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Silkworms Years ago every backyard had a Hills Hoist and a mulberry tree, and most children kept silkworms. These days, according to silkworm breeder (or sericulturist) Bridget Mahoney, silk farming is a lost art. Bridget’s passion for silkworms began almost...
Pat Parelli: Creating a Bond Pat Parelli demonstrated how to form a connection with your horse, in the same way that a foal stays with a mare. They are joined together, emotionally, mentally and physically. It is imperative that the foal sticks with its...
Oldest Budgie in Australia A few weeks ago on Burke’s Backyard we featured celebrity gardener, Rob Guest. Don was interested in Rob’s 11 year old budgie, because he thought that maybe it was the oldest budgie in Australia. Since then we’ve...
Guide Dog Association Guide Dog Associations are probably best known for providing Guide Dogs to people who are blind or visually impaired. What many people do not know is that in addition to breeding and training Guide Dogs, Guide Dog Associations offer a range of...
Pelicans The Spectacled or Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) is a large black and white bird with a pink-yellow pouch. Courting birds develop bright red bill colourings which fade after they have paired and eggs are laid. Pelicans can be found across...
Heartworm Heartworm disease occurs when infected mosquitoes inject larvae into a dog’s bloodstream. After four to six months the larvae develop into adult worms which grow up to 26cm (10″) long, and live inside the dog’s heart and pulmonary arteries....
Processionary Caterpillars These hairy, grey caterpillars are the larval stage of the bag shelter moth (Ochrogaster lunifer). During the day groups of 300 or more caterpillars hide together at the base of a food plant (often a wattle or gum tree) in a nest of...
King Parrots in Backyard Don was surprised to see a pair of King Parrots eating the white flowers of a sasanqua camellia. He had noticed nectar-feeding birds visiting the camellias, but this was the first time he’d seen parrots eating the petals. Although...
Ralph Update If you thought that there was something missing from this week’s program, you were right. Ralph, the Pug, has had an accident with one of his eyes, and he is now in the care of veterinary surgeon, Dr. Rob Zammit. We crossed to Rob during the show to...
Pat Parelli – Calming A Horse That Bucks Pat Parelli’s theory of horsemanship is based on the prey-predator concept, that is, horses evolved as prey animals and their best defence against predators trying to catch and eat them was to run. Pat explained...