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

[Anniebee]

I will eventually catch up the posts (only about 6 pages behind)

But thought I'd share this since we are on the subject of eggs.



Sorry for the red bowl.

D'uccles really do punch above their weight.

The little yolk is a Silkie, the middle one is a D'uccle and the one on the right is a Marans.

Lovely yolks there MyHaven .... and good on your girls ....

Never ceases to amaze how small a yolk can come from a large-ish chicken, and how big a yolk can be from a little 'un.

Mindys' yolks are huge. In a medium sized blue / green egg. .... then again ( when they were last laying ) the big girls would produce a good sized egg, with smaller yolks.

Not sure that any of us can 100% figure their strange chookie ways.

Cheers .....

 

[Anniebee]

Howdy folks

sjturner79 I am so very sorry to read of your loss

Congratulations on the eggs though, we have had a couple of 2 eggs days also.

MyHaven wow, those little D'uccles do not mess around when it comes to egg size!

Congrats on Mindy's return to laying Anniebee and also your guinea fowl eggs redguinea

Tee hee Fizzybelle loved the rude pigeon story with Esme laughing at you!

So, as you know, Chucky has been visiting every day for a few weeks now .. I have only ever seen Chucky. He is never accompanied. I have no idea if Chucky is a boy or girl but I am going with 'he' for the purposes of writing. I have hidden the pics because while I do not think they are gross, I do not want to upset anyone. There is no blood or gore etc, but there is a deceased Turtle Dove. Also, apologies if I am boring anyone. Nature is fascinating to me and I thoroughly enjoy the comings and goings in our garden.

Anyway, Chucky visits today, right on schedule but is not interested in chicken treats. At this stage, I am not sure if the chickens killed the Turtle Dove and Chucky found it; if Chucky killed it or if something else killed it and Chucky was taking advantage of a free meal.

As you can see, Chucky is about the size of a Turtle Dove but he was dragging the body all over the corner of the back garden:

Interestingly, after about 15mins of this behaviour, look who shows up ... Never seen an adult Butcher Bird here before!

Chucky spent the whole time it was there just sitting on the pot, watching [you can see him on the right of the picture]. He did not try and join it or chase it off etc, just watched.

Now I have more questions than answers

Was that Chucky's Mum or Dad?
Did Mum or Dad kill the Dove and then let Chucky have first dibs alone as a training exercise?
If that is Mum or Dad, how come Chucky has been visiting alone for weeks now and I have never seen this one before?
Why did Chucky sit and watch .. if it was a parent would he not join it? If it was not a parent, wouldn't he at least try and chase it away or leave himself?
I am fascinated that he sat there and watched. If he had not been dragging the carcass around himself earlier, I would definitely say it was a training exercise on the part of the parent and that was why he was watching; but he seemed to have it under control before the adult turned up.

Teila .....

I cannot open the images into larger photographs to have a good look. Not to worry. Saw enough.

As I think everyone agreed that Chucky is a juvenile butcher bird.... it is more than possible that an adult ( Mum or Dad ) has turned up to teach Chucky how to look after himself.

Could be that one of the adults killed the poor turtle dove, for the very purpose of teaching their young one ( Chucky ) ... how to kill to feed.

As they are closely related to magpies ( cracticus / Cracticinae ) , I can only go by what I have experienced with magpies over 25 years of our ' magpie family' ( RIP ) ...& of magpies generally - and butcher birds.

1. Would suspect it was a parent that joined in. ( photo shows full plumage of an adult butcher bird ).

2. I doubt that a juvenile would join in to any kill by parents. A juvenile would wait to be a) fed by parents, or b) feed themselves on the carcass, from what they have learned.

3. If it was a kill by any other creature, I think Chucky might have stood his ground to retrieve food - then again, depending on his age ( and he does look young in previous photos here ) he may not have had the education or the impetus, to do it.

He has been very much looked after, picking up what is left after your chookies have had their go at scraps and goodies. You have not hand fed him, so there is no problem there. IF you had hand fed him, he would imprint on you for food and constant care. Magpies and butcher birds tend to 'adopt' human parents ...

along with other species. Hand feeding is not a good thing for the young of wild species. But you have not hand fed him ( like an adult bird would - putting food into his mouth ) ... so that is not a factor.

Dragging the carcass around by himself, was ( I believe ) a learning process. Then Mum or Dad turned up - and he backed off, bowing to their authority.

Juveniles are like young teens in human terms ... out and about and doing their own 'challenging' thing. Which is possibly why he has attached himself to food at your home, and his parents have perhaps had another juvie to concern themselves with. These birds look after their own, but I have seen juvenile magpies on their own for days at a time, ground feeding and trying to look after themselves, but never for long. Mum and / or Dad turn up at precisely the right time. How they know ? Anyones' guess.

Have also witnessed a male magpie, 'storing' food in a small ground hollow in a tree. Butcher birds hang their prey on whatever is handy - branch, twig or fence. Same tihng.

