Belshazzar the Majestic

Doesn't he look majestic.  The King overseeing all in his dominion and welcoming the day.  He's  waking the neighbours, as if it was his right.   Well perhaps, like his namesake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belshazzar) he saw the writing on the wall because life for Belshazzar is not as it seems.

I think he probably should have been called Napoleon for this proud and mighty rooster definitely has a big case (excuse the pun) of 'short man's disease'.


Don't Laugh - he cant help it

He is beautiful but he has a definite arrogance about him.  I'm not sure if its his breed (???) or the strange distance he has between his legs but, oh my, does he strut.  Its very comical considering his size in relation to the girls.  Even the petite ladies (the silkies and other bantams) are bigger than him.   He makes up for it in bad behaviour and even has his owner, a lover of all animals (especially chooks) offside.      

Today Ella sent me a photo of a visitor to her garden with concerns that it might be after the chooks.



A Hawk

 My first thought (which i quickly emailed off) was "Don't Do It".  I had visions of her running out, grabbing Belshazzar and holding him up as an offering in order to protect the others.   Seriously, he doesn't have too many friends. 


Belshazzar

I can't claim ownership but he does have me in stitches when i visit my friends (Ella, Rob and Fi) in Lara.  They are fortunate to have a very large rear garden that includes a  fenced yard for the girls (and Belshazzar) to free range as well as a protected internal yard & coop.  There are plenty of veggie scraps from the garden and stale bread from the bakery to supplement their diet of worms, caterpillars (unfortunately for Ella their steady diet at the moment) and other bugs.   I think they are living in chook heaven and are very much loved pets as well as compost manufacturers and providers of eggs with yolks so so yellow.



I've sat on this bench and had the odd cuddle

I love the girls and hope to one day incorporate a coop and run in my own backyard.  I live right in the "burbs", unlike some lucky ducks, and have 5 neighbours.  Lucky for me two of the three that might possibly be affected by my having chooks have put their hand out for eggs, so I think I'm covered.  I probably can only manage two large chooks for eggs (Isa Browns) and two silkies, which my husband calls little punk rockers, for amusement.  Its all still in the planning stage and those who have read my previous posts or who know me should be aware that this is a long long process and i will have researched the subject to death and drawn up many designs (I'm up to version 3 already) before i ever put a shovel in the soil.   I'm off to a course run by Shoestring Gardening shortly to learn more about building a coop.  http://www.shoestring.org.au/



Tina - a Silkie Bantam



My favourite Girl - Pip - she's tiny and looks like she has no legs when she walks

All the above photos were taken by Ella - lovely, clear and well composed - thank you.

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