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...
Couch potato cats love nothing more than spending time relaxing with you. Our pick of the best couch potatoes is in the March issue of Burke
Luke’s Pet Pug Last February Luke Smale was a passenger in a car which crashed and caught fire. He was trapped, and suffered serious burns and other injuries which led to the amputation of both his legs below the knees. Luke is in the difficult recovery phase...
Mud Dauber Wasps Mud daubers are large, solitary wasps. The females collect mud and use it to construct nests or brood chambers, which can often be seen attached to buildings or under the eaves of houses. They are bottle shaped with a tunnel entrance, and look just...
Pat Parelli – Horse That Can’t Be Caught Pat Parelli is world famous for his ability to teach people what horses want and need them to know – savvy. He says that if you can try to understand why horses act the way they do, you’re on the way to...
Pat Parelli – Horse Won’t Float Pat Parelli’s theory of horsemanship is based on the prey-predator concept. Horses evolved as prey animals and their best defence against predators was to run, or in other words, the flight response. Pat says that if...
Penguin Rescue Burke’s Backyard visited Taronga Zoo’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, where thirteen Little Penguins have been recuperating. The penguins were found in the Sydney region from Bondi to Palm Beach, and taken to the zoo by caring members of...
Poodle Rescue Poodles are among the most striking dog breeds with their thick woolly coats, often clipped into a variety of amazing styles. They are also highly intelligent, and make wonderful pets and companion animals. When you consider all that, it’s...
Quolls Quolls belong to the family of marsupial carnivores (Dasyurids) that includes Tasmanian Tigers, Tasmanian Devils and the tiny mouse-sized Antechinuses. This family has a fearsome reputation because of their carnivorous habits but some quolls are endangered or...
Redback Spider In 1995 a colony of Redback Spiders was found around the port area in Osaka, Japan. Despite attempts to eradicate the spider it seems to be thriving, and there are fears that it will spread throughout Asia. Japanese authorities don’t really know...