What does Chooktopia mean?
A place of happy chooks!
Creating Chooktopia for us basically meant creating a sustainable backyard paradise through finding the balance between production and protection.
We considered everything from conservation and habitat for native wildlife ("protection") and food security through composting, worm farming, veggie and fruit growing, grey water, happy chooks with all their creature comforts ("production").
As a small environmental consultancy and eco shop, connecting with people through food and animals brought a whole new dimension to the way we create and share. Chooktopia was born.
Creating Chooktopia for us basically meant creating a sustainable backyard paradise through finding the balance between production and protection.
We considered everything from conservation and habitat for native wildlife ("protection") and food security through composting, worm farming, veggie and fruit growing, grey water, happy chooks with all their creature comforts ("production").
As a small environmental consultancy and eco shop, connecting with people through food and animals brought a whole new dimension to the way we create and share. Chooktopia was born.
What we stand for
Being animal lovers, their welfare is paramount. Chooktopia is about so much more than chooks. From worms to orangutans and everything in between, our aim is to empower people to make sustainable choices that support communities.
Our passion is your peace of mind.
We research products, ingredients, processes and organisations, so that you know if it's passed our rigorous scrutiny to get out tick of approval, it is cruelty free, palm oil free, ethically produced, GMO free, Monsanto free, has environmental/social benefit, and supports the little guy.
Our passion is your peace of mind.
We research products, ingredients, processes and organisations, so that you know if it's passed our rigorous scrutiny to get out tick of approval, it is cruelty free, palm oil free, ethically produced, GMO free, Monsanto free, has environmental/social benefit, and supports the little guy.
The Chooktopia Journey
Chooktopia is a concept inspired by the construction of a backyard paradise for our chooks - rescues from a life in cages in a battery farm.
Within one hour of being introduced to their new home, their instincts to dig, scratch, look for bugs, and dust bathe all emerged. It was immensely satisfying. These girls had never felt the sun on their back or seen a bird fly overhead. They had never tasted a bug, or eaten pollard porridge (which they now get for breakfast every day).
We started them off in a small chook house in the narrow strip of garden down the side of our house, so as to not overwhelm them. However it wasn't long before they found their wings and learn't they could fly. This put them in danger of dogs, foxes and other threats, and we lost the sweetest chook of all to the mouth of a dog.
So Project Chookhouse commenced. We had an old cubby that we needed to retrofit to be chook friendly, and then build tall enough fences around it so that we didn't have to clip the girls' wings. It also have to be able to stand up to three boisterous and curious dogs who seem to think every living animal is simply a toy mother nature has provided them!
So the criteria was simple. It had to be:
Many of the materials were salvaged from the local transfer station, such as screen doors and pots. Wooden drawers and boxes were bought off eBay for $1 and converted to nesting boxes, as were our old kitchen cupboards. We used recycled plastic poles from Replas who are just up the road. Timber decking slats (slightly rotten but that's ok) from mum's old deck that had to be replaced, and an old gate and wire from mum's place also.
The only products purchased were:
As we dug the holes for the poles, the chooks got more and more involved, so to keep them away from the shovels and tools, they were distracted with one of my worm farms. OH HEAVEN in a bucket!
As we laboured over the dog proof chook yard, using mostly reclaimed and recycled materials, weekend after weekend, their little utopia started to take shape, and we started referring to it as Chooktopia.
Chooktopia for us symbolises backyard and home sustainability, and sharing the notion of living naturally and connecting with your community. It encapsulates animal welfare and ethics, and ethical consumption.
For me, chooktopia is about grassroots sustainability - being in touch with earth, nature, and the source of your food. These notions are a the crux of sustainability.
That's our journey - what's yours?
Within one hour of being introduced to their new home, their instincts to dig, scratch, look for bugs, and dust bathe all emerged. It was immensely satisfying. These girls had never felt the sun on their back or seen a bird fly overhead. They had never tasted a bug, or eaten pollard porridge (which they now get for breakfast every day).
We started them off in a small chook house in the narrow strip of garden down the side of our house, so as to not overwhelm them. However it wasn't long before they found their wings and learn't they could fly. This put them in danger of dogs, foxes and other threats, and we lost the sweetest chook of all to the mouth of a dog.
So Project Chookhouse commenced. We had an old cubby that we needed to retrofit to be chook friendly, and then build tall enough fences around it so that we didn't have to clip the girls' wings. It also have to be able to stand up to three boisterous and curious dogs who seem to think every living animal is simply a toy mother nature has provided them!
So the criteria was simple. It had to be:
- Dog proof
- Fox proof
- Chook proof
- Low impact (sustainable) e.g. recycled and rescued materials
- Inexpensive or free
- Low miles (e.g. local materials)
- Colourful and fun (as inspired by community gardens such as Veg Out in St Kilda)
Many of the materials were salvaged from the local transfer station, such as screen doors and pots. Wooden drawers and boxes were bought off eBay for $1 and converted to nesting boxes, as were our old kitchen cupboards. We used recycled plastic poles from Replas who are just up the road. Timber decking slats (slightly rotten but that's ok) from mum's old deck that had to be replaced, and an old gate and wire from mum's place also.
The only products purchased were:
- Mistint paints from the local hardware store
- Cypress pine poles
- Quickset concrete, and
- Additional wire mesh when we ran out.
As we dug the holes for the poles, the chooks got more and more involved, so to keep them away from the shovels and tools, they were distracted with one of my worm farms. OH HEAVEN in a bucket!
As we laboured over the dog proof chook yard, using mostly reclaimed and recycled materials, weekend after weekend, their little utopia started to take shape, and we started referring to it as Chooktopia.
Chooktopia for us symbolises backyard and home sustainability, and sharing the notion of living naturally and connecting with your community. It encapsulates animal welfare and ethics, and ethical consumption.
For me, chooktopia is about grassroots sustainability - being in touch with earth, nature, and the source of your food. These notions are a the crux of sustainability.
That's our journey - what's yours?