Some new additions to the farm - Off-grid living in Central Portugal - Our Portuguese Homestead

[@loisaustin6200]

That is one magnificent looking rooster you have,very handsome. I love hearing them doing their cockadoodledo thing in the mornings. It reminds me of my visits to grandmother's farm when a little girl.

[@theresaast7049]

History Professor and grandmother of three and I spent a lot of time this week binge watching your amazing channel. I will soon be up to date. :) Your videos, your personalities, your work ethic, your family, your lives are wonderful, encouraging, engaging, challenging, and beautiful. I greatly enjoy them. Blessings to you and your family in all your endeavors. :)

[@parvathynayer354]

That is a palace for chickens. An architectural masterpiece !!

[@72097077]

Absolutely LLLOOOOOVVVEEE your chicken enclosure! It's the most natural thing I can imagine! No wonder the birds are so calm!

[@janicedelp2775]

Love your videos and farm! Watch out for chicken snakes if they are in your area. They will sneak in and steal the eggs. We just killed a huge one. I sent a reply to one of your comments describing the saga and now can't find it. I am always on the look out for snakes because they terrify me. Chicken snakes aren't poisonous but I nearly have a heart attack when I see one. Janice from Arkansas USA

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Glad all went well Janice, luckily we don't have that kind of snake here

[@JayneBennett-d8c]

I love your new chicken home just needs wire on the roof but the best one I have seen , especially you saying doing Chicken thing made me smile xx

[@tamaratharpe8189]

That rooster is magnificent!

[@mikemarriam]

Your videos are fine. Yours is the first homestead channel I've followed that wasn't in North America. Your facial expressiveness is very endearing. I wish you and your husband much happiness and success. Some time soon I hope to see your son gathering eggs from your coop.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks for watching :) The world is much bigger than North America!

[@mikemarriam]

@@ourportuguesehomestead True but I never considered there being much affordable undeveloped land anywhere else.

[@victorgoncalves2442]

@@mikemarriam Portugal needs more of these lovely people to repopulate these areas away from the big towns or cities .My example is in Alentejo (south) ,where my parents where born , the area full of small farms or homesteads ,very populated in the past (until the 60s and 70s), but people started to look for jobs in the big cities , because was really hard living from the land (still remember how hard was for my grandparents ) . Those properties end up being abandoned , and for the past couple of decades , fortunately foreigners being buying them an fixing the old houses to live in . We still own one of the properties , and all our new neighbours are from Germany, Holland or England. Currently living in the UK , my plan is when i retire to go back to that amazing place , my piece of haven .

[@rfc5544]

I'm currently saving for my land in Portugal, and your videos are keeping me going 😂 thanks !

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Glad to be of service!

[@jeanhawken4482]

Mr rooster is indeed majestic

[@cesarrodriguez5413]

Good luck with your project. Lots of people want to do what you guys had the guts to do. It is lots of work, but at the end of the day, I am sure you feel great and accomplished. Felicidades Greetings from USA

[@bigmamma6946]

The rooster is so handsome. Love his fluffy britches.

[@annamariaiannacito5291]

I am enjoying all your videos. I am in California (USA) and have one of my fantasies fulfilled with one half acre. I've had goats and dogs, but now, only two chickens (down from four), and I want a horse very badly. It is a thrill to see the chickens outside, while cooking and eating their eggs. Yesterday, the chickens were face to face with my daughter's cat for the first time. The cat seemed to know she would not win in a battle. I "hissed" and the cat took off, quickly. Your rooster is impressive. How soon will there be baby chicks? Wonderful!!!

[@beckyheidi625]

Really enjoying your content Thankyou for taking the time to film your family and your lifestyle. Best wishes from NZ

[@kimmurphy6864]

Love love love the chickens 🐓

[@jm4672]

That is one beautiful rooster I have never in my life seen a rooster that big or that beautiful and I had chickens and roosters before he is so beautiful

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

He's really stunning :)

[@janeingram7331]

That rooster looks the one Bee and Theo sold to someone.

[@longjohn1027]

Doedeuh, gullie goed hoor, leuk om te volgen !

[@judytieger3890]

Beautiful rooster. Regards from Utah USA

[@janetissabelle]

Wonderful chicken run wattling fence,they love it under the Hawthorn tree,very healthy beauties.

[@CindyVine]

"Chickens doing chicken stuff," love it!

[@theadventuresofzoomandbettie]

I laughed at that too!

