Chapter 80
By April, when the pasture grass has grown a bit more, we can basically drive them out to graze.
That day, Shi Wen used a forklift to transport the hay from the warehouse to the livestock shed.
During the transport, he felt the ranch was unusually quiet, as if something was missing.
Peeking out, I discovered that the Bress chickens that used to roam around the yard were nowhere to be seen. I looked around, but there were no Bress chickens in sight.
Where did such a large flock of chickens go?
Shi Wen sniff the air occasionally and don't smell any blood, then they probably weren't taken away by birds of prey.
Where did they go? Surely a bunch of half-grown chickens couldn't have already learned how to escape?
Shi Wen drove the forklift into the livestock shed and asked Yang Yiqing, who was adjusting the shed's computer, "Yiqing, have you seen where the chicks went?"
Yang Yiqing: "They were outside when I came in just now, and they seemed to be heading towards Pasture No. 2. What happened? Where did they go?"
Shi Wen, "They might have run far away; I didn't see them just now."
Yang Yiqing: "Cong Zai are nearby, nothing will happen to them."
Shi Wen thought about it and realized it made sense. With his son Cong Zai's fighting prowess, no bird of prey would dare to land near the main courtyard.
There used to be an eagle, but it was eventually defeated by Cong Zai and ended up with Zhou Hongzhong to recover from its injuries.
Zhou Hongzhong also said that in the past year, they have been adopting all kinds of plants and animals from his ranch. If they don't receive a report from his ranch in a certain month, they feel uneasy.
The Bress chickens were chicks that Shi Wen, and even though he knew the chances of them getting hurt were relatively low, Shi Wen still couldn't help but worry.
He hurriedly finished his work in the livestock shed, put on his hat, and rushed to Pasture No. 2.
He wanted to see what those chicks were doing at Pasture No. 2.
Shi Wen, too lazy to walk, they would ride their motorcycles over.
After riding for more than five minutes, he saw a group of small, yellow and white pheasants on the pasture—Bresse chickens had not completely shed their tender yellow down and had already grown white feathers, so they had a rather strange color.
These little clumps gathered at the bottom of the beehive, occasionally flapping their not-yet-fully-grown wings, trying to fly up and peck at the food on top of the beehive.
Shi Wen felt a chill run down his spine after just one glance. Could it be? These little guys are so small, and they've already learned to peck at black bees?
At that moment, Shi Wen had already figured out how to keep them in the livestock shed after he caught them.
Unexpectedly, upon arriving at the location, they discovered that the Bress chicken wasn't pecking at black bees, but rather—ants?
I don't know how those ants grew, but their bodies were big, black, and thick, looking like fierce insects.
It's amazing that the Bress chicken, so small, can devour ants one by one, treating them like soybeans.
Shi Wen approached, the chicks remained unmoved, focused only on pecking at the ants.
He had known for a long time that ants would steal honey, and beekeeper Reheman had even warned him, but he never expected that the ants that came to steal honey would be so fierce and look so terrifying.
It was only thanks to the Bress chickens that we were able to control the ants.
Once we made sure the chicks were only pawing at ants and not bees, we stopped bothering them Shi Wen them.
It's commendable that they eat ants; they should eat more to prevent the ants from continuing to wreak havoc on the pasture.
Shi Wen —he didn't dare squat down, afraid the ants would crawl on him, so he only dared to stand far away and watch.
Bored watching alone, he took some photos and sent them to Yan Kexing: [Look at our ranch's chicks and big ants!]
Yan Kexing always replied to his messages instantly: [So many ants?]
Shi Wen: [Yes, they probably came in droves to steal honey, and the chicks just happened to spot them.]
Shi Wen spoke, he took another picture of the ants on the beehive and showed it to Yan Kexing.
Ants crawled around on the beehive, but before long, they would be spotted by sharp-eyed chicks and then pecked away by the chicks flapping their wings.
Shi Wen: [It looks like the chicks are playing a game, but I don't know what kind of ant that is? It's huge.]
Yan Kexing: [It should be a harvester ant, but I'm not sure which specific type.]
Shi Wen: [Are these ants pests? Should we take measures to control them?]
Yan Kexing: [Strictly speaking, they're not pests; they help plants disperse seeds. However, they might harm bees and cause some damage to the pasture. Do you think we should deal with them?]
Shi Wen watched the chicks happily munching on ants, then thought for a moment and replied: [If they're not pests, then forget about them; leave them for the chicks as a treat.]
Yan Kexing: [If that's the case, you might need to train the chicks; they can be aggressive and eat bees too.]
Shi Wen: [Okay, I'll think about how to discipline him.]
Shi Wen: [It seems like the ants are eating honey, the chicks are eating ants, and the ranch has returned to balance.]
Yan Kexing: [Sometimes that's how it is; a complete food chain is always interconnected.]
Shi Wen looked down at the chicks. "[Do you think we should raise the beehive a bit higher so the chicks can guard it?]"
Yan Kexing: [Give it a try?]
Chapter 80
Shi Wen the chicks with their neck feathers already standing on end, Shi Wen really got right to work.
He casually scooped up two chicks, put them in his pocket, and then drove his motorcycle to the beehives at Pasture No. 1.
As he expected, there were also ants near the beehives on Pasture No. 1, and they were all ugly and ferocious harvester ants.
The two chicks that had been struggling in Shi Wen's arms stopped struggling when they saw so much food. They flapped their still-developing little wings and chirped as they tried to get down to peck at the ants.
Shi Wen gently placed them on the ground, they bravely faced the challenge, showing no fear of the fierce ants. Instead, they seized the opportunity and devoured them one by one, eating with great relish.
Shi Wen then took more photos and showed them to Yan Kexing.
Yan Kexing is probably busy right now and hasn't replied.
Shi Wen posted a few pictures and then stopped.
The presence of so many large ants near the beehive reminded Shi Wen that there might be a lot of honey inside, which was why the ants were so greedy and kept harassing the bees.