My beautiful Candy-licious has passed away. The end was mercifully quick. She went downhill for a few weeks, but was still walking twice a day right until the end. She passed away on her favourite mat nuzzled into my side. You were Miss Personality. Called by many things apart from your real name – including Candy-licious, Candy Grrl, Chicken and Chooky – you were full of spirit and never afraid of a scrap … more »
My beloved friend and companion of 17 years has passed away. You were a truly outstanding dog with a wonderful balance of being a loving family member and protector of the pack. I loved the way you were so good with the kids, even if you were boisterous until well into adulthood. I loved the way you nuzzled against us showering us with affection while seeking a pat and a cuddle. I loved … more »
Backyard chickens make great, charismatic pets and produce eggs, but can be horrendously noisy just before sunrise. A blackout box can help to keep the chickens quiet until a more sociable time of morning. Unfortunately, chickens clucking and squawking early morning can be a nuisance in suburbia. While most councils (including Brisbane City Council where I live) prohibit keeping roosters in backyards, they do allow hens (up to six hens in my area). … more »
Backyard chickens make charismatic pets and lay eggs. We have two ISA Browns, an Australorp and a Leghorn chicken. Each breed has unique characteristics. My wife, in her wisdom, decided to buy two chickens for eggs and as pets for my daughters. One of them grew so quickly that everyone told us it was a rooster. My wife, again in her infinite wisdom, decided to buy two more chickens so that when we … more »
After two years of successful operation of a dog poo worm farm (blog post 1, 2), I accidentally nuked it. The last time I gave my dogs an intestinal worm tablet, I promptly forgot about it. I remembered a couple of days later, but by then I had put several lots of poo in the worm farm. The worm tablet had gone right through my dogs and their worm tablet tainted poo nuked … more »
Some time back I wrote a few handy tips on keeping a dog poo worm farm in working condition. I have been using a Reln Can-O-Worms to good effect for a couple of years. However, the dog poo worm farm has, quite frankly, become a bit stinky of late. My long suffering wife reckons that I have a theory for everything, and this is no different. 1) In the last six months our small … more »
I have a Hungarian Vizsla named Roger. King Roger is very affectionate and is easily disciplined — he hates it if you yell at him. He will try to sit in your lap given half a chance. A breed trait is that when excited — such as when you come home — he picks up things in his mouth while simultaneously growling. Apparently Vizslas were originally bred by the Hungarian warlords as a … more »