Good morning from Chicken Paradise — another blue sky today. Spice, what are you doing? And Mint laid one duck egg again today.
The red cage was getting too small for our quail, the ones the man next door gave us, so I moved them out of the box. They have grown at an amazing speed! All four are known to be girls, so I put our oldest male quail, who has been with us for a long time, in with them. Their cardboard house is very dirty, but it’s everyone’s favorite, so it stays. They don’t lay eggs yet, so I’m watching them patiently.
New arrivals: Rex, another Poppy, and Ichigo
A woman who had sent me a message asked if we could take four big chicks — not really chicks anymore. She has to move and can’t take them with her. One of them kept running away and couldn’t be caught, so for now I brought home three.
First, Rex — a rooster, I think. Rex as in T. rex, the dinosaur. Scary! Next, another rooster, and his name is… Poppy. Yes, another Poppy has arrived. What do I do now? Please tell me! Then there’s the only girl, apparently named Ichigo, which means “strawberry” (to me she looks more like a mandarin orange). The one we couldn’t catch is a boy called Peach.
They’re very nervous in a new place — “Where am I?” Until they settle in, they’ll stay in this room. How about some food?
Meet Taiyo
Taiyo is Tsuki’s older sister. She is a hen, of course, yet for some reason she has a huge comb, a rooster’s body shape, and a rooster’s athletic ability — catching her for this introduction took some effort. She has even started growing small spurs (the sharp fighting claws on the back of the leg), though she isn’t that old. And with these looks, she lays eggs. Her cutest feature is her fluffy bottom.
I first found Taiyo as a lost chick and returned her to her mother, but a few hours later she was lost again and came right back. Chicks that get lost again and again usually have a reason, so I never expected her to grow into such a sturdy chicken. I worried there might be a health problem only her mother knew about, but she is completely fine. She’s the same size as Tsuki but about twice as heavy — when I wrap my hands around her, my thumbs barely meet. Her belly is a little bald, too. You didn’t need to know that.
Thank you for watching Chicken Paradise! See you in the next episode.