[@janeingram7331]

Remember, Lea is a graduate of university LUC. Seems like she could have been more articulate, but this was really cute.@@theadventuresofzoomandbettie

[@back2basics597]

The fencing to the chicken enclosure looks magical and the hawthorne spread is simply fantastical. The whole thing looks absolutely wicken.

[@rudolfmaj]

Such a pleasure to see a natural presenter instead of the over acting in other self build channels!

[@Jenura01]

TOTALLY agree!

[@sarapulford5957]

🇬🇧 Your cockerel is beautiful.

[@debrandw246]

Your chickens are awesome. I think he is a type of Leghorn. My auntie called them Hippie Chickens because of Thier feather legs. . Beautiful. As long as they are locked inside the pen at night they should be safe in the coup. Coup is lovely. You will have eggs soon. You are all so lovely. Please tell your Partner he has done an incredible job also. Bless you all. X

[@diogocarvalho5567]

hi there, just an idea here... get a metal detector, on old farms like that you can find really old stuff and coins from roman times!, farming wise, looks good, try to start your own mulch, its great to retain water and feed your plants ;)

[@rui4ever1]

your chicken coop is so funny! eheheheheh I love it

[@rui4ever1]

from the outside it looks like a chicken yurt :)

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Oh you mean the run. Yes that was a great failed experiment. They stayed in there for about a week and then they figured out they could just jump onto it and over. They have been free ranging ever since. Luckily they love their raised chicken coop and lay all their eggs in the nesting boxes and go in by themselves every night.

[@AdaMakawee]

Your rooster is gorgeous.

[@arnellaquian7878]

Love your place...can raise animals and vegetables garden....your great leah n martin....am arnel from philippines

[@grandmasstories3418]

To keep predators away, just put chicken wire over and around the bottom, like a skirting, a few centimeters over the ground too. Most predators can't dig under this skirting. Better yet if you put chicken wire all around, but the skirting going all around over the ground too really helps A LOT!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Great tip! If we need more protection we will try that :)

[@PetalsonthePavingSlabs]

Those calendulas and strawberries are full of promise, I like your idea to plant them together 👍

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Yes I love the look of it!

[@yasminghani2073]

You have done a great job at making your chicken coop love the way the tree is there great job congratulations

[@Maria-pv4hm]

What a beautiful chicken coop. Chuck heaven 😁🐓

[@tomduane1960]

just a suggestion if you plant some brambles in the chicken hedge it will help to bind the hedge together will also eventually fill in any gaps

[@BoydGilbreath]

What a magnificent chicken enclosure!!!

[@julierawlins5984]

Wow that's a really cool chicken pen that you built.

[@lauradickman9194]

Beautiful place to stay so peaceful i love it.

[@IrelandGoldsluice999]

The chucks and their rooster, not be long now, puck be out getting the eggs in , it's not political discussion, but your life in Portugal from you's moved onto your land it has really highlighted the importance of being able to provide as much of your own food . I feel people have forgotten how to work land through generations of being able to go to a convenience store for all their needs. So see you on Sunday

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Well I would argue that being able to provide for yourself is a political issue, but I hear you :) See you on Sunday with a cool suprise!

[@jmbpinto73]

@@ourportuguesehomestead We had a popular poet António Aleixo, he said once that who is not providing for himself, is living on the expensive of someone else. "Quem trabalha e mata a fome Não come o pão de ninguém Quem não ganha o pão que come Come sempre o pão de alguém."

[@jmbpinto73]

If I may share some tips about chicken, I believe the rooster may fit the small door, the feathers give him the looks but retract when necessary. Try to suspend the food thing from a wire like 10cm above ground, so you will avoid rodents to find chicken food and steal it. It probably has some peg or ring on top to be suspended from a hook. Give your leftover food and off-cuts and everything remotely eatable to the chicken, they will make a feast on it. Make sure they have drinking water, or they will eat their own eggs.Try to retrieve all eggs, or animals will come for it, or they will rot and be lost. Hens ovulate everyday, 4 hens should give 3 to 4 eggs every day, or there is some problem that you need to address. If some chicken goes missing, it may be broody at some location, try to find her fast so wild animals or pests don't find her before. Put her in a safe shaded place, with some food and drink water. You can put more eggs under her, many probably won't hatch. Once they do, keep the hen and the little ones separated from the rest for the first weeks. They grow so fast! Sometimes the other hens and the rooster are mean to the smaller ones, same goes if you buy more new chicken. In winter, with cold and shorter daylight, hens may stop laying eggs, that's ok, they will resume when days go bigger and temperature warmer. Good luck, keep up the good work!

