Rearing Chickens in Central Portugal (Cont…)

What to feed your birds?

Apart from your garden flowers and young vegetables they enjoy pecking at most kitchen vegetable waste, along with leftover rice, pasta and breadcrumbs. They will also need grain of some sort, corn, maize or complete chicken feed (this must be kept dry and out of the rain). Which you can buy at any supermarket or Co-operativa. Grit or ground oyster shells can be bought and placed on a tray in the run. They will help themselves as they need it. The grit is good to help the birds digest their food and provide good strong egg shells.

If you are rearing birds for the table, Galinha as they are called here there is no need to feed them more. You should separate the ‘layers’ from the ‘eaters’ and put the table birds into a much smaller run because exercise will slow down the growth rate and make the meat very tough. It’s common here in central Portugal to first boil a farm yard bird and then roast it to make the flesh tender enough to eat.

The good life for all chickens will eventually come to an end if you are to have your Sunday dinner!. If you can’t bring yourself to kill one of your birds and you live in rural Portugal I am sure a neighbour will do it for you with speed and efficiency.

What sort of chickens should you have ?  As there are over 150 varieties of chickens you have a huge choice however for your first birds I would suggest that you buy a few of what is selling at the local produce market. You know that they will be well suited to the local environment. Later you could try the Aracuna breed which lay the most beautiful blue eggs. If you need lots of eggs try some leghorns the lay well and roast very well.

Here are two resources for further information.

www.poultrychat.com and www.poultrykeeper.co.uk

Replacing the Windows in Stone Houses in Central Portugal.

Apart from the technical aspects there are of course the esthetical aspects of shape type and colour of frame that’s before we even get to the glass.

Just as all old stone houses are not equal neither are window frames.

The good old days of cheap pine or softwood window frames have long gone, particularly here in Central Portugal due to the extremes of temperature which make it almost impossible for the stain or paint (even micro-porous) to stay attached for long. Which then gives the ideal conditions for a windows frames worst enemy. Wood boring insects of which in Portugal we have quite a few, forget about the humble wood worms. I am thinking about an incident that a friend of mine had. He decided to fit locally made untreated pine windows in a house he was refurbishing to sell. I must say it all looked very smart at the beginning but when the hot days arrived my friend was busy doing other work inside the house and so on. In fact he left them untreated until the following spring when charged with new vigor he got out his tin of primer paint and was about to set too.

He noticed with great alarm that he had holes about the size that you could poke a pencil through all over every window. It looked like they had been shot by an air rifle. A person didn’t cause the problem it was a wood wasp lava. In fact a whole family of them.

His first meeting with the Sirex woodwasp or (Sirex noctilio) is a high risk invasive species native to Europe that has proven devastating to many commercial pine plantations, as well as natural forests, with mortality rates as high as 80%.

Description:

Sirex noctilio is a Siricid woodwasp, or Horntail. Adults have a long cylindrical body lacking the typical narrow petiole “waist”, two sets of transparent wings, and a spear-shaped plate (cornus) at its tail. Females are larger measuring about 15-35mm long, having a metallic blue head and body, orange legs, and a pointed projection at the tail to protect the ovipositor. Males measure about 13-32mm and have a metallic blue head and thorax, an orange abdomen with a dark tip, and orange front and thickened, black rear legs. Larvae are creamy white with a cylindrical body, identifiable head, and three pairs of short legs.

Rearing Chickens in Central Portugal

Bright golden yolks and firm ultra white whites. When did you see an egg like the ones on the cookery programmes or adverts.

Having your own chickens can be very rewarding not just for the quality of food that they supply you but  the enjoyment of caring for your flock. Chickens may be soft and cute but as anyone who has kept them will tell you they are not dumb animals.

Feisty, intelligent, cunning and fast learners are just a few of the descriptions that I would give them.

Tasty too of course!

We were valuing a property for sale just last week  where the owner had a chicken which ran with the dogs. Four great brutes of mixed Serra de  Estrella and collie crosses, the size of Alsatians.  A very smart bird indeed, dogs don’t eat corn – chickens do eat dog food – a real win/win situation.

increasing numbers of people are interested in the idea of keeping their own chickens. Some will just want to have a daily supply of fresh eggs, while others will want to keep birds they can eat.  Why not do both as keeping poultry can have huge benefits for all members of the household and a move to rural Portugal can provide the opportunity to keep birds for the first time.

