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

[Teila]

Remember the towel rail which I converted into an ornamental garden roost? Well, it has been given the matriarchal seal of approval by Cilla .. not the best picture because by the time I had rushed inside, got the camera and got back out again she was jumping down.

Check out the headless Frizzle in the background! Any guesses which end or side the head actually is? lol

 

[Fizzybelle]

Teila, my last order from Martyn's was unusually slow, I contacted them and they said they were short. I'm guessing the cold weather has impacted on their supply. Would've been nice to have been told, but I'm guessing they're a bit fair bit behind and a little afraid maybe of upset customers.

Ok, so after a weekend where plans were derailed, I finally got around to weighing Agnes. She came in at under 600grams. My thoughts as to why she's smaller than others is that well, she is a small chicken, but also she spends a good deal of her day free-ranging as someone is usually home to watch them and the yard is well contained and covered with trees to provide shade/shelter and spots to dig. If she were in a run and getting less exercise she might be heavier. She's healthy though, from her last vet check, and she especially eats like a little piggy. Her diet is layer mix and pellets, grass/forage, plus treats like veges, bread, rice, ect. I'll take a photo of her with a size reference if anyone's interested.

edit: Here's a pic of Agnes next to a regular brick size comparison purposes (it was close by and handy). Esme and Bea are also in the pic (they were hungry as well).

 

[Teila]

Thanks Fizzybelle at least I can now not give up hope totally of them arriving. Still no response to my e.mail. Yeah, it would be nice to have been told .. not my idea of customer service either

I need help identifying this little guy/girl please? I can not find it anywhere on Google. It is definitely a meat eater and that is all it seems to steal from the girls treat bowl .. not interested in the seed at all. It is cheeky and quite brave; definitely not timid.

It has been hanging around here quite a bit but I have never heard it call out so can not give a description of its call.

 

[Fizzybelle]

You could also try chatting to them on the Martyn's Mealworms facebook page. I've done that before and they answer quickly. It took like almost a fortnight to get my order, but it did arrive, they offered a refund though if I wanted to cancel. Hopefully by summer they'll be right for stock.

Cute little birdy, I think I've seen one like that around my place. Dunno what he is exactly though, some type of kingfisher maybe?

 

[Teila]

Ah ha, I think I found him .. Juvenile Butcher Bird!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_butcherbird

And, as is the case with everything that visits here frequently, he now has a name Chuck! [chuck steak .. butcher

]

Apparently if we are nice to him and feed him, he will not attack .. no problem there, he is well fed and I will try not to p*ss him off

 

[Fancychooklady]

Ah ha, I think I found him .. Juvenile Butcher Bird!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_butcherbird

And, as is the case with everything that visits here frequently, he now has a name Chuck! [chuck steak .. butcher  ]

Apparently if we are nice to him and feed him, he will not attack .. no problem there, he is well fed and I will try not to p*ss him off 

Yep, it's a butcher bird.

 

[SilkieChickStar]

SilkieChickStar ~

Now that  the  chicken can be seen in relation to  your hand, it's more easily seen that it is quite young.   ... and if it is indeed only 5 or so weeks old ??. hmmm.   All fluffed up beside your face gave a very different perspective.   

A better view of the wattles and comb, makes me rethink  about it being a hen.   Very red wattles and that tall comb. ( from Fancy and Satay ).  

Bearing in mind I know almost zero about roosters, I do enjoy reading so much information on BYC about the subject.   Still in pre-kinder play group, as far as roosters go. , and I intend to stay there.   Have enough trouble raising a puppy-dog ( 17 kg now and almost the size of a kelpie ) without roaring out the back door to stop punch-ups, not to mention trying to raise wee chicks in my current set-up. !   Candidate for a psych. rest home. 

Can hens in fact grow combs very quickly at times, which would make for that much more difficulty in sexing them. ? ...

One of my 5 hens ( original number ) purchased at 14 weeks old [ from memory ]... Milly Barnevelder,  had a very pronounced comb at that age, and knowing zilch / nada, about chooks, I took no notice.    She laid some beautiful eggs, after she reached POL.

The comb stopped growing somewhere between, but it was much larger than the other standards.    She died of an unknown illness, after an extremely rapid decline and very few symptoms, except finally sitting on ground mostly, then rolling over and departing this earth - at around 18 months of age.   She had been eating and drinking normally up to within a couple of hours of her death.  Have often wondered if a toxic rat bite might have caused it.  

Anyway, good luck with whatever your chicken turns out to be .... would you keep 'him' ?    He's surely too gorgeous and cuddly to give away.   

Cheers .......  

That is very interesting information, however I am pretty certain little "Silvery " here is definitely a boy. His full name is Captain Long John Silver (thanks kids lol).

I am going to try and keep him if it can, I have already caught him making a very strangled kind of crow.

It will depend on the neighbours I think!

 

[appps]

Teila, my last order from Martyn's was unusually slow, I contacted them and they said they were short. I'm guessing the cold weather has impacted on their supply. Would've been nice to have been told, but I'm guessing they're a bit fair bit behind and a little afraid maybe of upset customers. Ok, so after a weekend where plans were derailed, I finally got around to weighing Agnes. She came in at under 600grams. My thoughts as to why she's smaller than others is that well, she is a small chicken, but also she spends a good deal of her day free-ranging as someone is usually home to watch them and the yard is well contained and covered with trees to provide shade/shelter and spots to dig. If she were in a run and getting less exercise she might be heavier. She's healthy though, from her last vet check, and she especially eats like a little piggy. Her diet is layer mix and pellets, grass/forage, plus treats like veges, bread, rice, ect. I'll take a photo of her with a size reference if anyone's interested. edit: Here's a pic of Agnes next to a regular brick size comparison purposes (it was close by and handy). Esme and Bea are also in the pic (they were hungry as well).

I'll have to take a photo of penny with the same reference and reweigh her. Doubt she is any larger than yours looking at her next to that brick.

 

[satay]

Thanks Fizzybelle at least I can now not give up hope totally of them arriving. Still no response to my e.mail. Yeah, it would be nice to have been told .. not my idea of customer service either I need help identifying this little guy/girl please? I can not find it anywhere on Google. It is definitely a meat eater and that is all it seems to steal from the girls treat bowl .. not interested in the seed at all. It is cheeky and quite brave; definitely not timid. It has been hanging around here quite a bit but I have never heard it call out so can not give a description of its call.

Butcher bird for sure. Be careful if you have caged birds they will attack and kill them with ease if given the chance, I haven't had them bother the chickens thankfully.

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks

Thank you to those who helped identify Chuck!

satay no caged birds here. Chuck can not get into the coop/run either. When the girls are free ranging of an afternoon I take whatever food is left over from the day from inside the run and put it outside while they are ranging. They think it is new food that they have not seen before

I pop it just outside the door and they fill up on the way back into the run at bed time.

This is when Chuck gets a feed. I figure he might as well have some because at the end of the day, what is left gets tossed anyway.

He seems fine with the girls and they chase him off if he is in their way.

Fizzybelle while I still have not received a reply to my e.mail to Martyn's "is there a delay?" this appeared in my In Box at 08:26PM last night "This is a friendly email to inform you that your order at Martyn's Mealworms has been posted." Dusty will be pleased to hear that