BackPageNovember2011

The Wrinkler is published quarterly: February, May, August & November. Deadline for receiving material for publication is the 1st day of the previous month.

The contents of The Rip Van Wrinkler do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editors, or the membership. All rights to reproduce any part of The Rip Van Wrinkler® shall be done solely with the permission of the editors.

The RVW Club is affiliated with the BCOA

The Rip Van Wrinkle Basenji Club & Wrinkler ONLINE: www.rvwbasenjiclub.org

As the Tail Turns

B, in this instance, stands for Bird!/Len Reddie

With the spring in the South getting well and truly on with its renewals, the B (either Bird or Basenji) pups are getting on with their education. Of course with the garden designed to encourage birds, there are a number undertaking their renewals as well. Well some of the chicks have decided that they would try to fly, but did not count on the pups being hunters of feathered animals! So the pups have discovered that the baby birds cannot fly too well, and that if they are chased, sometimes a determined pup can catch one of these bunch of feathers. Mind you, they have never been able to before, and their mother, Opal, has given up trying that form of exercise, although she had managed to catch a couple of the younger ones, including a pigeon (feral) and a currawong
(like a crow but more fruit eating).

We also have crows, and one of them has taken to stealing eggs from the chooks (chickens). The neighbours thought that the local crow was starting to look particularly handsome with his very shiny coat of feathers. Any wonder, he had been stealing one or two eggs every day for about a month, while we were trying to work out why the egg supply had diminished with the three chooks still in the laying mood. We then discovered the crow in the act of stealing an egg, and the mystery was solved.

The eggs are important to us, because apart from feeding them the best quality chook food, we like to keep the table scraps and off-cuts for the animals. But between the Basenjis, the chooks, and the worms there is not much to go into the rubbish (garbage) bins each week. If there wasn’t so much plastic wrappers to take away, I think we would get down to one small bin a week. But I digress!

Well, the little pups (3 months old now - so they are getting quite big), decided that bird catching is a good sport. Abina, the bitch puppy (there was only one out of five - but four different colours), decided that she could catch one of these young birds. And she did! Before Jan (spouse - aka platinum blonde bimbo) could get to it, the bitch had devoured the entire bird except for the left leg which Jan managed to retrieve. Of course Abina did not feel much like the light lunch that day, that we use to provide them with full bellies before their afternoon nap, as she was still digesting the bird - feathers, bones, flesh (if any), and beak. We have checked her output since, but her digestive system must be made to process nuts and bolts, as there has not been any visible outputs from her.

So that is the B dogs. We have also thwarted the crow, and received three eggs from the chooks, so everything is getting back to the way it should be!

The pups are at the stage where they are eating more and more, and enjoying the garden to the fullest. They are starting to enjoy their walks around the neighbourhood, as we use that to provide stimulation for them so that they don’t get bored as quickly and become destructive.

Keep chortling, Len in Kapunda

Reddie photo
The "Angels" hanging out for another bird! From left, clockwise, Adoni (red and white), Apari (brindle), Abina (brindle - the only female in the litter), and Ariki (tricolour) - "waiting, waiting, waiting....

Heléne Roos, Molly hiding.

<previous page> <return to contents>