Hello from Chicken Paradise — it’s me and Pen-chan, and the blue sky is in top form today.
Good news for the injured rooster
The rooster who was found injured has gotten much livelier. One of his eyes had been closed, and today, amazingly, it opened. It’s still cloudy white and probably blind, but it’s open. The wounds on his comb are fading, and the spot where I removed a stone-like object from his chin is healing. His leg is still broken, but he’s standing on both feet. Please keep cheering him on!
I also bought a blueberry plant at the home center. The chickens and I both love blueberries. It turns out two or more plants pollinate better, so I’ll buy another one. It’s been here about two weeks and already has new shoots and tiny buds.
A new home and a name
Plumeria’s chick has grown, so today mother and child moved to a bigger, roomier house, with fluffy grass a whole 10 cm deep.
And the name is… Ilima! The back of the chick’s neck is yellow like the ilima, a flower of Oahu. These days Ilima goes off alone during the day and rejoins Mom at night, and helps with weeding, too — very good at pecking up weeds, and at this size not interested in the tomato seedlings, which is a big help. Food, work and exercise all at once!
The quail from our neighbor are almost a month old and getting big. I can’t quite tell them apart yet, but we’re taking name suggestions!
The egg song
Kin-chan and Gin-chan were belting out the egg song — the “bok-bok-bok” a hen makes before she lays. Depending on the hen, she may walk around calling for 30 minutes to 6 hours, looking for a place to lay. Part of the complaining was that the nest boxes were full.
Meet Gin-chan
Gin-chan is an Old English Game Bantam, a different color of the same breed as Kin-chan. She was being sold as an adult at a chicken shop — probably returned by someone — together with Kin-chan, and the two are still close. She’s the oldest chicken we have, so she’s probably the highest-ranking too. Higher-ranked chickens eat first, so little Gin-chan chases even the big birds away from the food. She also loves the ukulele: play it and she happily comes over and sits beside you. A grandma hen with interesting taste!
I think Dolly gets a little lonely when I head home. Sorry, Dolly — some grass and a pat will have to do for today. See you tomorrow! And thank you all for watching!