Today, for the first time, I’m sharing where our leader Heart and his best friend Star came from.
A chick in the storm
One stormy day, I rescued a chick that was being washed away by the rain. Raising a single chick on its own is hard, so I bought one more chick to be its friend.
The black chick is Heart, and the yellow one I named Star. Heart got his name from the heart shape on his little bottom. Star’s head was already fluffy; Star is a Polish, a breed known for its big crest of head feathers. Back then we didn’t know if they were boys or girls, and I was hoping for girls.
The two were very close and always together. Star was two weeks older, but Heart was the more grown-up one.
Two roosters
As their feathers came in… wait a minute! They’re both roosters! Maybe that’s why they always wanted to climb up high. Living in the house was reaching its limit, so it was time for their chicken coop debut. I asked Glico and Purin to look after them.
Star’s head kept growing, while Heart was still all black. Heart was the first to crow “cock-a-doodle-doo.” Star couldn’t quite manage it and went “caw-caw” instead. To this day, neither of them can stand up to Glico and Purin. Back then they lived with our Easter Eggers, two roosters among the hens. Who knew that little black chick would turn out like this?
Later they moved into the little ones’ room. Even grown up, they’re always together. They play-fight, but it’s never serious. Both became fine roosters. Heart is kind to the hens; Star doesn’t pay them much attention.
The leader’s job
In time, Heart became everyone’s leader. A leader’s job is to keep the hens safe. He’s always watching his surroundings, he finds food for the hens, and if another rooster comes along, he fights to protect everyone. Here his opponent is a young Moo-chan. The leader won, so the peace is kept. Being a strong fighter is part of being a leader, too.
Star, for some reason, hangs out with the hens, as if they’re playing together. He does work, though! When Heart takes a dust bath, Star is on guard duty. And checking the nest boxes is part of the job, maybe?
With Heart and Star around, everyone feels safe.
Thank you for watching Chicken Paradise Hawaii. See you in the next episode!