Chicks in make shift brood box at day 1.

Our 8 hens who are all called Jessie have proved to be a very worthwhile addition to our lifestyle lot and now I can’t imagine not having them about. On average we get about 54 eggs a week which is more than we can use so the surplus is sold to a neighbour and a family friend. This works really well as the proceeds cover the costs of feed, grit and other incidentals.

Everyone who has tasted the Dunn’s free range eggs have raved about them and I’m sure we could sell heaps more if only we had them.

To date keeping the girls has been relatively uneventful other than when on the odd occasion they’ve found their way into the veggie garden or have created a mess on my workshop floor and bench. Much of what’s required to keep hens happy, healthy and productive is just good old plain common sense.

At week two we started building the coop, it was early February.

Jessie’s were in their new digs at week four.

Week eighteen and the girls are nearing point of lay.

It was week twenty when and we enjoyed our first fry up of eggs and bacon.

Finally got the coop stained up in week 23 which left only the barge boards and spouting to complete.

Time for the annual spring clean, it was week 51.

Our hens one year on … “Happy Birthday Jessie’s”.

We now have 2 week old chickens for sale. Click here to learn more …

I hope you’ve had an enjoyable break with family and friends and that like myself you are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead in this new year. The Christchurch earthquake, subsequent quakes, Pike River and the Rena grounding meant that 2011 was rather traumatic for many therefore here’s hoping that this year will be less eventful.

We have some exciting new innovations and products planned for the year ahead but I’ll tell more about these later.

Yes you did hear correctly we’re now selling chickens.

Sorry, just couldn’t resist.

If you have placed a non chicken order during the last few weeks please be assured that we will be doing our very best it get it to you within the next 10 working days.

Wow, frantic and frenetic are just some of the words that best describe the last three weeks as we’ve been very busy getting our orders made up and away in time for Christmas. As tired as I feel just now I know my to do list is not fully cleared until I publish this brief and final post for 2011. We’ve had anther great year and it all because of the tremendous support that we have received from clients from Stewart Island in the south to Mangonui in the north.

Before I literally doze off in front of this screen I would just like to thank all those amazing people who have supported us with their custom and comments during the past year.

Like myself I hope you enjoy your break with family and friends and that 2012 will be a better year than the one that is soon to close.

I’m sure we all feel that way towards the folk in Christchurch.

Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Especially to our wonderful daughter Daniela who is working in Vancouver Canada.

Due to demand and our 10 working days delivery time any orders made after 12th December may not be delivered in time for Christmas. We can however supply personalised “Tui Feeder Gift Certificates”. In respect to certificates issued we anticipate delivery occurring late December early January 2012.

As always we will strive to get your feeder to you as soon as possible … thank you.

Often we get feedback from clients from all parts of New Zealand but its hard to beat the enthusiasm of Pat and Di who have a lovely home situated in a picturesque cul de sac in Bayview on Auckland’s Northshore.

On my first visit I was amazed at the large number of tui they had stopping by to use their feeder. More often than not there were two or three tui feeding simultaneously, I was green with envy. Obviously it’s hard to determine what numbers were visiting but I reckoned there could be as many as 50 or 60. Problem is that one tui looks very much like the the next one.

Due to it being a very bright sunny day sadly the photo below is rather washed out.

In a written recommendation this is what they had to say about the tui feeder they purchased.

“Having seen tui around our property we decided we would like to encourage them to stay. After reading the NZ Gardener we noticed tui feeders advertised. After a phone call or two to Rodney Dunn of Just Add Worms we decided to buy one of their pole mounted deluxe models”.

“It arrived in good time and was super easy to put together. We placed it on our fence maybe 2 metres from our house, put the sugar water in it and waited!! Just 3 days and we had our first tui feeding. When buying this feeder we thought it would be great for the grandchildren and it is! It’s also a constant source of pleasure for the grandparents  to use”.

“How many tui we are feeding we have no idea (but we go through a lot of sugar water). Every tui seems to have its own personality. Recommended as the most beautiful time waster ever … ONLY JOKING”.

Pat and Di’s enthusiasm has proved to be infectious as a number of their friends have also purchased feeders. I suggested to Pat that he would do well on our sales team. In the meantime thanks for spreading the good word and we hope you both continue to enjoy using the tui feeder.

The video below was taken in mid October when Daniela our daughter chauffeured me to the North Shore so that I could make some modifications to Pat and Di’s tui feeder.

