Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo The long wailing calls of groups of Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) can be heard along the coast of Australia from northern Queensland round past Adelaide, as well as in Tasmania. Also known as Funereal Cockatoos,...
Pets, Pet Care & Native Animals
Horse Sense with Pat Parelli
Pat Parelli is an American horseman with a philosophy of natural horsemanship which has won admiration worldwide. In this segment Pat Parelli was introduced to Ness, a mare with an intense fear of being confined in a crush. A crush is the narrow one-animal-wide run in...
Know your Dog’s Mind
A good dog is the best friend you could ever have but a bad dog can be a real disaster. The bad dog destroys your garden, barks all night, jumps up on guests and never does what it is told. Sadly, many dog training techniques leave a lot to be desired, yet all...
Leeches
Have you ever felt that shiver crawl up your back after you pull off your sock and there IT is – thick, black, shiny and fattened on your blood? The next repulsive thought is how to get it off. Leeches didn’t always suffer from such a poor image – in...
Pat Parelli How to control a horse using just body weight.
Classic mistakes made by many riders get horses offside before the rider is even mounted. This is according to Pat Parelli, an American horseman whose natural horsemanship philosophy has won admiration worldwide. He says holding a horse close on a tight rein makes it...
Building an Aviary
Having an aviary in your backyard can be a wonderful experience as it is a sanctuary for birds as well as somewhere to unwind after a stressful day. An easy-to-build aviary can be constructed from treated pine logs and wire for under $500. This style of aviary can...
Buying an aviary
Last week on Burke’s Backyard we showed you how to build an aviary in your backyard. However, some people may not be inclined to attempt constructing something themselves. Well there are ready-made aviaries in a range of colours, styles and sizes available from...
Chicken Sexing
One of the world’s most specialised careers would have to be chicken sexing. Melbourne man, Bob Martin, has spent sixty years studying and practising vent-sexing. His book, The Specialist Chicken Sexer is a fascinating documentation of this obscure but vital...
Eels
Freshwater eels, those big brown slimy things you accidentally hooked when fishing the river with grandpa, deserve a longer look. To get to those fishing holes in creeks and rivers, each eel has travelled about 5000km from its spawning grounds 300m below the Coral...
Genetic Cruelty
Over the last century, enormous developments have occurred in dogs. There are over 160 breeds of dogs available in Australia and the colours, sizes and shapes are truly a great achievement. Despite what most dog clubs claim, modern dog breeds virtually all started...
