Happy Chickens for Fiji Food & Climate Emergency!

Corals for Conservation launched Happy Chickens as our first GlobalGiving project based on success with helping reef-dependent communities set up no-fishing Tabu zones within locally managed marine areas, with the first such areas established in 1999 in Cuvu District and now spreading to over 300 communities all around Fiji. 

By setting aside so much of their fishing grounds, indigenous communities had made a big sacrifice, but in many areas overfishing was severe and the reefs were not providing enough to feed families.  Both a reduction in overfishing plus an alternative foodsource needed to be found.  Although the >50,000 chicks hatched and distributed so far from our Happy Chicken program is only a drop in the bucket, the chickens are breeding in the villages, and since we introduced the mini-hatchery program, distributing over 70 small inclbators, the chicks are becoming more available, providing a more reliable source of protein and livelihoods, with the free range village chicken projects mainly carried out by village women.  

We are presently head-starting 125 chicks to be sent out to communities when they can forage better and eat coconut and other local feeds.  Starting next week, three dozen hens will be separated, along with one rooster per every five hens, and sent to Naidiri Village on the Coral Coast, where the pen is all ready and waiting.  The the remainder will be sent to Uluibau and Daku Villages on Moturiki island in early November, and materials haev been sent to build chicken houses there, with two additional master chicken farmers.  These villages all have large no-fishing Tabu areas.  Community members from each of the threee villages have come to the Teitei Livelihoods Centre for training in the chicken farming methods and other livelihoods.  Our next report will focus on the communities who are receiving the chickens.

The chickens are trained to sleep and lay in open chciken houses, but the new group was not as well trained apparently!  We had four hens hide in the bushes and emerge with clutches of baby chicks this season!  We now try to find the stray nests and collect the eggs daily, leaving one nest egg so that the hens will not find a new hiding place!  We can tell how many hens are working together to fill up the nest by the unique egg color that each hen has.  We have chickens that lay multiple shades of brown, tan, olive, green,  and even blue!