[@rogerkenworthy6380]

Hi Jose; I agree with your comment about introducing new hens to a flock. We had five hens for a month and loved them so much we ordered five more. The new hens arrived and it has been a disharmonious scene in the coop since then. There is pecking, chasing and general discontent between the hens. We hope they settle down soon and establish a hierarchy to calm things down. Roger

[@soundsleeper8652]

Nothing better than a natural life. Hail to Mother Nature!

[@futurekron]

Beautiful birds and great setup for them. Hope you get lots of eggs!

[@jamesbowen6144]

The Rooster is a Rose Comb Brown Leghorn .. and is absolutely Beautiful ....

[@ibriyrestorationfarm6322]

I love your whole video, and oh my!! Your rooster is stunning!!! I love your enthusiasm.

[@PennyGetsItTogether]

Filming and sharing an attempt at catching the chickens would provide for a good laugh. The weather with breeze seems bearable. ❤️

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

They're actually already going in the house by themselves :) The weather has been good indeed, a little cold for my liking actually

[@PennyGetsItTogether]

Our Portuguese Homestead Hi Lea, there is no scientific evidence for this but I THINK because I grew up in Jamaica and soaked up all the sun in my bones, I prefer cool now, and you grew up where it’s cold and you soaked up all the cold in your bones, you prefer warm now. 🤷🏾‍♀️ Looking forward to Sunday’s video. Hope your little Puck is still fascinated by the chickens. 🐥

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I have an opposite theory! Being a small child in South Africa soaked my bones with the sun, and so now I find anything under 20 celcius too cold!

[@PennyGetsItTogether]

Our Portuguese Homestead ☺️ That works too.

[@Jenura01]

@@ourportuguesehomestead South Africa? Did I miss that video? Would love to hear more about your past, your parents, and your upbringing.

[@jackmoore4859]

Amazing property, good for you three, you deserve it. I love the yurt.

[@normamead4511]

You weren't joking 🙃 he is massive but gorgeous ❤️👍🐶🐶😊

[@awtar]

Hi. Got some suggestions for you guys... Just leave a pair of chic with the roaster..leave them in a new chicken coup and its open. You can feed them but do not cage , leave them free in a couple of years you get some wild chickens

[@davidmorgan3599]

May I suggest putting the chicken feeder in shade? The plastic will last longer out of direct sun and the feed will maintain its nutrition longer. Much love, David in Washington state, USA

[@Nadia-ex4uk]

Very nice ti see your progress, we bought some land in greece. we have been waiting since april to move there but now finaly next week we are ready to go. I will also start my chanel during the road.:)

[@theadventuresofzoomandbettie]

Really like that chicken pen! Different to anything I've seen before!

[@grandmasstories3418]

Great job! Congratulations!

[@valeriemangione7647]

I love your rooster he so Majestic

[@JadjaVanParghove444111]

Ik hou van jullie dromen en harde werk. Zo ben ik ook ooit begonnen. 😉😊 2 tips, hou aub politiek hierbuiten. En zorg voor meer bescherming voor je prachtige kippen. Een vos komt zo over de omheining heen bijv. Vooral in het voorjaar/ zomer als de (vossen ed) beestjes jongen hebben, zijn jouw kippen een noodzaak, dus doen ze alles om erbij te kunnen. Ik geniet van jullie video's en tomeloze inzet en ideeën. Ik ben pas op de helft vd video's, ben onderaan bij de 1e begonnen. Dank je wel❤️🍀 oh en de Haan is volgens mij een Brahma. 😍

[@Sno_opy_ten_14_29]

Good luck with the chickens and rooster. That rooster sure looks big.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

The guy who sold him to us said it was one of the biggest he had ever seen

[@marlenekutcher938]

Beautiful homestead. My dear friends live in Portugal. We see them here in Canada twice a year!

[@sempi8159]

Great video as always! Great to see your progress!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks for being here so long :)

[@edmosaq5318]

Love the chickens coop setup, just perfect...

[@johnsonr9]

Nice group of hens and fine looking rooster. May need some additional hens for him.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Maybe we will get some more in the future... Our friends have already asked to borrow him for their hens!

[@alexorango5133]

Eye Like that simple beginning.

[@alunjones2550]

You can see where the Portuguese rooster emblem comes from when you look at that fellow!!!!!!

