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Cocky the Cockatoo
Name: Cocky the Cockatoo
Age: 27 – Cocky may not be a spring chicken, but did you know that cockatoos can live to be up to 70 years old?
Lives: In the trees around the farm. Old MacDonald tried keeping Cocky in a cage, but cockatoos can be very crafty, and he was able to work out how to open his cage! He was getting tired of coming home to beak-shaped nibbles on his crackers...
Personality: Talkative and smart – but don’t get on Cocky’s bad side. Cockatoos can bite harder than any other bird!Though he may not look it, Cocky’s almost as old as Old MacDonald himself and he’s lived on the farm his whole life. While he may not be able to help with loading the tractor or feeding Daffodil, Cocky’s always there to help Old MacDonald relax at the end of a long day.
Interesting facts about cockatoos!
-Cockatoos can live for 20-40 years in the wild and up to 70 years in captivity.
-Cockatoos produce a very fine powder that covers their feathers, which helps to both waterproof and keep them healthy.
-Cockatoos are actually a type of Parrot, and can even learn to repeat simple words much like their cousins.
-The word ‘Cockatoo’ has its origins in Malay, meaning vice or grip. This makes sense, given that cockatoos can bite harder than any other type of bird.
-Cockatoos are incredibly intelligent and curious. When kept as pets, they can work out how to open their cages and will set off exploring your home! -
Kookie the Kookaburra
Name: Kookie the Kookaburra
Age: 11
Favourite Food: Even though Kookie is very small, he has been known to eat mice, large insects, lizards and even other birds (Not Cocky though). But one of his favourite snacks is rather dangerous – large venomous snakes! Kookaburras will pick up a snake in their beaks and drop them from midair to tenderize the meat... Be careful Kookie!
Special Skills: According to Aboriginal legends, the kookaburra’s song is a signal for the sky people to light the sun each morning. Why would Old MacDonald need a rooster when he has Kookie around?
Claim to Fame: In the old Tarzan movies, the laugh of the kookaburra was used for the sound effect of monkeys in the jungle!
Personality: Loves to laugh! When the first Europeans came to Australia, they thought the kookaburras were laughing at them!
Kookie and his friends love to make mischief. Old MacDonald has lost count of the number of times that Kookie has pinched Daffodil’s hat or Cody’s dish, but the cheeky kookaburra assures he’s only teasing, and he always gives their things back... Eventually.
Interesting facts about kookaburras!
-You may already know that the laughing kookaburra gets its name from the distinctive sound it makes, but this famous call was also used in the old Tarzan movies even though there are no kookaburras in Africa!
-Kookaburras lay their eggs in hollowed out tree trunks and old termite nests.
-Kookaburras eat mice, large insects, lizards, and even smaller birds! Kookaburras are capable of taking on prey much larger and more dangerous than themselves, like deadly, venomous snakes. The Kookaburra will pick up the snake in its beak and drop it from midair to tenderize the meat!
-The Kookaburra is the largest bird in the kingfisher family, some of the only birds who can hover when flying.
-While hunting, the kookaburra can keep its head perfectly still even when its body is moving on a swaying branch. -
Grace the Kangaroo
Name: Grace the Kangaroo
Age: 10
Nicknames: Female kangaroos like Grace are also known as a doe, flyer, jill or roo; whilst male kangaroos are called a buck, boomer, jack or old man!
Favourite Sport: Boxing of course! When defending themselves, kangaroos stand upright, keeping their arms raised and swiping with its hind legs, giving the appearance of boxing.
Pet Hates: Being asked to walk backwards – this is impossible for a kangaroo to do!
Personality: Cheerful, kind-hearted and a bit clumsy! Grace’s feet are so big, she can’t actually walk slowly on themMore often than not Grace finds herself in the way of fences going up or crops coming in, even though she’s only trying her best to lend a hand. She might not be driving any tractors, but everyone knows the farm wouldn’t be the same without her.
Interesting facts about kangaroos!
-The kangaroo is an important Australian emblem. You can find him on our coins and the Australian Coat of Arms, along with the emu.
-It’s impossible for a kangaroo to walk backwards.
-When defending itself the Kangaroo stands upright, keeping its arms raised and swiping with its hind legs. This gives it the appearance of boxing – that’s where we get the nickname ‘Boxing Kangaroo’.
