Hello from Pen-chan and me — another blue-sky day.
A lost chick
This morning I rescued a lost chick in the parking lot of the apartment where I live. It had gotten separated from its mother and was all alone in the middle of the lot, peeping as loud as it could.
I always try hard to find the mother, and if she hasn’t turned up within 24 hours, I keep the chick. I even know which hen she is, but she never appeared this morning. Yellow chicks are rare, so this one is a bit of a novelty.
Meanwhile, the nest boxes are packed: nine birds squeezed in, and there are only five rooms.
Worm-digging contest
Today we held a worm-digging contest. One competitor was already on standby: Balloon, our master bug catcher. Everyone crowded in so close that I couldn’t dig, so I moved — it’s good to dig where a chicken has already started a hole. Balloon followed right away and did something I had never seen: cut a worm in half! I left the rest to the chickens.
Bedtime on cue
Chickens remember their own rooms, and when I give the signal, they go back by themselves. The signal is a net: I follow them lightly with it, without a sound — just the movement. A few walk into the wrong room, and some are off playing, so I call to them. Once enough are in, I close the door.
Next come the little ones. They usually play near their room, but they like to hide under cages, so I check. Birds in private rooms walk in when I open their door, and newcomers who don’t know their room yet get carried back so they can learn. Finally the ducks go home, and everyone relaxes until sunset.
Meet Cheese
Cheese is the brother of Hare-chan, who I introduced before, so here are a few ways to tell them apart. Cheese’s tail is more ragged from fighting (only temporary). Their combs are almost the same shape, but Cheese’s is one size smaller. And Hare-chan’s head is shiny at the moment because I put medicine on his comb.
Cheese loves fighting through the cage wire and cut one of the floppy bits on his face on the mesh, but it doesn’t bother him. The feathers above his eyes are a little long and curl up, which looks rather stylish.
Cheese doesn’t really like people. When I hold him he stays quiet, but he trembles the whole time — I can’t tell whether he’s angry or scared. He never fights back, though.
Thanks so much for watching Chicken Paradise. See you in the next episode!