[@grandmasstories3418]

I meant "over" the chicken yard and coop, but don't neglect the skirting all around the outside ground..... if you want your chickens safe and sound

[@Walkerbtween]

I'm just restarting my chickens. Had a terrible wind storm that weakened the enclosure and within 2 days a raccoon killed all 6 of my chickens. I have raccoons, foxes, coyotes and hawks in my area, so it is a bit of a challenge, security wise, to keep them safe. Good fortune with your flock! -From a brand new watcher.

[@janicedelp2775]

Just a note to say we have chickens, a rooster, and goats. You mentioned the predators in your area. We have those, and we recently found a huge chicken snake in the nest. We have killed several in the past also. They steal eggs. I say this one was 10 feet long, husband said 6. He had almost stepped on it that morning in the barn where we keep all the feed for the animals. So I decided to check the nest several times so I could get the eggs first. I noticed something big and black down near a hole at the back of the house so I hurriedly got my husband to bring the shot gun. By the time we got back the snake had threaded himself through five nest. He shot its head off. So that solved the mystery of why I wasn't getting as many eggs. Janice from Arkansas USA

[@jeffreyhoffman760]

If you have foxes you will have to greatly improve your chicken fence. A fox can go through your fence, over it or climb your doors. In my case with a very sturdy 2.5 mete fence the fox dug under and killed 12 chickens in 15 seconds and carried two away. best to check what others have in the area.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Yes, we do have foxes around, but we also have our dog who is keen to chase off any fox that comes close. He is always on the land and at night the chickens are in the coop. The run is mainly to keep the chickens in, which it does ok so far. I’m very sorry to hear your fence wasn’t enough to keep those predators out.

[@CrossRoads88]

So very wonderful.

[@JenShea]

He’s a beautiful rooster.

[@silviameneses4313]

great work.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks! We try :)

[@m000Theevilcow]

Not just birds of prey but fox, lynx,wild cat, weasel, ferret and the common genet so please be aware that on your region those are all common and that fence will not be a match to them and that they can easily get inside, that is why my father was its chickens, turkeys, ducks and pigeons inside a small brick hennery cause in the past those predators would nibble wood and cut wire in order to gain acess to the chickens.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We are aware that there are predators of all kinds around, but we are not counting on the fencing to keep them out. The coop is where the chickens are at night. The coop is fairly predator proof but if we find out it is not we’ll add more defences to it.

[@asaldanapr]

That rooster is magnificent! I pitty the little chickens!

[@thizizliz]

Congratulations on the chickens! Thats a game changer. Love the wattle fence. Very cool choice. So much going on. It seems you have 2 complete growing seasons, so it doesn't freeze then?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

It is possible to grow year round, but we do get frost for a few weeks (mainly nighttime) each year, so we do need to grow stuff during the winter that can handle a bit of frost. Last year we had a colder than usual winter (there is a video about that) but that was still peanuts compared to what more northerly countries have to endure 😊

[@hildabailey2309]

Your rooster is Crowing!

[@debbiesavage7107]

Gorgeous rooster! Wish we could have chickens. (And bees)

[@hildabailey2309]

Chickens are so easy to raise. Very low maintenance. Good bug control.

[@openureyes]

Fantastic

[@cookingwithalittlespice]

Nice channel

[@MattBlytheTheOne]

Stay Awesome!

[@psyneurb]

👍thanks

[@KyleValet]

fantastic life

[@joaocarrapichano4753]

You need six to seven chickens per one rooster Believe me I am also Portuguese and my father raised chicken for quite some time and less than 6 or 7 chickens the rooster might hurt them when it is fecunding them

[@carinbarkhuijsen2188]

Hey. Jullie zijn Nederlands. Leuk om je te volgen. ☺️

[@pamclift5446]

Handsome rooster

[@fionagrows1848]

Lovely hens and such a handsome rooster! We got our first hens ( 4 of them) just before lockdown. They’re so entertaining and we’re getting 3 or 4 eggs a day now. As for future video content, please no politics! I come on channels like yours to escape all that depressing stuff!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Yes we all love watching them :) I hear you! Can be hard for me to not talk about it sometimes but I will keep this channel about the garden and the chickens

[@helenswan705]

dear friends, you simply cannot tell these people what to put on their own channel! Please

[@christybriggs1737]

Something to think about...I just saw a KZbin video where a farmer purchased 1 goose & several large black chickens to guard the flock. The large black chickens look like crows to predators, so they stay away. I don't know why cross ar a deterrent, maybe you do. Also you just want 1 goose, no more. I am a new subscriber & I wish you the best of luck!

