, building a front fence and starting to obsess about chickens, lol.

Skipping trout this year, going to go with Silver Perch soon. I still want catfish though. Last years trout are still kicking along, I'll keep them as long as I can. It will be interesting if I can get them through another summer. Can't really eat them now as they seem to be mostly males going by their jaws. Well I could but they will probably taste a bit...male. Lol.

I finally got the little bits and pieces I needed for the GB expansion, so I'll hopefully get that set up soon, in time for all of the spring and summer veggies. I need to grow something other than mounds of tomatoes this time!

I'm about to order the last things I need to get my chicken pen and coop set up too, so hopefully I can get the shadehouse+pen thing looking a bit neater than it is now. A giant tree branch falling on part of it hasn't helped in that regard!

In other news I've bought an incubator and I'm going to pick up a few dozen fertile chicken eggs which will be exciting! I've gone for a few different purebred breeds; Silver Grey Dorking, Light Sussex, Lavender Araucana and Gold Laced Wyandotte. I decided if I'm going to have chickens I might as well aim for ones that look interesting and lay well (or lay interesting coloured eggs). At some point I think I'll look at breeding and growing for meat too, but for now eggs should be enough. I've got a bunch of friends excited about the incubating and chicks, and the kids can't wait (neither can I!).

Bok Bok Bok!

smiles

Aww, fertile eggs are going to be delayed for a week or so. Hopefully not too long though.

" At some point I think I'll look at breeding and growing for meat too, but for now eggs should be enough. I've got a bunch of friends excited about the incubating and chicks, and the kids can't wait (neither can I!)."

Somehow I think the meat production is going to be quite a while away; but all the best on the egg production. I take it you realise that raising them from chicks is going to make them one of the family?

Haha Sleepe, yes it's already been decided that this lot of chickens can be named by our girls and won't be used for meat. At some point I want to try getting an Indian Game rooster to cross with the Dorking and Sussex for meat birds, but I imagine that won't be until next year some time, if not later.

Given I was so lazy and didn't sprout any tomato seedlings this year I decided to go and buy some. Hopefully they'll give a good selection, I'm going to plant out some of the cuttings too, not that I really need to grow as many tomatoes as I did last year!



This year I'm going to try corn, artichoke, cucumber and some capsicums and melons too. Well, I say I'm going to, but that hinges on me actually connecting up the GB expansion...

Late broccoli is starting to sprout, strawberries are starting to look happy, self seeded miners lettuce has popped up everywhere, and thankfully the trout are still kicking along nicely despite my attempts to kill them! Fruit trees planted last year and this year are starting to flower too!





And in other news, I've started getting my chicken coop together. It's going to weigh a tonne though thanks to the recycled hardwood I'm using, lol. And I'm slowly getting my front fence built too, but my dog, so much painting! ARGH!

Woo! After a delay the fertile eggs are back on, going to pick up my order on Monday! Can't wait!

Fence almost finished, coop needs to go up now!

Eggs in the incubator! A few random sizes, one massive one and a couple of puny ones, so it will be interesting to see what happens, but they are in and fingers crossed it's successful!




Coop is on it's way to being done too!

Now, to finish it all and add my GB's....it's only been, what? A year? Since I said I was going to do it, lol.

Two days until hatch day! Woo! Fingers crossed all goes well now!

Yay!

The first chick has pipped! Argh I'm so excited and nervous, lol, I really don't want anything to go wrong now! Ooh I can hear it cheeping!



Please hatch safely little ones!

Lol I'm going crazy here!

Ok so I get the girls into bed and sit down at the computer and I hear tiny little cheeps coming from the incubator. I take a peek and lo and behold the first pip has turned into first zip and first hatched chick! Here I was thinking that it'll be tomorrow before it or any of the others hatch!

None of the others look like they have pipped so he's a lonely, soggy little thing at the moment!

Woo!

It'll be fluffy in no time!