As 2022 comes to an end, we thought it would be a good time to post an updated look at the many wonderful non-human beings that inhabit our little piece of paradise here on the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii. In no particular order: Here’s Penny, our now HUGE one year old […]
At Paradise Meadows, home of Hawaii’s Local Buzz, we have 28 free-range Muscovy ducks. They are (or can be) great farm animals, eating all sorts of bugs, slugs, snails, and even invasive Coqui frogs when they can find them. However, there can easily be too much of a good thing. One thing you learn relatively […]
Thanks to the generous donations we’ve received from folks visiting the farm, we’ve been able to purchase more parrot “toys” more regularly than we’ve been able to afford in the past. “Toys” is an odd word to use for the items we give our birds to enrich their environments and enhance their lives, because the […]
At the beginning of May we noticed nests popping up all over our banana patches near the house, which is where our mommy ducks prefer to lay their eggs. We assume it feels very safe. The leaves of the banana trees provide good cover from airborne predators like hawks, and the proximity to the house […]
Sometime in March, 1999 a remarkable cat named Sam was born. We’re not sure of the exact date, as Sam was adopted from the Hawaii Humane Society as part of a BOGO (that’s a “Buy One, Get One Free”) special. A friend wanted a cat, and convinced Scott to take advantage of the BOGO special […]
Be careful before you share your macadamia nuts with your dogs! In some dogs, it can cause serious side effects, like back leg paralysis. “Ingestion of macadamia nuts by dogs has been associated with a non-fatal syndrome, characterised by vomiting, ataxia or weakness, fever, muscle tremors and depression. Dogs are the only species in which signs have been reported. … The mechanism […]
We’ve had two horses for almost a decade now, Mocha and Kai. Mocha is a 12 year old registered quarterhorse mare and Kai is a 14 year old gelding. We came out one morning a few weeks ago and had a new member of our equine herd, a donkey! We are pretty sure that he […]
Many of you who have visited Paradise Meadows, the home of Hawaii’s Local Buzz, have been subjected to our diatribe on why you should not get a parrot as a pet. Parrots are unlike any other domestic animal in ways that make them very challenging to keep in the average human household. You can read […]
Visitors to Paradise Meadows, home of Hawaii’s Local Buzz, often ask us what we feed our flock of 6 companion parrots and how we know what their dietary needs are. Our quick answer is that our birds eat better than we do, but the longer answer is that horrifyingly little is known about the dietary […]
Those of you who have visited our farm may have had the opportunity to meet Petie — the common brown mynah bird that lived in our dining room. Unlike our six parrots, Petie preferred to live indoors with the family. We are devastated to report that Petie passed away at 11 AM today, cradled in the palm […]