Housing your chickens in a safe from dogs, snakes, and fox environment is vital.

You may have a suitable outbuilding that can be adapted ( basically a door that closes and some food, water and straw is all the need. Or you can buy a ready-made chicken coop or build one yourself.

The views and opinions expressed in this email message are the author’s own and

may not reflect the views and opinions of the author’s employer.

Keeping Chickens

Bright golden yolks and firm ultra white whites. When did you last see an egg like the ones on the cookery programmes or adverts?

Having your own chickens can be very rewarding not just for the quality of food that they supply you with, but the enjoyment of caring for your flock. Chickens may be soft and cute but as anyone who has kept them will tell you they are not dumb animals.

Feisty, intelligent, cunning and fast learners are just a few of the descriptions that I would give them.

Tasty too of course!

We were valuing a property for sale just last week  where the owner had a chicken which ran with the dogs. Four great brutes of mixed Serra de  Estrella and Collie crosses the size of Alsatians.  A very smart bird indeed, dogs don’t eat corn – chickens do eat dog food – a real win/win situation!

This property has the perfect outbuilding for keeping chickens, as is low-cost, too!

Increasing numbers of people are interested in the idea of keeping their own chickens. Some will just want to have a daily supply of fresh eggs, while others will want to keep birds they can eat.  Why not do both as keeping poultry can have huge benefits for all members of the household and a move to rural Portugal can provide the opportunity to keep birds for the first time.

Housing your chickens in a safe environment free from dogs, snakes, and foxes is vital.

Here’s one more property which has more than enough garden space for chickens, vegetable and even a goat!

You may have a suitable outbuilding that can be adapted – basically a door that closes and some food, water and straw is all they need. You can also buy a ready-made chicken coop or build one yourself.

Visit www.coimbrapropertyshop.com to see more properties ideal for those of you wishing to rear livestock.

Outside Dining, Entertaining and Cooking in Central Portugal

“The sun is shining and the weather is sweet, make yah want to move your dancing feet” according to Bob Marley however for some of us living in central Portugal the sunny weather makes us think less about dancing and more about dining  outdoors with a barbeque. The Portuguese have long understood that a separate outside kitchen has many benefits. The cook can socialize with guests without being stuck in the house, the smoke and smells stay out of the house and of course so does the heat generated by the cooking.

Throughout this article, you will find properties for sale in central Portugal with fantastic outdoor dining options.

Whether you are on holiday or permanent residents, many people find that they enjoy being outside far more than when they do in the UK. Instead of sheltering from the rain we enjoy the warmer weather and actually look for shade. Taking the most enjoyment from eating outside requires access to shade for all the diners so that you can all relax without ending up sunburnt and becoming over heated.  The answer is an outdoor kitchen. No more barbecues at the end of the garden carrying trays of glasses and crockery from the kitchen to the patio!

Cabo da Aldeia

Price: €165,000

Description: Four bedrooms and bathrooms with lots of land ready for self sufficient living.

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Love to have one but what about the cost?

It sounds  like a major and expensive undertaking, but with some basic planning a little inspiration your new outdoor cooking and eating space can be created for very little cost.

First. Location, location, location. If you are lucky enough to have a space in your garden that lends itself to being the location of your new entertaining area all well and good. You may prefer to locate the kitchen near the swimming pool or attractive area of the garden.

Casa dos Pessegueiros

Price: €160,000

Description: A four bedroom house complete with pool and modern finishings throughout.

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Suitability of the Site

A few questions now will save you a lot of outlay.

Are there water, electricity and drainage services nearby? How much will it cost to run these to the site?

Is the location level and suitable for placing a dining table  or will we need to leveled?

Where does the site face for the sun South &  Southwest are best.  Will you be able to place the shading materials without interfering with established trees.

What’s  nearby?   Take a look over your neighbors fence. Those chickens that you hardly notice normally, may just generate enough of a smell in summer to make your new palace to summer dining unusable.

A Day at the Athletics in Leiria, Central Portugal

We enjoyed an amazing day out on Sunday the 21st of June 2009 at the European Athletics meeting in Leiria.

Having watched the athletics competition via the BBC on Saturday afternoon we noticed that the stadium looked half empty so decided to search the internet to see if we could get tickets despite the  short notice. The official website www.leiria 2009.com was working but the ticket allocation system was not. As the tickets were free we decided to get there early and try and obtain some tickets for the shaded part of the stadium as on the way to Leiria it was showing 36 degrees on the car’s thermometer.

