One Full Week
It’s been a very full week (and then some) since we took Val to the airport at the end of May.
You might have read our recent blog post about one of our roosters, Mr. Matiz, having a couple of his ladies out on the loose, and how I somehow managed to pretty easily scoop up the golden gal of the two.
[Click HERE to catch up]
Well, in true ranch fashion, that golden gal found a way out again the very next day.
I think Joshua had left a little side door open in hopes of luring in Miss Blackie, only to get waylaid by another ranch project and forget to close it afterward. Of course, Miss Blondie promptly found her way right back out of her and Matiz's hen house.
Ironically, she made her way into another hen house—this one belonging to Alpha and his gaggle of Australorp ladies. She seemed quite content with Alpha's company, so we were happy to let her stay put. At least she was safely enclosed and unable to lay rogue eggs somewhere hidden, potentially brood them, and create even more chickens for us to manage down the line. 😆
A couple of days later, I was out in the backyard doing one of my favorite chores—duck egg hunting—when I noticed the Special Needs Sisters' hen house door was standing open.
Normally that isn't a problem, but if any duck flock happens to be out grazing, things can quickly turn into chaotic fun. Ducks absolutely love to dirty up (or "duck up," as I like to call it) the watering bins, and they'll happily gorge themselves on any available chicken feed.
The Sillies flock happened to be meandering nearby, so I headed over to close the hen house door. As I approached, I saw movement inside.
Expecting to shoo out an ornery Silly girl and clean up a water bin afterward, I instead spotted a small black chicken.
Our rogue Blackie!
Immediately—and quite excitedly—I closed the door and radioed that we had officially trapped Matiz's missing black hen.
Joshua and Jammie (our current extra pair of helping hands and someone who is very quickly becoming a wonderful friend) responded with celebratory hoots and hollers over the radio. We decided to leave her there until evening before moving her back home to Mr. Matiz.
Of course, we still had little Miss Blondie to wrangle. She hadn't stayed with Alpha and his crew for long and had resumed exploring all the housing options available around ʻĀina Iki Ranch.
Then Friday rolled around.
Once again, I was wandering the yard with one of my little gray egg "buckets"—though they're really closer in size to a kindergartener's Easter basket—tending to my morning duck egg routine.
As I approached the Newbies' hen house, I noticed a color that definitely didn't belong in their run.
A familiar golden hue.
Sure enough, Matiz's golden gal was helping herself to the Newbies' leftovers. Better yet, she had once again made things easy for us because the Newbies' run can be fully enclosed with a door.
Which I happily closed.
I immediately radioed Joshua and Jammie.
"Matiz's golden gal is penned in the Newbies' run!"
More happy hoots and hollers followed.
Joshua arrived with our chicken net—which, to be fair, may have originally been intended for fish, but at this point it has seen far more feathers than fins.
"There's a small opening she might be able to get through, Marla. Head over to the barn side and close that door," he instructed.
I did.
Apparently with less than proper force.
Suddenly there were loud chicken squawks, a few Joshua huffs and puffs, and then a golden chicken exploded through the very door I had supposedly secured.
Moments later, Joshua appeared beside me (not through the small door, thankfully 😆).
Fortunately, Goldie had landed in a perfect spot between the hay stacks and the Australorp fencing.
With one swift swoop, she was netted.
The adjunct Chicken Netter had prevailed.
We gave her a few pets as we carried her back to her proper home, where a very pleased Mr. Matiz and his ladies welcomed her back.
And that's just the chicken update!
Don't worry—the ducks, goats, horses, cats, and every other critter here at ʻĀina Iki Ranch have been doing their very best to provide us with an equally thorough introduction to ranch life while Val is away.
To all of our Donor Den members, thank you for helping make moments like these possible. Your support doesn't just help feed animals and maintain infrastructure—it allows us to continue sharing the wonderfully chaotic, heartfelt, and often hilarious day-to-day realities of life here at ʻĀina Iki Ranch. We're grateful you're along for the adventure with us.
