Animals & biodiversity

Humans have a nasty habit of displacing or exterminating any organism that doesn't provide an obvious short term benefit. We now know that biodiversity is the key to a healthy, functional and resilient ecosystem.

By including and encouraging a diverse range of plants, animals and insects we produce systems that are naturally harmonious and balanced and therefore require less human management and are less susceptible to climatic fluctuation and pest invasion.

Animals are a vital component of any natural system and it would be impossible to exclude them entirely. Larger animals, while not without their benefits, require a fair amount of care and attention. In addition the bigger they are the more space and food they require and generally have a bigger impact on their surrounding environment. Since we are currently establishing a large number of young trees this excludes us from any of the larger animals at this time.

Grunt - tail of misunderstood pigs

Details Our kune kune pigs featured in a student mini documentary. Filmed in 2019, it's finally available online for your viewing pleasure...

Grunt - tail of misunderstood pigs is a 10 minute film depicting how pigs are social and intelligent beings. As domesticated animals, pigs are often seen as an object or a good rather than an animal. This documentary sheds light on the fact that pigs can be great pets. It is uncomfortable for many

Tags video pigs

Megarhyssa nortoni

This strange looking insect with the long 'tail' appeared in the house the other day.

Looks like a cross between a dragon fly and a wasp. Fortunately it didn't hang around.

Introduced to Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Brazil, and South Africa to help control horntail forest pests.

Beneficial insects

Insects play an import role in the health of our gardens and the wider ecosystem. By creating a conducive environment we can encourage the tiny helpers to hang around. Insects prey on others, pollinate plants, are food for birds and generally add to the richness, complexity and diversity of a healthy ecosystem.

insects

olmec

Plants to encourage beneficial insects

Bumble bee sanctuary

Helping out the bumble bees, who help us. Pollination is essential for fruit, nut and vegetable production and this often requires insects. Honey bees are having a tough time with the veroa mite so we decided to do something about it. Our bumble bee 'sanctuary' is an assortment of flowering plants selected for their flowering times and nectar properties.

European potter wasp

Ancistrocerus gazella is a species of potter wasp. As an adult they eat nectar and aphid honeydew. The female collects as many as 20 caterpillars which the hatched lava eat. Each nest consists of a single cell which is sealed with mud.

Win-win-win with pigs and chickens

We run a small flock of mixed breed mongrel chooks. Our primary motivation is a quality source of eggs but there are many other benefits to having a few poultry.

In addition to the hens and their loyal rooster we keep 3 Kune kune pigs. This is a small breed, hairy and very affectionate. Their roles are as lawn mowers, soil cultivators and manure makers. Kune kune pigs are unique in that they can survive on a diet of grass and need very little supplementary food unless raising babies.

Over the last few years we have been impressed with how the chooks, young chickens, rooster and pigs all get along in the slowly emerging food forest they call home. They range freely together and at feeding time jostle with each other for access to kitchen scraps and grain.

Our chooks and ducks get fed supplementary grain that has been soaked in water. This makes it softer, easier to digest and because it swells up means they don't eat as much.

One unintentional positive side effect of feeding grain to the chickens while the pigs are present is they inevitably end up eating some of it. Being greedy, they swallow most of it whole and it passes straight through and ends up spread around their territory in the manure. The chickens have discovered this and are very eager to get at the grains embedded in the poo. This results in frantic scratching and disintegration of the pig turds resulting in faster breakdown and absorption into the surrounding landscape.

pigs chickens

Purple toadflax

Botanical name Linaria purpurea

Family Plantaginaceae

Details Native to Italy. Naturalised in many locations, spreading readily on stony waste ground. Long-lasting flowers which are very attractive to bees.

Diameter 1.00

Height (m) 0.3 - 0.7m

Flowers Purple

Perennial

Chickens & ducks

As part of our quest to be as self sufficient as possible and to make use of the land and sheds we have it seemed like the logical thing to do was get some chickens.

Poultry have many positive contributions to the type of forest gardening we practice. A large amount of their diet comes from the insects, plants, seeds and fruits that grow and drop on site and this feeds through the birds and back into the system in the form of eggs and meat to feed and power our muscles. Their manure, feathers and carcass are composted to feed the soil and the constant scratching help break up woody material and weeds.

Foul are not without their share of challenges...

Working with chickens

Bunnies treats and chew snacks

Buy chew treats

bunnies.blockhill.co.nz

Baby praying mantis

A recently hatched young praying mantis. These guys hunt and eat other insects which is generally a beneficial trait.

insect