Another rooster by the road
I had just arrived at the farm when I found another rooster lying by the side of the road. At first glance he looks like an ordinary, healthy rooster, but when I set him down, his legs don’t move. It looks like some kind of nerve damage. (He’s a little scared of the dog.) Want to try walking? He can’t, but he can still peck at the ground.
He was probably on a farm that keeps chickens for fighting, and was thrown away because of the nerve problem. He really was just tossed by the roadside. I don’t think he’s sick, though. He’s thin, so for now I’ll feed him and keep watching how he does.
Number 354, you’re free
Before that: this one is probably a genetically expensive bird, and he has a tag in his wing. They punch a hole through a thin patch of skin on the wing and snap a tag through it, which really hurts. I think the tags get changed as the birds age, but I’m not sure. Either way, I’m taking it out. Number 354, you are now free! It came out.
Many birds whose legs go bad can’t absorb vitamins well, so I don’t know if he’ll live a long life. But for now he’s somewhere he won’t be hit by a car, so he’s okay. You’re free.
What is a black soldier fly?
This bag is dried black soldier fly larvae. I don’t know the Japanese name, but here in the US they’re called black soldier flies. The adult is a bee-shaped fly about two centimeters long, with a very loud buzz. The larvae are often used to break down compostable waste such as food scraps. They’re collected before they grow up, dried, and fed to birds and other animals. It’s popular these days. Garbage becomes food! People are even working on using them as human food.
It’s similar to dried mealworms, but with more protein. Mealworms have quite a hard shell and are said to be hard to digest, while these, being fly larvae, are soft and said to be easy to digest.
Everyone wandered off while I was explaining. Ta-da! The bugs! Big commotion! Finally everybody comes running, and the party begins. Ducks, guinea fowl, chickens: all our birds can eat these. It’s a healthy snack. Want some, Pachita? Pachita is working hard in the coop, giving it everything to hold on to a place in the pecking order, though I can’t tell if it’s running away or squabbling. Hang in there! Everyone is happily eating.
Thanks for watching Chicken Paradise Hawaii. See you in the next episode!