Hello! We’re looking for a house sitter to hang out with our pet chickens while we are overseas visiting family and friends for a few weeks.

About the chickens: We have two flocks of chickens, one with 7 hens and one with 6 hens + 1 friendly rooster. The chickens will need to be let in and out of their coops each day, given fresh food and water, and have any eggs collected (and feel free to eat them!). They also appreciate some time spent free ranging! In general, the coops need to be cleaned out/refreshed once a week. Two of our coops are omlets so they are very easy to clean, the other uses a deep litter system so requires minimal management.

Our rooster, Lindsay, is very friendly and good around new people. One of his favorite things is eating snacks from your hands! Lindsay sleeps in a special box in the coop each night so you will have to pick him up and put him in it, and let him out later in the morning (so his crowing doesn’t bother the neighbors). He’s comfortable with being picked up and is used to this routine.

A few of our hens are older gals (>8 years) so we’d appreciate having someone who is familiar with chickens and can identify when they might not be feeling so great. Our chickens are really dear to us so we’d love to have someone who loves chickens too!

About the property: We live in a two bed/two bathroom house on a 3.5 acre bush block. The house has a large, screened in deck for your morning coffee and has two wood-burning stoves (in addition to a split system) to keep you warm and toasty. You’re welcome to stay in the main bedroom+ en-suite and will have access to the whole house/property. There are a couple steps to the entrance of the house, and stairs to get to the second bedroom.

We have a large veggie patch (help yourself to anything that’s ready!), an orchard, and a number of citrus trees. We often get visits from kangaroos and wallabies, kookaburras, cockatoos, parrots, and the neighborhood echidna.

Garden care will likely be minimal during the winter, although a few garden beds and new trees may need watering if it is dry.

About the town: We are a five minute drive from the town of Mirboo North. Mirboo North has a pub, a couple cafes, bakery, grocery store, and a wonderful park. The start of the rail trail from Mirboo North to Boolarra also begins in town. The Mirboo North Winterfest will be held on 3 and 4 August in town. Winterfest has been amazing the past two years, with a lantern parade, tipis in the park with music, and lots of good things to eat and drink!

We are 25 minutes away from the bigger towns of Morwell and Leongatha, which have more shops. We are also close to the Great Southern Rail Trail and the Gippsland Plains Rail Trail. Wilson’s Prom is about a 90 minute drive. Melbourne is about 1hr 45 min away by car and the Mornington Peninsula is about 90 minutes away. The V Line train is accessible from the town of Trafalgar (25 minute drive).

Gippsland is a beautiful area with lots of lovely little towns, great hikes and rides, and delicious things to eat and drink!

If you have pets, we are happy to discuss this - just let us know!

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