-A baby kangaroo is called a joey. When first born, a Joey is blind and has no fur to stay warm – this is why it needs to be carried around in a pouch.
-Kangaroos are the biggest animal to get around by hopping. Its feet are so big, it can’t actually walk slowly on them. -
Polly the Pig
Name: Polly the Pig
Age: 14
Lives: In her lovely muddy pigsty at Old MacDonald’s farm – since pigs like Polly can’t sweat, they wallow in mud to keep cool!
Special Talent: Polly’s snout is very sensitive, with a great sense of smell. Her cousins in France have even been trained to sniff out wild truffles in the soil! Pigs are also great swimmers.
Pet Hates: Being out in the sun for too long. Apart from humans, pigs are the only animals that can get sunburned! Better go get some sunscreen, Old MacDonald...
Personality: Fun-loving and much more intelligent than you would think – pigs are believed by scientists to be among the smartest animals!Polly spends her day doing what pigs do best – even if that doesn’t seem like much. She knows that rolling around in the mud and munching her way through dinner is the proper way for pigs to behave, and Polly is determined to help the farm by being the most piggly pig she can be.
Interesting facts about pigs!
-Pigs are the only animals apart from humans that can get sunburned!
-The squeal of a pig is one of the loudest sounds an animal can make – measured at 115 decibels, or louder than a Concorde jet plane!
-Pigs can’t sweat so they roll around, or ‘wallow’, in mud to keep cool.
-Pigs are actually very intelligent, and have been ranked as the fourth smartest animal.
-Snouts are very sensitive. They allow pigs to dig in the soil and grant an excellent sense of smell. Because of these abilities, pigs are often trained to find wild truffles. -
Piccy the Horse
Name: Piccy the Horse
Age: 16
Ideal Present: Probably a manicure – Piccy’s hooves grow continuously (like our nails), and are worn down by walking on grass.
Pet Hate: Idleness – horses only sleep for 3-4 hours a day!
Personality: Eager and confident – just don’t sneak up on him! Horses can see almost completely around their entire body. They have blind spots directly behind them and beneath their heads. It’s important not to approach Piccy from behind, because he might get spooked and kick you. Old MacDonald is still nursing that hoof-shaped bruise...Piccy daydreams about being a racehorse, and sometimes you might find him wishing he could trade his paddock for a track. Some days that you’ll find him with his eyes closed, running around as fast as he can. It’s shortly after that the little horse with the big imagination finds himself very dizzy.
Interesting facts about horses!
-No two horses are identical.
-One of a horse’s front legs is always shorter than the other, and its mane will always fall towards the shortest leg.
-Horses only sleep for 3-4 hours a day.
-A horse will only lie down for about 45 minutes a day, and two horses won’t ever lie down together – one will always stand and watch for danger.
-Horses can see almost completely around their entire body. They have blind spots directly behind them and beneath their heads. It’s important not to approach a horse from behind, because it might get spooked and kick you.
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Doris the Sheep
Name: Doris the Sheep
Age: 6
Family Facts: Doris has a huge family – there are over 1000 different kinds of sheep from all over the world!
Favourite Food: Grass of course! But sheep like Doris are very picky in their grazing habits. They have a split in their upper lip; with this they are able to pick the preferred leaves off the plant. Only the best for Doris!
Pet Hates: Falling over – if a sheep falls on their back, they are unable to get back up! A little help, Old MacDonald?
Personality: Eager to please and likes to be useful in Old MacDonald’s Farm. For less than half a kilo of Doris’ wool, Old MacDonald can make over 16 kilometres of yarn!Doris doesn’t care what the other sheep think – she knows she’s one of a kind. With flowers in her hair and a smile on her face, all the other animals would have to agree.
Interesting facts about sheep!
-There are almost a thousand different kinds of sheep from all over the world.
-If a sheep falls, it usually needs help standing up. Sheep on their backs can’t stand themselves back up.
-A male sheep is called a ram and a female sheep is known as a ewe. There are also special names for the different ways of raising domestic sheep.
-Most ewes give birth to twins.
