Happy Australia Day!

This is a 32 day old chick.

I spent 10 minutes today photographing one that is from the wrong age group. 

They are so similar now and the only real difference is size.

It was a very hot Australia Day so they spent most of it in the shade drinking -- like a lot of other Aussies I suspect.

I opened the door to let Miss Lilly and her chicks out for a stroll today but she was not keen.  She is quite a nervous mother.









She actually goes to extreme lengths to not allow me to even see her chicks. In the photo below see how she has her wing out to shield the chicks from view.  This is not usual behaviour around here.

So  a very curious Angelina, who had been sunning herself and her chicks close-by, popped her head in to say "hello sister, where have you been."

That turned out to be the wrong thing for her to do. Miss Lilly went crazy and there was quite a fight.  Below is the photo I was taking at the time.  All the chicks right across the yard stopped to see what all the commotion was about.

I'll have to wait and see how her chicks' temperaments turn out. I think we will use Miss Lilly's eggs for omelets and sponge cakes from now on.