[@martinswaine2140]

Hi it takes me back when I had my chicken's👌👍🎅

[@ruthwinstanley5699]

Exciting times for you , enjoy every moment . Just a thought about the pond and your beautiful little girl. You may have done this already, but the pond really needs a little fence to protect Puck. All the very best for your future plans.

[@lettyzane2720]

“Crow” Crowing is the English word for sound a rooster makes “Cluck” Clucking is the English word for sound a hen makes That rooster is stunning!

[@lightdark00]

Year one playlist done. I only cheat playing videos at x2 speed. Can understand everything said easily.

[@panthera50]

OH....didn't you wish you were 20 again ? 😍

[@caroleannrandall330]

Hi love your channel. I would like to see a visi to the local village and shops. And what u can buy. Love and hugs. Xs

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I won't show the closest village because of privacy, but I will try to show some of Castelo Branco :) (Probably not very soon because we don't go much so be patient!)

[@caroleannrandall330]

@@ourportuguesehomestead Cheers, lovely family. Blessings. X

[@waynegrant158]

Nice video

[@KennyMcC]

Love your videos and what you’re doing down in Portugal. I’m playing catch-up as you can tell so I’m months behind. It’s lovely to see Puck growing up in that lifestyle. As for politics, it’s something you should be careful of covering at a detailed level. There’s so much misinformation out there. For example, your British friend didn’t need to go back to the UK because of Brexit. Also, Boris Johnson has no intention of privatising the NHS. Some services have been privatised, by the Labour Party in some cases but what’s important is that it remains free at the point of delivery, which will always be the case. Also, we all have much to thank capitalism for. In your case, that really handy chargeable chain-saw and your new microphone. 😉 I look forward to following your story. Best of luck. 👍

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Hi Ken, thank you for watching the videos. Seeing where you are with them you have lots of great stuff coming. As for politics: I try not to discuss a lot of politics on the channel for several reasons. Unfortunately, it is sometimes unavoidable to mention either politics or things or beliefs that have a political meaning to people. To a certain extent you could say that what we are doing and the life we live is political. Our friend did need to go back to the UK because of Brexit, because that is what he stated and neither you nor I can evaluate the merit of that claim due to lack of information. What we do know is we bought his greenhouse, because he decided to go back to the UK before Brexit would be finalised/realised. The same can be said about your follow up on the future of the NHS under Johnson. I don’t think you can claim to know what goes on in Johnson’s mind. We do know that it will be very hard to privatise the NHS fully (as you said many things already have been outsourced over the years) during or directly following the current health crisis. For now, it will likely stay in place. Whether it will always stay that way depends on future developments and I take your conclusion therefore more as a wish than a prediction. I find it interesting that you accuse me of not being careful while discussing politics and you then follow that up with such a simplistic defence of capitalism implying I can’t(or shouldn’t) criticise a system because it brings forth products we use. While my criticism is about how these products are manufactured and who enjoys the profits and who carries the costs.

[@charmainkilloran9476]

You lucky I grow strawberries in uk and its a battle with slugs and snails

[@TheDazzahypno]

Hi have you thought of using thorn bush to surround the chickens.

[@jak8556]

😊

[@quitemountainwoman1592]

Love to chicken coop..... Impressive.

[@ldh10647]

You might want to consider lowering the the coop just bit. easier access.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

They get in and out quite easily now :)

[@TheFarmonRoute66]

So glad we found you!! Love to follow other homestead channels. Check us out too please

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Cool! I'll have a look :)

[@ironfistarrival]

Hi there , so how much money is enough to live per month the way your Living on that land ? Thanks .

[@clifficus]

Lennox Tut Tut, a bit too personal,

[@jamescarid3448]

Very nice coop and pen. What variety of birds are they? Cheers.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

They are chickens :). I believe the rooster is of the Brahma variety and the chicks are Warrens, but we didn’t really know what we would get because roosters are quite hard to find around here according to the shopkeeper.

[@helenswan705]

@@ourportuguesehomestead they look realy happy and the trees and bushes are a great idea. You do not need a rooster. He is beautiful, but you do not need him, unless you want fertile eggs.

[@thatsgawsome]

Besides the well was there any other of signs of the past owners?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

There are terrace walls, but no old shed or something like that

[@wimkouwenberg6494]

Volg vooral je droom geweldig

[@ayanlejibril57]

100/100