It took a couple of views for me to appreciate this odd show, possibly due to the perfunctory animation early on.
A salesman is struggling to sell a particular chick, due to it’s unusual size, posture and depressed demeanour. Though probably mainly due to the fact it has a beard. People don’t like to buy birds with beards it seems.
Finally a family decide to buy it, albeit for a variety of bizarre reasons. But when they get it home they discover it has a huge appetite, can use a fork, sleeps in a bed, reads the newspaper and watches the news on TV. The beard it turns out, is perhaps the least odd thing about Higepiyo.
The last part may be a clue to Higepiyo’s bizarre nature, as just before the episode ends, there’s a report of chicks having been stolen from a research centre the day before.
If you’re like me, and enjoy short absurdist gag anime, then definitely check Higepiyo out. It’s not as strong as Akitaro Daichi’s work in this area, but Atsushi Takeyama’s work here is still pretty funny. And certainly one of the better new short shows from this season.