When I’m not making tui feeders or pottering in the veggie garden I really enjoy spending any spare time, not that I have much working with the bees. Upon acquiring our first bee hive two years ago I knew that it would become an addiction and now I can’t imagine not having them around.

Keeping bees is more complicated nowadays since the discovery of the varroa mite in New Zealand in April 2000. Bee keepers need to be on the look out for diseases such as American foulbrood as it can also decimate bee colonies. These pests and diseases just add to my motivation to look after the bees because without human intervention they will not survive.

When I see the bees going about their business as I mow the lawn or weed the garden I experience a pleasant sensation that all is well with the world. About 10 days ago whilst gazing in the direction of our hives from my work shop this same sensation eluded me as the sky was black and amass with bees …

Yes they were our bees!

I rushed through the house towards Fraser’s room shouting “Fraser the bees are swarming … the bees are swarming” He was in a deep sleep due to a long night at AUT finalising his end of year assignments.

“Quick Fraser get up the bees are swarming and I need you to hold the ladder”. All I heard was a disgruntled moan as I turned to leave.

A few minutes later I’m checking out the size of the swarm.

It was rather precarious up the ladder so I decided the safest and easiest option was to cut the branches and then shake the bees into a box once back on the ground. Not sure how ACC would view this sort of activity, they’d probably suggest I check with OSH before doing anything further … yeah right.

It proved to be a large swarm and after holding the ladder Fraser was “sufficiently relaxed” to take these shots from what he felt was a safe distance. This despite my reassurances that the bees wouldn’t sting him.

Two days after these photos were taken we were back on the job collecting another swarm. This one was smaller and more difficult to collect as it was higher up than the first and almost beyond reach.

To put it mildly, standing and balancing on the third rung down from the top of the ladder was hair raising.

These bees shown above had settled on the tree trunk so shaking them off was not an option therefore I was restricted to using a bee brush. A good number of them fell directly onto me and there were bees that found their way inside my veil and down my shirt. I was far more concerned about falling from the ladder than by being stung. You’ve gotta like bees to be engaging in these dare devil type antics.

The photo below shows bees that re swarmed earlier that same day. Recapturing these was easy as it was just a matter of shaking them into a box.

Eventually most of the wayward bees ended up where I wanted them.

Settled into their new home the bees were happy and so were we. Another successful round up.

Our potatoes went in about a month back and since then more veggies have been planted out every few days. There’s still a few gaps that can be utilised however it wont be long before the garden will be as congested as an Auckland motorway prior to a long holiday weekend. Its amazing how quickly it fills up and I’m thankful that we have plenty of space.

More vegetables means less opportunity for the weeds plus I can’t see the point in losing litres of sweat shifting mountains of muck, mulch and horse manure if one doesn’t produce plenty of fresh vege. We haven’t eaten any tomatoes since last season so I’m really looking forwarded to our first monstrous feast of one of our favourites. That’s still a little way off as traditionally Labour weekend just passed is when tomato seedlings get planted out.

Anyhow rather than boring you with more of my ramblings I will post a few photos of how things look just now. The other reason is time or more importantly the lack of it as there doesn’t seem to be enough hours despite daylight saving.

Below: Seedlings ready to be planted out.

Cucumbers are going to to be trained over frames as this worked well last year. Crystal Apple and Lebanese.

Agria potatoes are looking good.

Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli safe under cover away from, the birds.

Bring on the warmth and sunshine as the tomato seedlings are all labeled, staked and ready to grow. Six different varieties here including usual Beefsteak, Money Maker and one I’ve not grown before Bloody Butcher.

Netting is required here as the birds love the strawberries just as much as we do.

As rats decimated our Honey and Pearl corn last year I’ve covered the seed with wire netting and have a number of traps about the section set with tasty, tempting peanut butter treats. I’m sure there are other vegetables I’ve not mentioned however blogging about gardening is a little like doing it. A little bit often otherwise ones energy and enthusiasm wanes and the enjoyment of growing one’s own can be lost.

Please visit again in a few weeks as our garden is very much a work in progress and yes I need to finish the fence otherwise Jessie and co our hens, could ruin everything.

“Rodney we’ve only had it on the fence for a few days and already the tui are treating it like a newly opened McDonald’s.” I knew from the excited tone of his voice that we had a convert and that ultimately the two of us would have to get together.

During our last telephone chat Pat mentioned that he was looking forward to this happening plus he had an idea to share.

I didn’t want to steal his thunder but was 95% sure that I already knew what he was thinking. As I had a few days up my sleeve I set about making up “our” idea. The day we agreed to meet was a Friday and I set off mid morning with “our” idea in a box on the back seat.

