Good morning from Chicken Paradise — it’s me and Pen-chan, under another blue sky. This is our very first episode! The first job of the day is opening the chicken coops: one door, then the next room, and everyone comes pouring out.
Fruit day
A friend brought this fruit for our chickens. When I cut it open, there were two very big black seeds inside. I’m keeping them to dry and plant later. First I asked our rooster to call the hens over — “Sonata, Sonata!” — and he came right away.
Then it was the little ones’ turn for the fruit handout. Funny thing: the small birds seem to like the fruit even more than the big ones. So small, and they eat so much!
This is Basil, our duck. I offered him some fruit too. “Want some, Basil?” Apparently not. Are you sure? He’s sure.
Meet Balloon
Balloon is a Black Star, an American kind of chicken. The hens grow fairly big and lay brown eggs.
I met her at a store that specializes in selling chickens, where she had been left unsold. She was only about half-grown, and there were five of them squeezed into one cage. When I asked the clerk why they were there, I was told they had been returned after a chick-raising project. I felt so sorry for them that I took them home. Now she’s big, and the others are all growing up healthy too.
Balloon is about two to three years old. On ordinary poultry farms, hens are culled at around two — but surprise, she’s three and still laying eggs. Her special talent is digging for bugs and worms. If even 5 mm of a worm is poking out, she spots it, pulls it out cleanly without breaking it, and eats it. Her nickname is the Worm Master. When we’re digging for bugs and I say “Call the master!”, she comes over all by herself.
Today’s Dolly
Today I brought Dolly her appearance fee — leaves — so she was very keen to be on camera. (Oops, one is poking her in the face.) She has a bit of a runny nose today. These leaves are her favorite; they grow on the other side of the road, and I think the plant is probably a kind of potato. She munched away, completely absorbed.
Thank you so much for watching our first episode of Chicken Paradise Hawaii. Bye-bye, everyone!