Introduction

Throughout my life I have kept many different types of birds. When I was young my Dad kept lots of chickens—we had Bantams and red chookery chooks. Most of our chickens came from advertisements in the local newspaper as well as Formosa’s Chookery in Innisfail.

My Aunty Gillian lived just down the road from us—she had lots of different types of poultry including chickens, geese, ducks and peafowl.

The first bird I ever got to call my own was a Silkie rooster named Disco. I got Disco from my Aunty Gillian—he lived up the back in our large coop and chook run with various Bantams and red chookery chooks. That same year Aunty Gillian also gave us three Silkie pullets that had been dyed weird colours.


Two of my bantams

First Birds

My first experience with fully flighted birds began when we got a Normal green Budgerigar cock. We named him Charlie. He could whistle very well but didn’t have much of a personality. He lived in a small cage on our verandah. From that point onwards I kept many different types of birds including chickens. In 2004 I got to look after an injured Papuan Frogmouth Owl. He had been hit by a car and Dad’s friend had found him and gave him to us. We kept him in the chook cage along with a Speckled Bantam, a Black Silkie Bantam and three red chookery chooks.

Parrots

Since 2004 I have kept several different types of parrots, particularly lorikeets. I used to own a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo named Rodger—he was actually a girl but we didn’t know this when I named him! Rodger was a very affectionate bird and could make a whistling noise—he could even say ‘hello’ and ‘Ethan’. Unfortunately, however, Rodger caught PBFD in 2006. It was really sad watching him lose his feathers, beak and toenails. They were starting to grow back but unfortunately he passed away in mid-2008.At the moment I have an eight-month-old Rainbow Lorikeet named Wendell. I found Wendell as a fledgling in the wild. He had a broken wing and couldn’t fly so I took him home. Dad and the local ‘Bird Man’ Gavin Peterson told me that Wendell wouldn’t make it in the wild—he is now a much-loved member of our family. Wendell is starting to whistle fluently and makes attempts to say ‘hello’ although without much success. Wendell’s diet consists of Shep’s Lori-Dry mix, fresh eucalyptus flowers and various fruits including watermelon, mango and apple.

  
Wendell                                                                   Rodger

I currently own two Bantam hens at the moment—one is brown with black speckles and the other is white with a black ring of feathers around her neck. I am planning to buy a couple of egg-laying chickens—some Australorps perhaps.
I am also caring for a rescued Papuan Frogmouth chick. She has almost got all of her adult feathers and has lost almost all of her down. I will look after her until she can fly.

Housing

Wendell is housed in a reasonably large cage constructed from stainless steel panels. It was originally a Peach-face Lovebird cage. It is located at the back of our yard—under a bamboo tree which provides excellent shade throughout the day. His nestbox is a hollowed out log with a metal perch in it.


My aviaries

The chooks are housed in their own small pen which is connected to Rodger’s old aviary. His aviary is quite large. They live freely between each pen. I have noticed that the ringnecked chook roosts in the aviary while the speckled one sleeps in the coop my Dad designed and made. They share their pen with our piglet, Miss Piggy Sue. The frogmouth owl is staying in a portable metal dog cage with a pull-out bottom into which we place sand and/or paper to catch her droppings.

Conclusion

Through my experiences of keeping chickens and owning a fantastic lorikeet, I have learnt to care for, nurture and love all birds. But I still have a lot to learn and hope to gain a greater understanding of the avian world in the future.

About Ethan Kruckow

Ethan Kruckow is 12 years old and lives in Weipa, Cape York, Queensland. He is planning to buy a new Rainbow Lorikeet and extend his current chook pen. He hopes to get his current lorikeet’s gender determined so that he can breed Rainbow Lorikeets.