Chicken Impostor(s) - Part One

Remember when I introduced the Van Cluck Sisters?  

How could you forget these sweet, fluffy babies: 

May 2011- The Van Cluck Sisters Join the Family 

They were cute, but as soon as the fluff turned to feathers, we moved them out of their garage playpen and into "Cluckingham Palace" the royal hen house King Charming and his pals built for them in the backyard.  A sense of contentment came with officially becoming backyard chicken farmers, and we started dreaming about farm fresh eggs for breakfast.  

Two years later I can say we have more eggs than we can eat for breakfast, and we like our girls so much there are now ten "royal sisters" wandering our backyard each day instead of only five.  But of course our chicken story couldn't be simple.  What fun would that be?  (And what would I have to blog about) 

No, our backyard chickendom was fraught with drama.  Some might even call it treason or espionage!  : )  

While they were still chicks, we began to wonder how the pecking order would play out.  Who would be the queen of the coop?   Some of you readers even placed wagers.  

Most put their bets on one of these two becoming queen:  

   

"Angeline"

Lady Angeline Ann Van Cluck 

"Lady Di"

Lady Diana Van Cluck

I can see why.  Of all the chicks these two had the most spunk and personality. In the pictures they even look royal, don't you think? 

We were all so right!  (And yet so very wrong)

As they grew older, it was obvious that either Di or Angeline would reign supreme.  Every day, we changed our mind, though.  Who would win? 

"Maybe Di is the top of the pecking order."  

"No, now I think Angeline is taking first place."  

Then it happened.  It was the end of July and we were packing for our annual vacation when the girls came crashing into the kitchen to announce, "Guess what we just heard!!!"

"Di was CROWING!!"  

No!  Could it be?  A rooster!!??? We live in suburbia.  Just having chickens in the backyard was stretching the CC&R's, but a crowing rooster waking up the neighbors every morning at sunrise?  That wouldn't work AT ALL?  I could just imagine the knock on the door from the Homeowner's Association Police.  Or the dreaded LETTER IN THE MAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

King Charming and I decided it was easiest to remain in denial and believe that the girls were just hearing things.  So we left on vacation while his brother and sister-in-law house sat for us.  Unfortunately, denial didn't last long when we started getting texts like this, "Uh.  Dude.  I think one of your chickens is crowing."  

By the time we got home, there was no denying it any longer.  Lady Di was not a lady at all.  She, I mean he, was an impostor! 

There was only one thing to do- what any self-respecting, backyard suburbanite farmer would do:  

GET ON YOU TUBE AND LEARN HOW TO KILL PROCESS A CHICKEN, of course.    

It was messy.  There were feathers flying.  But the deed got done.  

The kids had fun watching.  

And I hid in the house.  : )  

So Lady Di became: 

Dinner.    

And Angeline became queen of the coop.  

It's a sad tale, I know.  But of course, there has to be more to the story, right?  

Stay tuned... More chicken drama in my next post.  


Love, 


Your Favorite Chicken Farmer  

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