Rockhaven Rainbow Raptor Eggs

15/08/2026

Two of my favourite matriarchs - Gloria (on the right), and Not Gloria. Two beautiful wyandotte chickens that lay some of the large creamy pinky eggs. They are about 5 years old. Practising their nesting poses!

🥚🐧🐔🐥❤️🥚

04/08/2026

I was all set and ready to go to the pure bread poultry auction at Uralla on Sunday. Had printed out the list and highlighted the pens I was going to bid on. Was planning to buy at least four new hens and a maximum of ten. But for days I was questioning the cost benefit of it all. We have no idea what is going to happen in the future. Not only do I have the bird flu to think about but also the heightened possibility of a bush fire.

I did not attend the auction.

So, I have two dozen eggs ordered to be incubated in early September (a lot less $ than I would have spent on Sunday). Somewhere between zero and 24 eggs will make it to hatching. Ordering eggs through the mail is always pot luck! And will probably order another two dozen to incubate late December/early January.

ps: if you have read this do check out my last post if you have not already and look at the gorgeous set up. It's a dream poultry home :)

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The consumer watchdog has relaxed rules on free-range labelling as egg producers move their hens indoors to prevent the spread of bird flu.

30/07/2026

Massive bummer, but sadly it was inevitable. I am bummed for us but I am sobbing for New Zealand now the virus is there too. It would be lovely to imagine that because both Nations have so much remote land that some of our animals might get a chance to build up some kind of immunity over a few seasons. I assume this is happening in the Global North?

It's impossible for me to keep my chooks separate from wild birds. I am preparing myself for losing my whole chicken flock sometime in the next few years. Dealing with fox attacks (two fatalities during the past fortnight) will look like nothing ...

I also live on a bush block. My place is probably at a minimum 80% trees. Same for my one nextdoor neighbour and same for the 20 odd acres behind me of Crown Land. I can't even begin to describe the bird life I have on my block, the variety and the amount. Birds that were never seen here when my partner was a kid have started to migrate up to the Tablelands and now come to visit my home. Every year different species take turns at dominating, it has been fascinating observing this over 30+ years. During the day I can be sitting on the back verandah and hundreds of small birds fly between the bushes around us and into the bird bath. Like hundreds! I can still remember the look on my partner's face the first time he observed this at the Haven, his mouth open and gobsmacked! I also have heaps of possums, macropods, echidnas and the rare koala (getting rarer 🙁 ) who call the Haven home.

🤞is all we got at the moment 🙁
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-30/local-bird-flu-spread-concern-sa-poultry-farmer-biosecurity-robe/106971582?fbclid=IwY2xjawTXqs9wZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7sch8hVItVg7mujM4_i0qo8J-qnfsGR8cgZnwQ_U1sIjo9U2zxufyGmAL4yA_aem_lQmxNk3n4QTKipTZbkJZhQ

Poultry farmers and coastal communities are on alert after confirmation of the local spread of H5 bird flu in South Australia.

12/07/2026

08/07/2026

03/07/2026

A bit if a whopper this morning!

It weighs 106g! And you can see the length and width in the photo, about 9cm long and 5cm wide!!

Based on the colour and size of the egg, it was probably laid by one my older Sussex, Plymouth Rock, or Wyandotte ladies (older hens tend to lay larger eggs). No outward signs of which hen though, thankfully. Luckily it is just a glitch and her next egg will not be as large.

I wonder if it is a double yolker.

Might be the largest ever laid at the Haven.

🥚🐧🐔🐥❤️🥚

21/06/2026

Yay for the winter solstice! Yesterday Armidale received 10 hours, 10 minutes and 19 seconds of daylight. Today it will receive 10 hours, 10 minutes 17 seconds daylight. And tomorrow it will receive 10 hours 10 minutes and 18 seconds (21 seconds on Tuesday and 26 seconds on Wednesday).

This past week the flock has averaged 3-4 eggs/day. Check out the graph I posted on March 28th. We will start to see egg production slowly increase over the next two months. But you never know ... one year I had a handful of hens start laying the day after the winter solstice!

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01/06/2026

It's only three weeks now till the winter solstice! Egg production will start to increase straight after as we begin to enjoy more hours of sunshine. Looking forward to filling people's orders again in a timely manner 😁

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06/05/2026

This is Granny. She is an Australorp x Rhode Island Red hen. She is the oldest hen in my flock I purchased her five years ago after my whole flock was taken by foxes (luckily the flock was about one tenth of the size it is now).

Anyways, up until two years ago her feathers were all black with green and dark blue sheen in the sunlight, and a bit of deep red coming through on her chest from the Rhode Island Red in her.

Her moulting at this time last year produced black feathers again with about two little white spots on her back.

Her moulting this year has produced even more white. She still has a few weeks to finish her regrowth, you can see her tail has not come back yet.

Doesn't she look spectacular!

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18/04/2026