Animal food has been a problem for us. We used to buy ‘natural’ chicken food, until we realised that it was largely genetically modified corn (milho) and soya. So, now we have been buying individual sacks of rye (centeio), barley (cevada), wheat (trigo), wheat germ, sunflower seeds, and white corn, grown by the local agricultural co-operative (and they assure me it is not GM). Unfortunately grown chickens and ducks don’t seem to like the grains – and a lot of what I have read recently about raising animals seems to suggest that they shouldn’t depend on grains.
They also get all our leftovers, greens from the garden, slugs that have been found eating seedlings and anything else that we think they might enjoy. But we don’t get as many eggs as we did when they were eating a commercial mix – I suspect because the protein levels are lower.
Do we up their protein, by buying in stuff, and get more eggs, or be happy with what we get and work towards growing more protein rich foods for them?

This year I am growing a lot more Hopi blue corn, and Thai black soya beans with the intention of making these a protein basis for the birds.

The chicks, on the other hand, are very keen on the grains, which I mix with ground corn, sorghum seeds, ground soya, wheat germ and also anything that they might like. In nature, the birds would eat a huge range of things, so we try to replicate that as much as we can in their pen (we tried having them completely free, but they ate all our garden vegetables and foxes/dogs ate them!)

If only the EU hadn’t allowed GM foods into animal food. It is now practically impossible to find premixed animal food that does not contain GM corn and soya. The choice has been effectively taken away from us.
Although I like growing vegetables very much, personally I would prefer not to have to grow chicken food, and I would prefer to support local business and other farmers by buying a product that takes the stress and hassle out of feeding our chickens. But, hey, no point thinking if onlys. I will have to continue learning what kind of food they like best, what grows well in this heat, and keep modifying my chicken food mix while watching how many eggs get laid for us, and keeping an eye on how healthy and contented they seem…..

Now that we have 4 inhabited hives, bee activity in the gardens is noticeably more than in previous years.

The poppies flowering in the edges of my garden are incredibly busy with both honey bees and native bees – bumble bees, carpenter bees and mason bees, all collecting pollen for their young.

In the following picture, you can clearly see their pollen sacs full of white poppy pollen.

Our pollination levels for fruit and veg should be very high, now we have somewhere in the region of 200,000 little helpers, as well as all the other insects here that buzz from flower to flower.

Black Kites will take small live prey as well as fish, household refuse and carrion.  They can be distinguished from the Red Kite by their slightly smaller size, less forked tail and generally darker plumage.  The Black Kite nests in forest trees, often close to other kites.

Black Kite above the River Mondego (thanks Tom Warlow for taking this photo when he visited)

We can walk through the village to the other side of Povoa de Midoes to get to the River Mondego (takes about 20 minutes).  There we can see where the birds are nesting and Matt braved a swim last week (it’s still a bit chilly!)

Matt down at the River Mondego prior to his swim

View of the River Mondego from the village (thanks to Tom Warlow again)

Maurice and Daan

Maurice and Daan certainly do their job here on the quinta by providing us with their manure.

Composted Horse Manure

Animal dung has been used for centuries as a fertiliser, as it improves the soil structure so that it holds more nutrients and water, and becomes more fertile. It encourages soil microbial activity which promotes the soil’s trace mineral supply, improving plant nutrition. It also contains some nitrogen and other nutrients itself which assist the growth of plants.

It also helps keep us fit as we have to dig it up and push it up the hill to the gardens!

Horse Riding at Quinta da Pombal

You can also go horse riding in the country side here which is an AMAZING way to see it in my experience.  You can ride for hours and only see a local villager tending to their goats, no other horses or people and you don’t have to go on any roads…the public tracks go everywhere.  I am so lucky!

Beautiful French Cart Horse at the stables where we go riding -he is HUGE

Matt and Poppy observing bees

A new type of slug eating the broccoli!

The Apiary

All the hives so far are standard Portuguese ones, adapted to have open mesh floors which helps control the varroa mite.  Matt is also in the middle of making a Abbe Warre hive and then has plans for a Top Bar hive.  I am not mad on bees but even I have dared put on a ‘bee suit’ and had a look inside…they really are quite amazing.