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Tuesday 19 February 2013

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.


Thanks for visiting Living In The Land of Oz


6 comments:

  1. Last night, we went into Tractor Supply, to get feed for the animals and saw that they are setting up for their "Chick Days" - several bins are set up waiting for their chick delivery (hopefully Mon!?) - All those little peepers are SO SO CUTE! Our delivery of chicks should come around mid-April...It'll take a bit of time to get our first egg...but oh, imagine how awesome it will be...

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    1. How funny, do you know how many posts today were about chickens. Must be something in the air.

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  2. You are always welcome in my garden Lynda.

    I do love going outside and pottering in my garden. The chooks have had a great supply of caterpillars that I've been extracting from my garden, from under the foliage. I've never had such a problem before.

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  3. And also wanted to add, even if I wanted to offer the rooster to the Hawk, I couldn't, as he's hard to catch.

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  4. He is a fine looking bantam rooster. Pip is a Cochin Bantam and we have one too but ours is a pale golden colour. They look so funny when they run, like little old ladies in long skirts that they have hitched up. Check it out next time you visit.

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    1. Thanks for the information, i think i might try and squeeze one of them in also. Im looking forward to my course so i can work out just how many i can have for the area. I cant free range them so im planning two yards, one being used and the other resting. Will jump on your site at lunch time.

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