Good morning! The sky is so beautiful today. It’s cooler, so everyone is outside. Everyone is hungry. Niji, you’ve got rice on your beak…
Hare-chan says hello
Here’s a rooster for you: Hare-chan, one year old, with a magnificent comb. He gave me a hug, rested his head on my shoulder… and then crowed his cock-a-doodle-doo right into my ear.
A locked-cage mystery
This is TG’s cage. TG is the brown rooster with a slightly bad leg, in the back. But inside TG’s cage there’s another rooster, Beanstalk — and two eggs. What does this mean?
Let me explain. The netting on the roof of the cage has gotten old, and there’s a hole in it. Hens looking for a place to lay went in through that hole one after another, laid their eggs, and left. Then the rooster got in too, but couldn’t get back out. Two roosters squeezed into a small cage with eggs — bizarre!
To be clear: no rooster laid an egg.
A new face
Today I’d also like to introduce a new chicken: Mopsy.
Meet Mopsy
Someone found Mopsy as a chick about two years ago, and he was raised and loved in their home. But one day he was suddenly taken by some bad kids, used in a fight, and came back badly hurt. His wounds eventually healed, but he was left with a serious neurological disorder. His family didn’t know what to do anymore, so he came to us. He was originally a house chicken, kept indoors — and I’m told he likes watching videos of chickens.
Because of the nerve damage, he moves in a funny way. When startled he flaps and bounces around like a ball, which is dangerous — he could break his neck — so he’s in a smaller cage. Lately he’s getting used to this place, and the wild bouncing has stopped.
When he tries to look at something, his head turns upside down. He isn’t bending his neck on purpose; it just happens on its own. I think he can no longer tell which way is straight. I don’t think it can be fixed, but he looks completely happy. He crows louder than anyone, and he joins in when everyone gives an alarm call.
Since he likes watching chickens, I put his cage right across from the coop, where he can see the shed and watch the flock bustling around all day. Heart, look — there’s a funny guy over there!
Mopsy, I hope you live a long, healthy life here, keeping watch over the coop from the side.
Thank you for watching Chicken Paradise! See you in the next episode.