Thursday evening, around 6:00 PM...Spouse: "The grey rooster took off up the hill; how do I get him back?"
Me, half-asleep: "*mumble* Corn on the cob. Chicken kryptonite. *snnnzzxxx*"
fifteen minutes later...
Spouse: "He took off through the property fence. I couldn't catch him. Here's a few feathers for your collection."
Me: "*mumble* Fox food. Nothin' more you can do... *snnnzzxxx*"
[Of course, at this point we thought the Grey Lady was a rooster, so I wasn't too upset.]
Fast forward to today, Saturday morning. Getting ready to do the chores, I take a look around the property and pens, doing a head check. The older chickens have managed to get outside the main pen already. One of the younger chickens is out as well. Thinking maybe it followed the older girls out... but wait. It's the grey chicken! Over 24 hours out in the "wild", without the flock, and s/he survived. No obvious damage. But what I thought were previously the curved tail feathers of a rooster were now mysteriously straight. Sex change operation? "Scared straight"? Who knows what adventures s/he had.
With this obvious display of personality and character, s/he is now named "The Grey Lady" until proof of gender arises (or drops out of her ovapositer).
[pic: the grey coloring in this pic isn't obvious. ah well.]
See? What if Amelia's tail has straightened? What if our hen turned rooster, is really a hen after all?
ReplyDeleteWelcome home Grey Lady, and don't runaway no more!
@natalie: I think once they get to the wooing stage, like Amelia(o) did, it's pretty much a done deal. I hope Amelio got a good home!
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