The parents ( magpies in particular ) when feeding young, reduce in weight alarmingly while the juvies become larger than the parents ... parents end up as skinny as rakes, until the following Autumn, when they begin plummage to attract their mate, and begin the process of breeding again in late winter. Meantime, juvenile ( in Autumn ) has shed his / her feathers and is coming into full adult plummage - ideally. That is usually when Mum or Dad magpie / butcher bird ... will fight off their own male and sometimes female young, to go do their own thing .... " get outta here, and don't come back " ...

That can be sometimes not so nice a thing to watch . But - they get the message and go off to find other 'kicked out' young, and form pairings or families. And so it goes on.
Both butcher birds and magpies are territorial.

Suggestion : Continue to feed your chickens as you normally would. If Chucky picks up the remains so be it. Do not speak to him or call him by name - ever again. Turn your back and ignore him. For his benefit, in the wild.

Apologies for such a long spiel, but I adore these birds, and when I can, will help ... ..

Cheers .....

 

[Anniebee]

Chicken cycles vary as much as people's do. The shortest recorded was an egg every 20 hours, many are up as long as 30 hours.

That is amazing sjturner79 .... love to learn something new every day ... and this was it.

Cheers ..........

 

[satay]

Teila ..... I cannot open the images into larger photographs to have a good look. Not to worry. Saw enough. As I think everyone agreed that Chucky is a juvenile butcher bird.... it is more than possible that an adult ( Mum or Dad ) has turned up to teach Chucky how to look after himself. Could be that one of the adults killed the poor turtle dove, for the very purpose of teaching their young one ( Chucky ) ... how to kill to feed. As they are closely related to magpies ( cracticus / [COLOR=252525] [/COLOR]Cracticinae ) , I can only go by what I have experienced with magpies over 25 years of our ' magpie family' ( RIP ) ...& of magpies generally - and butcher birds. 1. Would suspect it was a parent that joined in. ( photo shows full plumage of an adult butcher bird ). 2. I doubt that a juvenile would join in to any kill by parents. A juvenile would wait to be a) fed by parents, or b) feed themselves on the carcass, from what they have learned. 3. If it was a kill by any other creature, I think Chucky might have stood his ground to retrieve food - then again, depending on his age ( and he does look young in previous photos here ) he may not have had the education or the impetus, to do it. He has been very much looked after, picking up what is left after your chookies have had their go at scraps and goodies. You have not hand fed him, so there is no problem there. IF you had hand fed him, he would imprint on you for food and constant care. Magpies and butcher birds tend to 'adopt' human parents ... along with other species. Hand feeding is not a good thing for the young of wild species. But you have not hand fed him ( like an adult bird would - putting food into his mouth ) ... so that is not a factor. Dragging the carcass around by himself, was ( I believe ) a learning process. Then Mum or Dad turned up - and he backed off, bowing to their authority. Juveniles are like young teens in human terms ... out and about and doing their own 'challenging' thing. Which is possibly why he has attached himself to food at your home, and his parents have perhaps had another juvie to concern themselves with. These birds look after their own, but I have seen juvenile magpies on their own for days at a time, ground feeding and trying to look after themselves, but never for long. Mum and / or Dad turn up at precisely the right time. How they know ? Anyones' guess. Have also witnessed a male magpie, 'storing' food in a small ground hollow in a tree. Butcher birds hang their prey on whatever is handy - branch, twig or fence. Same tihng. The parents ( magpies in particular ) when feeding young, reduce in weight alarmingly while the juvies become larger than the parents ... parents end up as skinny as rakes, until the following Autumn, when they begin plummage to attract their mate, and begin the process of breeding again in late winter. Meantime, juvenile ( in Autumn ) has shed his / her feathers and is coming into full adult plummage - ideally. That is usually when Mum or Dad magpie / butcher bird ... will fight off their own male and sometimes female young, to go do their own thing .... " get outta here, and don't come back " ... That can be sometimes not so nice a thing to watch . But - they get the message and go off to find other 'kicked out' young, and form pairings or families. And so it goes on. Both butcher birds and magpies are territorial. Suggestion : Continue to feed your chickens as you normally would. If Chucky picks up the remains so be it. Do not speak to him or call him by name - ever again. Turn your back and ignore him. For his benefit, in the wild. Apologies for such a long spiel, but I adore these birds, and when I can, will help ... .. Cheers .....

I should take that advise when it comes to our visiting maggies but i don't think i could turn my back and ignore them. They get in the tree right outside the front door and sing until i fill their dish with food, I never have hand fed them but the are so beautiful and have been bringing their babies down for 9 years now and i love to watch how they teach them to eat etc. The small amount i put out for them a day would not be enough for anything but an extra treat for them.

 

[Teila]

Thank you Anniebee that was interesting reading.

I will continue with my routine and definitely will not hand feed Chucky but not talk to him? Oh no, I am not sure I can stop myself from saying Hello to him and definitely would have difficulty ignoring him .. he is such a cheeky little boy and comes and sits close to me on the gate or solar panel etc … it is like he wants to interact?

