Reflecting on the past year, as I look through the photos taken with my son Viggo at our Cascadia Heritage Farm, my thoughts turn to our dedicated work with critically endangered domestic animals, particularly our Malay chicken project. The M.I.G.H.T. (Malay Invigoration Gene Hybridization Team) Project has experienced its share of successes and failures.
We have attempted to have our Royal Palm Turkeys, Asil chickens, and Indio Gigante chickens incubate Malay eggs. The goal is to get our Malay chickens be less reliant, rewild them and make them Mighty. Some attempts have met with greater success, while others have been less fruitful.
Rewilding by John Davis,” It is restoring natural processes and species, then stepping back so the land can express its own will.” How this relates to domesticated animals is that one can step back so that these animals can express their own will. By doing so, health and vigor can increase dramatically in these animals.
Our Royal Palm Turkey and Indio Gigante experiment failed.
Our Asil experiment was more successful.
As Viggo and I ponder ways to make the Malay breed of chicken more vigorous, it strikes me as a poignant example of how, amidst life’s daily challenges, one can still find joy. I’m constantly trying to remind myself that life’s difficulties hold great opportunities, the real challenge lies in uncovering them amidst the tumult. Viggo seems to understand this lesson intuitively. Having the opportunity to work alongside Viggo and witness these birds growing more robust as we try to rewild them is an immense gift. I am profoundly thankful for this blessing.
Our M.I.G.H.T. (Malay Invigoration Gene Hybridization Team) Project is hoping to increase the health and vigor of the Malay chickens. Cascadia Heritage Farm will be also looking in and out of the US to find Malay bloodlines to help invigorate the American Malay. We plan to reintroduce more foundation stock to the American Malay such as the Kulang, Kolongi, Lari and Hint to add vigor. We also are introducing Indio Gigante to our breeding program because of the heavy influence of Malay in their pedigree.
We are excited to continue our mission at Cascadia Heritage Farm, we believe we can make a difference and that you can too.
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