12-17-21
12:08 pm Tuesday
This video was from earlier in the year, it is a good one! Viggo, our 6-year-old son, is up in our Rainier cherry tree on a late spring evening. He is sharing his treetop getaway with a handful of asils and one wild peacock. Viggo shares some observations he has made by himself. Viggo has grown a unique sensitivity and awareness to the animals on our small farm. He remarkably knows who’s who in our flock of semi wild asil chickens. He does not need spreadsheets or leg bands to know who is mating with whom and which babies go with which hen. He keeps very close tabs on his farmyard menagerie. We are so proud of him and love him so much!
Viggo shares some interesting behavior he observed from our Jeff Carey asils. These asils have roamed our farm freely for a handful of years. They have learned to forage for themselves and teach their skills to their chicks. They have learned to hide their nests and chase off bald eagles, although we certainly have lost some birds to predators.
The result of this chain of events is that we have some remarkable birds.
One in particular is a hen that moved from the back of the property to the front of the property to start her own flock. This was a risky move being there were fewer birds to help keep eyes out for predators, but she found a nice night roost on a large ocean spray bush. We witnessed a very large bald eagle descending upon her brood. When you see a bald eagle on the ground you realize how huge these birds are. Remarkably this 5 or 6 pound hen jumped at this eagle and the size difference between the birds was surreal. She successfully chased off this hungry Goliath. Viggo describes how this same hen who started her own flock breeds with her sons, line breeding. Viggo also describes that her daughter left her mother’s flock to breed with roosters in the backyard, effecting an outcrossing. It’s amazing that my son was able to witness this phenomenon. It’s remarkable that this small flock simultaneously was demonstrating these two different approaches to concentrating genes/ traits and also broadening genes/ traits.
We at Cascadia Heritage Farm are hoping to take what we are learning from our rewilded asils and apply it to our M.I.G.H.T, Malay Invigoration Gene Hybridization Team, Project. We want to rewild the American Malay so it can regain the health and vigor this majestic bird once possessed.
The world is a remarkable place and if we can position ourselves up in a cherry tree to bear witness to such miracles, I believe this is a life well lived.
We at Cascadia Heritage Farm believe we can make a difference and you can too!