A Bird in Ten Thousand

What's the title about?  Well, that famous chicken is actually one of a kind, but there is another statistic that applies to her.  Apparently, chickens can rarely (you guessed it, about one in ten thousand) take on the characteristics of a rooster, if they have something happen to their ovaries and the balance of hormones tips into the high testosterone camp. They aren't truly roosters, since they can't fertilize eggs, but they come pretty close. 

When this happens the chicken's comb and wattles grow larger. 

They will grow spurs.  (She has some pretty awesome spurs for a chicken - especially since she's short on toes from her earlier frostbite trauma.)  

And they crow.  She gets up in the morning and gives a very earnest, but not terribly musical, 'cock-a-doodle-do'. 

Even so, she's still the same sweet chicken that likes to sunbathe and take dirt baths.

 She still likes to pose in picturesque locations.

She's very fond of string cheese.
 

 Seriously - she can eat the whole stick!

And she likes a dish of morning tea. 

These are all photos I took while visiting earlier this month, because she has only one tail feather and no feathers on her back right now.  

Here's the update after the dog attack.  The chicken is still valiantly fighting for her life.  Her wounds are very bad, but she's a tough little bird and we hope for the best.  Unfortunately, it looks like there might be some infection setting in where the deep puncture wounds are and it's hard to get antibiotics into her.  My sister and sister-in-law gathered worms and centipedes for her last night and she ate them all, so she still has an appetite, but she's losing weight.  Today, she went out for the first time since the dog attack and got to look under turned rocks and logs for her own tasty bugs and worms.  

Many thanks for the good thoughts you've shared and sent her way.  Please keep them coming - she's a well loved bird.