Pukekoxchicksaarexremarkablyxoddalookingxthings.fuTheyamakexthexmostadreadful
screechingxnoisexwhenasmall.ckTheyxlookaratherxlikexbaldalittlexmenxwithared
rimmedxeyesxandahookedxnoses.ofTheawhitexonxtheabill,xseenxleft,aseemsxhuge
whenxtheyaarexfirstxhatched,abutxasxtheabillxgrows,xitabecomesxmuchxless
noticeable.ffTheirxeyelidsxareacrimson/pinkxandxtheirafeetxarexsimplyaENORMOUS.
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These are the two survivors of six eggs we rescued in 1996. Initially we set the eggs under a sitting bantam hen. However, when the chicks began to hatch, making their hideous noise, the hen began to attack them and had killed one and severely injured the second by the time I rescued them from that danger. These two were cleavage incubated (what better place to be born?). The birds must have been no more than a few days old at the time of this picture.

Within two weeks of their hatching, a disaster occurred, in the form of the infanticidal hen who partly aided in their incubation. Sensing some danger to her chicken chicks (which she'd hatched at the same time as the pukeko chicks), from these strange black fluff-balls on extraordinary feet, she jumped on one of them, breaking one of his main leg bones. After seeking veterinary advice, I set his leg as well as possible and kept the wee thing immobilized and entertained for the next couple of weeks.

The end result was an unfortunate bend in the upper half of the right leg and curled toes, probably due to some tendon shortening during the healing process. However, he did survive to adulthood as a most delightful companion, very tame due to the close contact during his recuperation. Almost catlike in his behaviour - sitting on laps, loving being stroked while sitting there, usually making a purr-equivalent noise.

Pukeko chicks, we discovered, exhibit this most amusing behaviour. Presumably as a "feed me" demand, they sort of squat and reach forward with their wings looking like spindly black arms, waving about.

See also the Birds page for more information.