We need not have worried. We arrived just after 1.30 pm so most of Portugal were at lunch, making it very easy to park and the ticket queue only had one person in front of us.

The seating was very comfortable with an excellent view of the whole event. As there were several events going on at the same time  it was impossible to be bored . We particularly liked the woman’s high jump event which started to slowly develop into real drama as the weaker competitors dropped out leaving the champions to enter the competition at the absolute last minute. The rituals and individual preparations each athlete made were fascinating . Leaving your seat for refreshments was easy and the shops were very close to the seating areas. We were all very impressed with the stadium and agreed to return again when we see another sporting event advertised.
The stadium’s full address in case you want to go there is Estadio Municipal de Leiria, Dr. Magalhaes de Pessoa. It’s located just under the castle in the centre of Leiria were there is plenty of free parking.

We have a wonderful short-term holiday let available in Leiria, which get’s rave reviews. Check our rental properties in Central Portugal for more information.

Heating Your Home in Central Portugal

If you look around you can’t fail to notice that we are blessed with an abundance of trees here in central Portugal there is a little of the “water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink” however. Because all of this woodland is of course owned by someone so you can’t just go and cut it down or remove logs lying on the ground.

If you have your own land with trees on it you can of course cut them down (as long as they are not protected species) The vast majority of standing timber (trees) are Eucalyptus or one of a variety of Pine species. Unfortunately these are not the best for wood burning stoves or wood burning boilers. As they burn fast, too hot and produce a lot of creosote/tar which can damage your stove and chimney.

All of the stove and boiler companies produce their claims for heat and efficiency based on burning two year dried, hard wood.

In  2009 a mixture of one year dried hard and soft wood will cost between 45 and 55 Euros a cubic meter delivered to your home.

Lets look at some more hidden costs of using your own wood.  A decent chain saw, cutting blades, chain file, 2 stroke fuel and lubricating oil. Large splitting axe or electric log splitter. Will cost up front around 800 Euros to purchase.

The normal running costs of cutting blades, 2 stroke fuel and lubricating oil will be around 25 Euros a year after that + chainsaw servicing.

Then of course you need somewhere dry to store 12 to 18 cubic meters of cut and split wood. So that you can keep two years supply plus the year that you are burning. Then of course the labour in cutting transporting and stacking the timber. It’s not for the unfit or the elderly. Cutting timber in the spring and the autumn (it’s just too hot otherwise) will take approximately a week’s manual work to produce enough for the year. So make sure you can cope with this or you will end up buying supplies which will defeat the reason you bought the fire or stove in the first place.

We have a great deal of properties up for sale which have insulation, double glazing and high standards of heating – be it open fires or central heating. Check our new properties in Central Portugal for more information, and our renovation projects for properties you can insulate and heat yourself.

Coming soon – details of a wood burning fridge!

Heating under floor heating systems with wood High output wood furnaces Wood burning cookers and ranges Flues & chimneys  don’t make them afterthoughts.

Property Refurbishment Step by Step

Today, we received this letter from DH Property Lda:

Graham,

We are in the process of buying and restoring a 16^th century stone watermill in Central Portugal close to Penela. I wondered if your bloggers may be interested in occasional reports, design & construction issues,photographs and descriptions of any problems and fixes that we come across on the way. We expect this “Grand Designs” project to take approximately two years to complete. We are also intending to incorporate quite a few very modern ideas into this new home.

Please let me know if this is the sort of thing you are interested in.

DH Property Lda

The answer is of course yes! Our readers are always interested in property refurbishment, especially if it is illustrated step-by-step and done in the area.

The process of renovating a stone building in Central Portugal can be seen at the DH Property Blog, “Property Portugal”.

Yearly Festa in Santo Amaro, Central Portugal

It’s Festa time again. This time it’s the festa of St. Amaro.

He is our village patron saint and every year the village sends out a group of men and women to collect donations door-to-door to help pay for the festivities. Starting early in the morning 8am Sunday morning the peace shattering sound of what sounds like cannons echoing around the hills of Penela, Espinhal and Lamas. It is in fact loud rockets which are fired high into the air to alert people that there is a festa taking place. These loud bangs carry on throughout the week of the festa.