As he comes down every afternoon now at free range time, I am guessing he has already become attached to that routine? As mentioned before, I take the left over food from inside the run and put it just outside the run, that is when he shows up within seconds, so I am guessing he is watching me from the trees.


As satay has mentioned with the Maggies, the small amount Chucky steals off the gals definitely would not keep him nourished, so hopefully it is just an extra treat. I do not think he is becoming reliant on me for food, especially after watching him with the Turtle Dove.

 

[kat79]

I knew silkies can go broody but oh my goodness my little black and tan silkie has gone broody, Now do I let her sit on the one silkie and duck egg or should I take her off? Not sure if they are fertilized or not but I do have a drake and a roo silkie all about 32 weeks (estimate)

 

[Anniebee]

I should take that advise when it comes to our visiting maggies but i don't think i could turn my back and ignore them. They get in the tree right outside the front door and sing until i fill their dish with food, I never have hand fed them but the are so beautiful and have been bringing their babies down for 9 years now and i love to watch how they teach them to eat etc. The small amount i put out for them a day would not be enough for anything but an extra treat for them.

satay and Teila ....

I might have misled somewhat, ( apologies ) as my advice of 'turning the back and ignoring', was mainly to do with juveniles when they are being taught by parents. After it all settles down, I have no doubt Chucky will be back to find what scraps he can have, but will also be able to feed himself, in whatever way he chooses to do that.

Only when they are adults, and are interested in remaining ( magpies - as yours did Satay for 9 years, and ours did for 24 years ) ... should we feed them on a daily or bi-daily basis. I so understand the "feed us" song ... also tapping on the front door which has side glass on both sides - they tapped on that, when wanting to have their treats.

So by all means keep on feeding your magpie family and allow treats for Chucky .... just don't 'teach' any babies or juvies to feed out of your hand. I did once, saw the result, and never did it again. However, I hand fed the adults for years, especially when they had hungry babes in the nest, and they'd come down taking it in turns to pick meat from my fingers and fly back to their babes to feed them. At those times, I purchased minced steak and bagged up small handfuls to freeze, just for the adult maggies to feed their bubs. My grandchildren would line up very quietly, not moving a muscle, transfixed to see each adult bird ( Bungwing, wife and their first born barren daughter ) line up one after the other to take the meat, and fly away with it. Bung would collect huge beakfuls of it, feed some and then go to his little 'pantry' he had in a hollow at the base of a tree, and stash the remainder there. They always came to my whistle if I figured to feed them at my own time.

Teila ... say hello by all means, ( I was a bit terse and intense in my comments - so apologies for that ) ...

" it's like he wants to interact " ~~~ I am absolutely sure he does.

Chucky has already imprinted on you I believe .. and now that an adult is back [ for a while ] ... and I am guessing adult would not interact with you in anyway, it might be best to lower your delight at seeing him, especially if an adult is around ... Say a few words, watch him and then leave to maybe watch from a distance ?. It would be interesting to see if he follows you elsewhere in the garden. If he does, just keep walking ... don't interact with him in a different place to where he gets his treats. When he is an adult, and if he has not been told to buzz off by the parents, you could have him for a long time - and he will ultimately bring his first family to meet you. If Chucky is a she, the same thing will most likely apply.

A video of a different kind of imprinting ... will blow you away. You may have already seen the ' cat and ducklings'.

Cheers .....



.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I knew silkies can go broody but oh my goodness my little black and tan silkie has gone broody, Now do I let her sit on the one silkie and duck egg or should I take her off? Not sure if they are fertilized or not but I do have a drake and a roo silkie all about 32 weeks (estimate)

Haha, she will sit regardless. Candle them in a week or so and ditch them if they aren't fertile.
I sold a dozen eggs from my splash silkie pen and then one of them went broody. Persistent little things.

 

[appps]

As the days grow warmer ones mind starts to wander to that inevitable question....to hatch or not to hatch..

I've pretty much given up on ever getting my blue australorp after two years of trying and so am thinking maybe plan B and some lovely coloured egg layers instead. I've hatched only girls the last 2 years so am thinking I might be due for a hatch of nothing but boys this time so am wondering if I should just dodge that bullet and take a break this year lol

What are everyone else's plans for the spring hatching season?

 

[sjturner79]

As the days grow warmer ones mind starts to wander to that inevitable question....to hatch or not to hatch..

I've pretty much given up on ever getting my blue australorp after two years of trying and so am thinking maybe plan B and some lovely coloured egg layers instead. I've hatched only girls the last 2 years so am thinking I might be due for a hatch of nothing but boys this time so am wondering if I should just dodge that bullet and take a break this year lol

What are everyone else's plans for the spring hatching season?

Any Broodies we get will be hatching up to a dozen eggs depending on what's on hand.
Once I have a new place if I get more than 3 dozen eggs in under 10 days then the incubator will go on. I will also probably be ordering lavander Aracuana , white Dorking and blue orpingtons eggs if I have some money once setup in new house, unless the weather is too hot for shipping, but I might still get them in on Sammies pet express rather than post.