Hello from Chicken Paradise Hawaii! With all the rain, the playground’s mud just won’t dry out, so today I’m spreading mulch to fix it.
Mulch day
Mulch here means a mix of wood chips, soil, stones and all sorts of things. We keep a mulch pile ready for days like this. The chickens level it out for us, so I just bring it over and toss it around.
The great grub chase
But there’s something in this mulch that shouldn’t be here. Our farmer showed it in an earlier video: a beetle grub. This beetle is an invasive species in Hawaii that bores holes in palm trees, so if you find one, you’re supposed to get rid of it right away. I thought the chickens could take care of it for us.
I spread the mulch… and off went a chicken, running with a grub! Then I found another in the pile, and a young rooster grabbed it and ran, ran, ran, with everyone chasing him. Go, go! This rooster is actually a bug-catching expert. He seems to have learned from his teacher, Balloon, and follows her around, catching cockroaches and the like. A grub that big has to be carried somewhere safe to be eaten slowly. Enjoy! (Sorry to anyone who doesn’t like bugs.)
Mealworm time
That grub was a special surprise. Next: dried mealworms! Our farmer also raises live mealworms for the flock, but says that live ones have hard shells, so it takes longer for a chicken to absorb the nutrition, and a bird that’s a little weak might not digest them at all. Dried ones have concentrated nutrition, so our farmer thinks they may be better. With so many chickens, we bought a big bag — 11 pounds, about 5 kilograms — so that as many birds as possible get some.
Everyone loves mealworms, and even birds who don’t usually come over joined in. The young birds, who will graduate soon, got some, and Basil loves them. Flute came, but Flute is so gentle that it was hard to get any — here you go, Flute. Rida came, then Pachita, Nugget and Sumiko. Iruka had a fight and is muddy and a little weak, so: eat up, Iruka, and get your strength back.
One bucket wasn’t enough, so I went back for more. Treats like this really perk up birds who seem a bit low. Maybe it’s like a person getting chocolate! Thanks for watching, and see you next time.