Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[SilkieChickStar]

Thanks for the replies about my D'uccle. Fingers crossed we get a girl, as we are in love with the little cutie!

 

[Anniebee]

MyHaven .... do so hope your frozen shoulder is well on the mend, and that you are over all that.

sjturner79 - - hope you too are feeling much better.

It is sometimes difficult to keep up with all the news. I like to wish people well and better health if they have been ill, or out of action - but there are occasions I miss out completely, even seeing a post or knowing where it was if I did see it, and who said it.

MyHaven .... I have seen so many people walking around areas that hold varieties of pullets - sexed and by breed in different pens, at a breeding farm east of Melbourne, but I
did notice that no-one was permitted inside those pens. The owner grabbed the 3 I selected, and bunged them straight into the box, just outside the door. Quick as a flash she was, very practiced - must've been doing that for years. No feather or foot touched the ground outside the pens. Still and all - it was pretty laid back. I don't know how far any infestation or disease can spread ( by area I mean ) from someones' shoe or boot that has been in an infested area previously. She did tell us to stand back as she caught my selections too.

Teila .... thanks for the info about Martyns. $11.96 which includes p & h, is cheaper for sure. Not sure about risking almost $23.00 for live mealworms. I don't really know what I would do with 1000 of them, or how long they keep for - it would have to be a long time, as I am reducing protein to the girls at present, and mealworms are apparently protein rich ? The girls do like to scratch after rain to find earth worms, they eat them happily. Sometimes dig them up myself after rain - a couple of spots in the garden are heavy with them. I have not yet dug around in the compost - am never sure what hubby puts in there to help feed worms !! He tells me 'everything goes into the compost' ???

I will have to get over my paranoia about buying on line. I see so much now that is offered far cheaper than I pay.

Have a good weekend all ......

Cheers .......

 

[Anniebee]

No signs, not actually sunny, in fact was overcast and drizzling on and off. However there is a large black and white bird dive bombing the hens that had been looking after the chicks today.

Could have been a butcher bird - pied or even a grey. They have a vicious beak curved at the end like a kookaburra has. They are known to catch and kill small birds, and from what I have read in "Bird-Life Australia" they dive bomb anything that is anywhere near their own nests, or in the way of a meal for themselves. They weigh about 4 lbs, or 1.8 kgs.

I just hope you can get rid of it somehow, and can keep your hens locked up for a few days ? I doubt a butcher bird would try to take a grown hen, but it could inflict a nasty injury on a grown birds face or head. They have been known to attack the faces of people, if threatened. ( all references here from "Bird-Life Australia" ).

...........

 

[sjturner79]

Could have been a butcher bird - pied or even a grey.   They have a vicious beak curved at the end like a kookaburra has.   They are known to catch and kill small birds, and from what I have read in "Bird-Life Australia" they dive bomb anything that is anywhere near their own nests, or in the way of a meal for themselves.   They weigh about 4 lbs, or 1.8 kgs.

I just hope you can get rid of it somehow, and can keep your hens locked up for a few days ?    I doubt a butcher bird would try to take a grown hen, but it could inflict a nasty injury on a grown birds face or head.   They have been known to attack the faces of people, if threatened.  ( all references here from "Bird-Life Australia" ).   

........... 

I'm not real good on knowing what birds are, but it might be a butcher bird. I chased it off with the hose when I saw it and will keep an eye out for it.

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks

Very quiet in here this weekend .. if the weather elsewhere is anything like here that is easily explained by everyone being outside enjoying it.

However, Australia being the country that it is, I know that is probably not the case and while I, for one, am enjoying the cool enough temps to sleep at night and beautiful sunny days minus the humidity, others are battling cold, rain, storms and even snow.

sjturner79 just my humble opinion based on experience with my gals, but you are probably right in that the attack was aerial and quick. I think anything else the flock would have raised the alarm.

Having said that, as they are used to cats, it could have been a drop in and not one of the regular 4.

Anything else, snake, goanna etc you would expect to hear their protests at it’s presence, even a Hawk circling but if it was a Butcher Bird that they are used to seeing around, dive bombing them etc, the alarm may not have been raised.

MyHaven good point about spread of disease. Back in the early days when Cilla first went broody, I picked up some fertile eggs locally. I was surprised when the lady rushed out and met us at the top of the driveway with the eggs and while I did not ask to see the flock, she did not offer. With education came the realisation that she was probably just protecting her flock from anything I may have bought with me. I have, with hatches and rehoming of chicks, shown people the flock and again, with education, another reason I am in no hurry to have any more hatches.

Anniebee 1000 live meal worms last approximately 5-6 weeks here and the girls get approx 4 or 5 each every afternoon at the start of free range; may be a couple more each spread throughout the day on weekends.

The meal worms live in an ice cream container with rolled oats for food and an apple, peeled, cored and cut in half for moisture. The apple is simply buried in the oats and replaced weekly. The lid of the ice cream container has holes punched in it for aeration.

For the 5-6 weeks the meal worms are kept in the back fridge which causes them to sleep and therefore, not develop into beetles. Every lunch time, the container comes out of the fridge and sits on top until free range time. This gives the worms time to wake up and eat. Then, when the girls go to bed, the worms go back in the fridge until the next afternoon.

When a new order of worms arrives, any remaining worms are taken from the oats they have been living in and popped into fresh oats along with the newbies.

So it is pretty easy, you just have to remember to take them out of the fridge for a couple of hours a day, refresh their moisture source [apple in my case and I recommend weekly] and fresh oats [$1 a bag] with each batch of new worms.

I just realised, the fact that I have one apple in my shopping cart on Sunday and that it is going home to be given to worms is kinda funny

 

[Fancychooklady]

It is absolutely pouring here. Think it's going to be a day in front of the fire. :/

 

[SilkieChickStar]

Beautiful weather here, am sleeping so well with these cooler nights. The days are still warm and sunny

 

[SilkieChickStar]

Running around creating havoc while the brooder gets cleaned out

 

[sjturner79]

The bird that was dive bombing was a larger one of these.

We are currently having our 2 days of sunshine for the month.

 

[Fancychooklady]

The bird that was dive bombing was a larger one of these.

We are currently having our 2 days of sunshine for the month.

Enjoy it while you can. The birds in the pic are magpies,