Cock-a-doodle-doo!

One of my neighbors, who is a poultry processor, mentioned a few weeks ago that one of my young hens may not be a hen. I did a little internet research to find the characteristics of young roosters because I was curious if my neighbor was right. There are two obvious things that lead me to think we had a rooster: the dark, oily-looking feathers and the tail, which is starting to grow. Just recently, he's also started to get a bit aggressive. He likes to peck at peoples feet. At this point, I am quite sure that he is a he.

I took this picture yesterday after my daughter decided to bring the rooster into the house. She absolutely adores her chickens. I said from the beginning that if one of the chickens turns out to be a rooster, he'd end up on the dinner table...well, Kaiya won't let that happen. And since I really wanted a couple of laying hens, we'll see if we get some baby chicks out of this guy. Well, not literally out of him, but you know what I mean. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to eat fertilized eggs, but from what I've been told, they are actually healthier for human consumption than a non-fertilized egg. Supposedly, they are lower in cholesterol.

I'm gonna cross my fingers for baby hens next spring, but I won't hold my breath!