I’m not that familiar with the North Shore but with a little help from a recent hand me down GPS I reached Pat’s place within 45 minutes.

After he had introduced me to his lovely wife Diane I was directed to a nearby window from where I could see the tui visiting the feeder. Being attached to the top of fence just a few metres away meant I was able to enjoy a birds eye view of their comings and goings. Unlike at our property where the tui drop by every hour or so they were continually in the adjacent trees or on the feeder.

Its was truly amazing seeing so many tui touching down on the feeder for a quick snack and then taking off again. It was almost like a tui version of London’s Heathrow. After taking some photos and video I decided it was time to get the tui feeder from the car to see if Pat and I were thinking alike.

As I took it from the box he just smiled and commented …. “yep that’s pretty much what I had in mind”.

The idea of the two way feeder occurred to me about a year ago but it wasn’t until after I’d spoken to Pat that I became motivated to put a trial one together. This feeder allows tui and other birds to feed from either side whereas our other models only have access from the front. The other difference is that the bottle holder has sight holes on two sides.

It now hangs in a tree adjacent to our family room and was being frequented by the local tui within hours of it being set up. During the past week we’ve sold a Deluxe Two Way Tui Feeder and expect that it will be the first of many. Rather ironically the lady who placed the order is a friend of Pat and Diane.

As I’ve been so busy with orders of late I haven’t had time to list this new model in our “Garden Shop” on the web site but will do so shortly. If you would like to order one in the meantime please let me know via our contact page above.

Feeder now available as this page was re edited (14th October) … click here for more info.

It’s not a difficult task however it can be a little fiddly. Firstly you’ll need to cut the suet feeder rope at the half way point.

A thin piece of wire with the end bent over to form a small hook is what I use to pull the rope through the holes in the tui feeder base. A bent over paper clip or Gran’s crochet hook would work equally well.

The green tui feeder shown here is a pole mounted version hence the suet feeder is positioned towards the front.

A simple knot on the rope ends and the jobs done. Tying the knots in the same position ensures that suet feeder will hang level.

The holes for attaching the suet feeder on the hanging models (deluxe and standard)  are located mid way between the roof columns on either side.

If your considering buying a tui feeder, suet feeder combination and want them attached just let me know as I’ll be more than happy to do this for you.

The idea of making a bird feeder from an empty Just Juice bottle occurred to me on a wet Saturday afternoon as I was disposing of “our plastics” in the recycling bin. Plastic is one of my pet hates therefore I’m often thinking of other ways that it can be put to good use. I figured that if an opening was cut in the side or bottom of the bottle birds may venture into it to feed.

At the time I didn’t know what birds if any might be tempted.

After carefully fashioning the entrance with a sharp stanley knife (need to be very careful doing this) I cut three pieces of waste timber to make the stand. This would hopefully keep the bottle stable and prevent it from being blown away. The halves of mandarin shown in this video are kept in place by 3 x 30mm screws protruding from the lengthwise piece of timber within the bottle.

These feeders are positioned on our front deck and we love watching the antics of the silver eyes. To date they are the only birds brave enough to enter.

If you’re thinking of making a feeder like these its only a twenty minute job and costs next to nothing to make.

Now to explain where those bits and pieces go and what they’re for.

Feeder block …

Once fruit or other food has been attached to the feeder block it can be placed in a front corner of the feeder base tray. This still allows sufficient space for tui and other birds to access the sugared mixture from the plastic tray. When you first receive your deluxe feeder the feeder block will have two small blocks of waste wood covering the protruding screws. These have been attached to prevent injury during transit and subsequent set up. Once you have installed your feeder they can be discarded.

Sparrow stop …

Next we have a small piece of mesh called a sparrow stop which should be used if you find sparrows hogging all the mix. We have this problem in our garden and whilst this works well in keeping them at bay it will stop other birds from feeding.

Due to the tui having a long tongue this mesh won’t prevent it from accessing the mix however the same can’t be said for the likes of bellbirds and silver-eyes. We prefer not to feed the sparrows so we use this mesh on all our tui feeders.

Quick link …

This quick link simplifies installation plus when it’s time to take the unit down for cleaning and maintenance there’s none of those frustrating knots to contend with.

Once installed the feeder base can be correctly leveled by pulling the rope that is fixed to it’s front, as shown below through the quick link. When level the rope should by tied tightly to the quick link.

That’s it, all done …  now you can sit back and enjoy the bird life.