Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Huge Eggs, Broody Hens and ...............!!

Today I was planning on telling you about the huge egg one of the chickens layed that is twice the size of their normal eggs and then I was going to tell you about Ruby our broody hen and how she is sitting on the nest hoping to hatch out chicks from nothing!  As there is no rooster all her effort is in vain so I have been removing the eggs every day but she is still sitting there.  The only problem is the other chickens lay their eggs in that area also so we have a bit of a traffic jam in there at times but they seem to be working it out. 


As you can see, Esmeralda is squeezing into the same space - even though there are two other nesting boxes. : )

Ok I will put in a photo of that huge egg but I really want to talk about something else right now -
                                                                              

It's a beauty isn't it, I will crack it open tonight, it will have a double yolk for sure or maybe that Bush Turkey has also taken a liking to that nesting box. : ))

Well now it is spring and our lizards are coming out of hibernation - the Major Skink and the Water Dragons have made an appearance, so I have been thinking the snakes could not be far behind and this morning there was a carpet python near the chicken pen (we relocated two last summer) so I have been checking on them more often today but that is NOT the big story. 

This afternoon Leo and I walked out to the letter box to get our mail and when we got back up to the house we came face to face with two, BIG brown snakes that were in a "loving embrace".  Well Leo and I both backed off at the same time as these snakes are one of the deadliest in the world and they are aggressive especially when disturbed at such a "delicate" moment.  I have never seen anything like that in my life and I'm very sorry to say that I didn't have my camera handy so I could post a photo.  Unfortunately it is emblazzened on my brain!! 

These snakes were only meters from our front door and when they saw us they parted company and slithered off together around to the back of the house no doubt to take up where they left off.    Needless to say, I made sure all the screen doors were securely closed - I don't like snakes!  And I just saw three in the one day.  Now when I go outside and see the garden hose on the ground or a curved stick I get the same feeling for an instant - ahhhhhh  gross!

Here is a video from YouTube of Brown Snakes but beware it may also make you feel more than a little jumpy. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJu67SGalJU

Until next time.  xx







                                                                                  
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7 comments:

  1. Georgia GuySeptember 13, 2012 at 9:32 AM

    Annie, we're definitely cut from two different pieces of cloth.

    Your impulse was to want a camera. My impulse would be to want a shotgun. Especially when happening upon Brown Snakes. But that's just me.

    Double WOW on the egg size.

    GG

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  2. AnnieSeptember 13, 2012 at 2:46 PM

    GG, my first reaction was "What!" My second reaction was,"I don't think they're carpet snakes" My third reaction was "Bloody hell, they're brown snakes!" My fourth reaction was "I could take a quick photo if I had a camera" and my final reaction was "Come on Leo, let's get out of here!"

    All wildlife is protected under the law here (even the second most deadly land snake in the world) so they were quite safe. This morning when I let the chickens out of their pen, I was looking at every leaf and stick - I'm still feeling quite jumpy! : ))

    Ps. That large egg had a double yolk.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Georgia GuySeptember 13, 2012 at 7:51 PM

    So, let's see. You have an law in OZ that protects the second most fatal snake in the world, at least what I read on Wikipedia.

    Therefore, they are free to bite and kill you with abandon but you can't legally do anything to eliminate the threat ?

    Am I understanding that correctly ?

    How did you use the double yoke egg?

    GG

    PS: I think my reaction on seeing them would have been laced with colorful metaphors that I won't repeat here.

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  4. AnnieSeptember 13, 2012 at 9:47 PM

    You got it in one GG, it's up to us to avoid them. :0 !

    I used the double yolk in an omelette, it was great.

    Just quietly, there were a few colourful metaphors! : ))))

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  5. Georgia GuySeptember 14, 2012 at 4:17 AM

    If one is to believe Wikipedia, on the Eastern Brown Snake, I quote;

    "The most dominant male will mate with females in the area. The females produce a clutch of 10–40 eggs in late spring or early summer."

    Note dominate male (singular) mates with females (plural). This "loving embrace" action means you're going to be overrun with killer baby snakes.

    I for one want to be able to walk out on the lawn at night, in the dark, without fear of dying.

    Am afraid OZ authorities would just have to come and lock me up were I to move to your neighborhood. One law I would most certainly break.

    Listen to Leo. He's got it figured out.

    GG

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  6. AnnieSeptember 14, 2012 at 5:16 AM

    GG, this line made me laugh out loud!

    Note dominate male (singular) mates with females (plural). This "loving embrace" action means you're going to be overrun with killer baby snakes.

    The vet was disappointed that I didn't take a video of them, he didn't seem concerned at all. We used to like walking outside at night to admire the stars, not so much any more. : )))))

    Your comments above are SO funny!

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  7. chelseaSeptember 15, 2012 at 5:50 AM

    Brown snakes so close to the house - Ahhhhh!!! That is super scary. We are going to teach Issac that snakes are not friends.

    ReplyDelete

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