Good morning from Chicken Paradise. Another blue sky today.
Too crowded
This is the chickens’ play area. Our flock has grown lately, so it’s cramped — I’m the one who goes in there, so I know best. At last I was able to get new materials ready and ask for volunteers, so we’re expanding the play area to about double its size.
Once the new frames were up, we all started spreading the netting over them. The net is about 50 ft × 50 ft, and only half of it had been in use. We started in the evening, untangled the knots together, and kept going until it was pitch black.
The next day, the playground was finished — exactly twice the size! For now, Taro has it all to himself.
Everyone out!
When I let everyone out, they all stopped at the old border and pecked at it first. The birds from the other room crossed right over without a second thought. Dolly grazed from outside, grumbling that her path got narrower. And instead of using the wide middle, everyone clustered on both sides, just like before: little ones under the blue bench, big ones around the duck house. The big ones also started a grass party.
Some roosters had been kept apart, because in the old, cramped space they’d fight. Today they’re free. Cheese gets chased, but now he has room to escape. Oreo, put away for being too rowdy, is out for the first time in a while… and chased right away.
Next is Shizuku, who reads people’s faces and is great at dodging. He danced for the hens at once, including a new girl who arrived while he was away. Then his brother Almond — you pick fights so fast, you scare me. And timid Yuhi (“sunset”), out for the first time in a while.
Shizuku really liked that new, still-unnamed hen and kept circling her as if guarding her. Then came an interruption: Shizuku lost a fight, and Yuhi took his girl! The loser dove into the crowd of hens to find a new girlfriend.
The ducks, girls only, came out too: come on, Mint! Come on, Chive! They were baffled by roosters they’d never seen before.
Back to the rooms
Shizuku used to be on the team that guards the room, so he’s back in his old spot. But Trumpet hasn’t seen him in ages and seems to be saying “Why are you back?” Things are a little tense.
Here’s Nuts, then Lavender, Mikan and Flare, and on the lower level, Lilac and Shachi.
Thank you to our volunteers, and thank you for watching Chicken Paradise! See you in the next episode.