Scratch around with backyard bantams

“Chooks have personalities,” says poultry enthusiast Debra Maffescioni. “In a group, there’ll be a shy chook and there’ll be one that runs straight up to you. They’re sensational pets.”

Conveniently, they also produce food – if you treat them right, you’ll get fresh, organic, free-range eggs. And if you’re a gardener, chicken poo is free fertiliser.

Ms Maffescioni’s business, Book A Chook, supplies (either for hire or purchase) everything you need to keep hens. She recommends that city dwellers keep smaller bantam chickens, rather than full size birds, which need more space and can be destructive. Most bantams lay an egg every second day (weighing about 45 grams). They’re easy to care for, even if you’ve got other pets. “Cats don’t bother chooks,” Ms Maffescioni says, “and most dogs can be trained to accept them. Visiting dogs are the biggest threat.”

Regulations

Check with your local council – each one has different rules. Nearly all will let you keep at least a few chooks without a permit. Most don’t allow roosters, but be sure to find out. “Keeping a rooster is good for the hens,” Ms Maffescioni says. “If you can do it, I’d highly recommend you do.”

Expenses

Pure breed bantams cost between $25 and $40. September is hatching time, but hens are in demand, so it’s a good idea to put your request in early. Ask Poultry Stud Breeders and Exhibitors Victoria for a list of local poultry clubs and reputable breeders.

Ms Maffescioni estimates that it costs about 20 cents per day to feed a fowl. Serve up table scraps and chook pellets or seed mix, available from pet shops and stockfeed suppliers.

Essentials

Bantams don’t need a lot of space – so long as you provide dirt for dust bathing, even an inner city courtyard will be enough room for two. They’re social animals, so you need to keep more than one. Chooks need shade, shelter and water. The coop must be fox-proof, and have a roost for sleeping and a nesting box for laying.

Recycling food and garden waste is a win-win scenario.

Think composts smell bad? Permaculture gardener and compost advocate Adam Grubb says it needn’t be so. “A good compost smells like a rainforest.” What’s more, it harvests nutrients for your garden and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from landfill.

Grubb’s business, Very Edible Gardens, runs two-hour composting courses. “To get the balance right, every time you put in food scraps or something green, you should add something brown as well, like soaked cardboard, straw or autumn leaves.”

Worm farm

If you’ve got mostly kitchen scraps (not much garden waste), a worm farm is best. They cost about $80, or you can make one using polystyrene veggie boxes. Worms cost about $50 for 1000.

“They’ll quickly turn your food scraps into worm castings – black gold for gardeners,” Grubb says. He also recommends worm farms for apartment dwellers, “so they can turn balconies into mini food-gardens.” Bokashi Buckets are a super-compact alternative. “They’re great for dealing with meat scraps, but the result isn’t full of the best biology for your garden.”

Compost bin

A regular compost bin works well for green clippings and food scraps. Before you buy, contact your council for discount offers. If the bin doesn’t have air holes, Grubb suggests you use a drill to add ventilation.

Hot compost

To kick-start a new garden, make a cubic metre batch of compost. Layer green waste, manure, food scraps and straw, and turn it regularly. “If the pile is really big, it heats up in the middle and breaks down rapidly,” Grubb says.

A solar PV system will pay its own way in less than 10 years.

“Now is the best time to get a solar panel system,” says Michael O’Connell from the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), “because the rebates – if you qualify – are never going to get better.”

Until the end of June, owner-occupiers can get about $8800 back on a 1 kW solar panel system – that’s enough to generate about a quarter of the average family’s electricity needs. To qualify for the rebate, your household must earn less than $100 000 and the photovoltaics must be wired into the mains grid.

From July, the rules will change again. The government is ditching the means test, but cutting the rebate to around $6500 for a 1.5kW system, depending on the current price of Renewable Energy Certificates. Then, later this year, the Victorian government will introduce a ‘feed-in’ tariff for up to 3.2 kW systems. They’ll pay homeowners 60 cents per kilowatt-hour for any surplus energy they put into the grid.

Mr O’Connell says that while the tariff is not generous enough, buying a 1 to 2 kW system does make sense in the long term. “Under a good case scenario you can expect a payback period of around five to ten years, and the system should last about twenty years. 

You can cut costs even more by teaming up, even with a handful of people in your street. “With bulk purchasing discounts, we’ve heard of people getting panels at massive savings,” Mr O’Connell says. Ask around: enviro-groups, specialist eco-retailers and councils – especially in the inner-northern suburbs – are all organising buying groups.

Solar power will always be a big investment, so do your research. Remember that you’ll need unshaded north-facing roof space to get the best results.

The ATA recommends that you choose well-known manufacturers who offer long-term warranties (up to 25 years). Be sure to get a few on-site quotes and use accredited, experienced installers; there’s a list on the Clean Energy Council website.

 

Insulation is a key to reducing energy needs.

You can save up to 45 per cent on heating and cooling with roof and ceiling insulation, according to the sustainable building design guide, Your Home.

Despite that, about four in ten Australian houses still go without. Dennis D’Arcy, CEO of the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand, says many homeowners don’t know what they’re missing. “People just assume houses have insulation. If you’re buying an old house, you’ve got to inspect it.”

If you’re one of those four in ten, you can now get insulated for free. The Energy Efficient Homes Package – part of the government’s anti-recessionary spending – offers up to $1600 worth of materials and professional installation for houses that have no insulation. Mr D’Arcy says the money will “more than cover costs in a very high percentage of cases”.

From July, eligible owner-occupiers will get the whole shebang by calling a government hotline. If you want it before then, get insulation professionally installed, pay upfront and receive the rebate later. Renters aren’t left out either – landlords are now eligible for up to $1000 for insulation in their rental properties.

Even if you don’t qualify for the rebate, it’s worthwhile checking your ceiling’s status – the insulation is probably gappy and underdone. Insulation’s effectiveness is measured by its ‘R-value’. For Melbourne ceilings, Your Home recommends a minimum level of R 3.7. As a rough guide, Mr D’Arcy suggests between 130 and 180 millimetres of insulation, at least.

There are many different products available: batts, foil or loose-fill, made from an array of polyester, wool, glasswool, cellulose fibres and more. For DIYers, batts are best. You can buy them from hardware stores and they’re easy to manage – choose what suits on price and recycled content.

When it comes to installation, follow the instructions on the pack, and make sure you cover all the gaps right out to the edges. If you choose loose-fill insulation, you should get it professionally installed.