At 11am we started to hear the explosions coming closer to our house although we could not see any one we could also hear the pipe and drum band coming up the hill getting louder and louder. Their jolly tune echoing like the rockets. Eventually , sweating profusely they sat under a tree near our gate, drank a fortifying glass of  wine and started to play again in 34 degree heat!.

Here is a short video so that you can hear  the sound the pipe and drum band makes as they walk through the village.

When you give a donation to the festa you are joining part of the fun and tradition of your village. Many foreigners don’t know what to give they are afraid of giving too much or too little and offending people. The simplest way to decide what to give is to have a look at the list of people who have already given. The amount they have given is written down donation by donation. 15 to 20 Euros will be plenty and well appreciated. You may even have a rocket set off at your gate to let everyone in the village know you have made a donation. Some villages hand out little token gifts when you give a donation. This year we were given a soup bowl, embossed with a picture of the Saint.

A great deal of organization and work goes into the festas. Local village women and girls meet up to make the paper flowers and other decorations which are strung up from lamppost, houses, and trees around the village roads. In some villages where the inhabitants are getting old, plastic tapes are used instead of labor intensive homemade bunting (we have seen these with “danger electricity” written on them. These tapes are supposed to be buried above high voltage cables underground !

The festa will go on for 3 days from Friday to Sunday. There are fun and games, and of course wine and food stalls. Music is provided by local bands some of which are famous on the festa circuit. The music always starts late and is far louder than most people can bear. The whole village will be kept awake by the loud music all night long, often until 3 of 4 am and if you love dancing this is the place to be.

Santo Amaro is a lovely village in the council of Penela. We have a great deal of cheap property available in Penela and Central Portugal, so feel free to take the time to check it out.

Eating in Miranda do Corvo

“Lets go out to eat”, you say. Then you sit thinking about those few same old restaurants that you always go to.

Why not try these restaurants (in image below) in Miranda do Corvo, Central Portugal?

They were all featured in the Chanfana gastronomic week. (Chanfana is mature goat stewed in red wine) it’d delicious and if you have never had it cooked in a wood fired traditional oven, you have never lived!

Ingredients

1 lb  (half a Kilo)Boneless goat meat cubed
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 ounce Bacon diced
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 medium Onion sliced
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 Bay leaf or Laurel leaf
2 cloves Garlic
Good splash of Piri-piri (chili sauce)
Salt and pepper  to taste
1/2 bottle of strong Red wine

Instructions

In a covered, fire-proof casserole, heat oil. Add bacon and fry until starting to crisp. Add onions, garlic, paprika and nutmeg and sauté until onion is just starting to soften. Collect the mixture on the side of pan and add the meat. Brown well then mix with onion/bacon mixture. Add bay leaf, red wine and piri-piri sauce to taste.

On the stove, heat the casserole over medium high heat until wine starts to simmer. Cover the dish and place in the oven. After 45 minutes, remove the lid and cook for another 45 minutes. If the ingredients start to dry out too much, add more wine.

Serve with boiled potatoes and spinach or a side salad of onion, tomatoes and lettuce.

Crazy Down Hill Karting in Central Portugal

The home made carts of the Penela area once again took to the track to prove how brave or mad the people of central Portugal really are. This is a repeat performance from 2008 – which we also took pictures of and can be seen here.

Starting around 3pm on Sunday afternoon the event was a great success. We found out about it from the posters put up in the local cafes. The event is free to watch and we would recommend anyone who wants to be part of the local community to attend.

On a steep section of road some kilometers long, the home made carts were taken up to the starting position high above Espinhal and timed on their downward run through many twists and turns. Many crashed before the end, but for the brave few who skidded past the chequered flag at the finish and crashed headlong into the hay bales and old tyres at the T junction of the Espinhal/Relvas road.

The first contestants were moving very fast, close to the ground not on home made carts but on large wheeled skateboards. They looked more like scooters with the handlebars cut off. They certainly did go fast, that is until they cam to the end of the race and went tumbling into the bales.

Some of the home made cart drivers used too much brake on the sharp bends and went spinning down the track out of control. Others lost a wheel or simply couldn’t turn fast enough and went flying off the road.

Great fun for the spectators of which there were about 400!

For more information on the areas mentioned here, you can search for Espinhal or Relvas at Coimbra Property Shop and see the available properties for sale and renovation in Central Portugal.