-For less than half a kilo of wool from a sheep, it’s possible to make over 16km worth of yarn. -
Daffodil the Cow
Name: Daffodil the Cow
Age: 10 – Just check her horns! You can guess the age of a cow by counting the number of rings on the horns.
Pet Hates: The colour red – cows can’t see that colour! So don’t expect Daffodil to compliment your new red shirt, Old MacDonald!
Favourite Food: Grass. A lot of it! Cows spend around 8 hours a day eating – during this time they will chew about 40,000 times. Daffodil also drinks over 100 litres of water a day!
Personality: Friendly and very sociable. Cows "moo" and use different body positions and facial expressions to communicate with each other.Prim and proper in everything she does, Daffodil knows it’s not good manners to talk with your mouth full, so she rarely speaks. In fact, she never speaks, but that’s probably because she’s a cow.
Interesting facts about cows!
-A cow’s stomach is divided in to four sections. When it eats grass, it will send it to one section of its stomach before sending it back up to its mouth to chew and swallow it again.
-Cows spend around 8 hours a day eating. During these 8 hours, they will chew about 40,000 times.
-Cows are thirsty animals – a dairy cow will drink over 100 litres of water per day.
-A cow can’t give milk until she has given birth to a calf.
-Cows have an excellent sense of smell. They can smell things from up to 8km away -
Cody the Farm Dog
Name: Cody the Farm Dog
Age: 7
Hobby: Herding... Anything! Cody has been known to herd not only the sheep but also birds, cows, and even Old MacDonald!
Special Skill: Giving the eye! Border collies are known for glaring at sheep while herding in order to intimidate them into doing what they want; this trait is known as “eye”.
Personality: Loyal, smart and very active. Border collies have been used for a number of jobs including driving sheep and other animals; obedience and agility competitions; search and rescue; narcotics and bomb detection; guide dogs for the blind and deaf; and even as movie and television actors!Cody would do anything for Old MacDonald. He knows he’s a great help when it comes to farm work, and he follows Old MacDonald everywhere. It’s just that sometimes, this attitude gets him in trouble, especially when Old MacDonald is taking a nap and Cody still wants to play!
Interesting facts about dogs!
-Border Collies are the smartest breed of dog. Their obedience, loyalty and energy make them perfect farm dogs.
-When they aren’t working farms, Border Collies still need something to do! This could even be playing with a ball or Frisbee, but they love staying active.
-Border Collies get their name from where they were first bred – the border between England and Scotland.
-Dogs are the oldest known domesticated animal. They have been helping humans for approximately 17,000 years!
-Dogs have strange ways of keeping cool – they sweat from the bottoms of their feet and pant their tongues. -
Ellie the Emu
Name: Ellie the Emu
Age: 6
Favourite Food: Anything! Emus like Ellie will eat grains, flowers, berries, shoots, insects, grubs and almost anything else they can find! They even eat stones, dirt and old tin cans by accident. If an emu sees undigested seeds in its droppings, it will pick them out so it can eat them again... Gross, Ellie!
Family Facts: Some scientists consider emus to be “living dinosaurs” because their bones and joints are similar to dinosaurs'!
Special Skills: Ellie is one of the fastest land animals in the world, reaching speeds of up to 50km/h when running. Old MacDonald hasn’t had the courage to challenge her to a race since she was a hatchling!
Personality: Talkative and LOUD – the call of an emu is so loud it can be heard over 2km away!The other animals might’ve laughed at Ellie for her frizzy hair and her funny necklace, but once they got to know her they realized those things suited her perfectly. Wild, crazy and above all friendly, watch out if you get too close to her, or you just might get a friendly peck hello!
Interesting facts about emus!
-Emus have wings hidden under their feathers. They hold them out as stabilizers when they run.
-After the female emu lays eggs the male will stay on the nest and watch over the eggs until they hatch. They survive only on stored body fat and by drinking any morning dew he can reach. He stands up only to turn the eggs, about 10 times a day until they hatch
-Emus will eat grains, flowers, berries, shoots, insects, grubs and almost anything else they can find! They even eat stones, dirt and old tin cans by accident. If an emu sees undigested seeds in its droppings, it will pick them out so it can eat them again!
-Emus are some of the fastest animals on land, reaching top speeds of 50km/h when running
-The call of an emu is so loud it can be heard over 2km away!