Around the farm
Lately Taro puffs up and threatens the camera whenever he sees it. Hanabi and Natsu are sisters and very close. Grey is out for a stroll in the field; he’s fully part of the outside team now. One of his eyes is injured. And for some reason, Natsu is trying to look at the sheep from their own eye level. What’s so interesting?
Broody hens, time for dinner
These are our hens who have gone broody, meaning they want to sit on eggs and hatch them. Namonakimono is in a nest box. Come out, please! It’s 5:30 in the evening, so it’s time for one last dinner.
This one we call “the child with no name.” Come on out! Her belly is very bald. (Broody hens pull out their belly feathers.) You too, you don’t have a name either. These nameless girls are broody for the first time this year, so they’ve gone a little crazy. Star, you don’t need to do anything! No, this isn’t the nest box, you’re outside it. Don’t forget to eat.
Ace is going broody for the first time this year too. She’s settling down again right on top of my hand! When the broody hormones get all mixed up, a hen puts sitting on eggs ahead of keeping herself alive. It’s almost like an illness. They get a bit crazy and stop eating, so I take them out like this and tell them, “Please eat your dinner.”
Under the table
And under the table… wow, lots of broody hens! Taiyo, come out, it’s dinnertime! Ouch, ouch, she really hurts! She’s furious, and eating while furious. Next, big sister Kombu. Ouch! Eat your dinner, or you’ll get sick.
And Chobi has gone broody for the first time this season. Chobi… whoa, poop is raining down! Cancelled, cancelled. She went back within a few minutes.
Broody hens forget to eat, drink and go to the bathroom, so we humans take them outside regularly. After about 21 days, the time it takes a chick to hatch, they finish the cycle, give up and go back to normal life. So once a hen starts, I take her eggs away and, for 21 days, just make sure she’s eating. It sorts itself out.
Our new sheep neighbors
Here are the sheep who moved in next door the other day, and today I can share their names. The big white male is Suika (“watermelon”), the female at the back is Ichigo (“strawberry”), and the brown female is Blueberry. This area used to be overgrown, but the grass is vanishing fast. I wish they’d help mow ours too!
Thanks for watching Chicken Paradise Hawaii! See you next time.