The Tekilati and 'Ofa Fisi'italia family have a productive chicken project at their home in Ha'akame.
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| 'Ofa Fisi'italia watering the chickens |
The whole family worked together to build their coop in September 2017 with wire provided by LDS Charities. They went to the bush to cut branches to use for posts, rolled out the wire and nailed the walls and roof, made a door to go in and out, and also built laying boxes and ladder up to the boxes.
The family was given New Zealand chickens by the Division of Livestock. They raised up 18 hens and 3 roosters. Each hen lays an egg a day, sometimes 2. They have left some of the eggs for new chicks to hatch. Thus, they can maintain their chicken flock.
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| Friend Sela Hifo gathering eggs |
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| Moa |
Teki and 'Ofa have 6 children. They are learning the value of work. The children are responsible for cleaning the coop, feeding and watering the chickens, and gathering the eggs.
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| Sela and Lesley cuddle chickens and gather eggs |
Of course, the kids and friends also provide a little cuddling. The chickens are easy to catch, and seem to enjoy being held. They are a part of the family.
Ten-year-old Lesley then takes the eggs to the local village store to sell. With the proceeds from the sale of the eggs, the family has purchased more feed. They have paid all their schools fees, bought all the school supplies and also school uniforms.
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| Lesley selling the eggs at the village "store" |
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| Teki and Lesley with money from sale of eggs |
Not only does the family have good protein for their diet, they work together, and make a profit. They also have fun doing it.
I'm going to try to comment again since it doesn't seem to be working from my phone.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to see the kids learning about the chickens and how they contribute. It looks like they enjoy it.
Are there any predators in Tonga that need to be kept out of the coops?
Dogs, cats....nothing like coons or fox
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to read about a successful project that helps a family become more self-sufficient and improves their diets while teaching the children to help with the work.
ReplyDelete