A Boy Named Roo

A few months ago, we acquired 8 used chickens to replenish the flock that fell victims to a fox that lives in our area. They were a few months old when we bought them and are a mixed variety of breeds. We started to figure out the pecking order and observed that the largest Rhode Island Red chicken was, indeed, the head chicken of this flock.

   The flock became accustomed to our family, and we named each hen. We named the head "hen" Irene, after the female villain Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes. As Spring approached, we noticed Irene began to grow larger and larger. My, what thick legs you have Irene! My, what a beautiful, green tail feather you have Irene! My, what a sharp, scary beak you have Irene! My, what sharp spurs you are growing Irene! Wait, what?

   It was one early Spring morning when we let the hens out to free range a bit, that we observed some undeniable rooster-like behavior... Irene was attempting to breed with our hens. It clicked and we realized that we have ourselves a rooster. We have never had a rooster before, so this was next level.

   But what of that name? He couldn't be called Irene anymore. Mr. Irene, Sue (fondly named after the Johnny Cash song "A Boy Named Sue") were thrown around as possibilities. But alas, we went with Perry, as in the legendary Perry Mason, whom our 12-year-old adores.

   We have greatly enjoyed studying Perry's behavior and seeing him grow into his authentic roo-hood role as head of the flock. He just started crowing this week, Fortunately, we do not hear him from the house at 5am. He randomly crows throughout the day. So far, he is not aggressive towards us humans. He's trying to assert himself with his ladies though, and it is quite humorous to watch as he fumbles all over himself and the hens chase him away. He's kind of awkward and clumsy as he is growing into his "adult" body. He's a good rooster though. He finds treats for the hens and calls them over to get it. He herds them when there is danger overhead, and he waits until the hens finish eating before he indulges himself in a treat.

   We hope to figure out how to hatch some chicks of our own since we now have a rooster, doing rooster things. It will make for a very interesting school project. The girls enjoy researching this process and observing flock behavior. Perry is the rooster we didn't know we needed!