Cock-A-Doodle-Dude

My favorite androgynous fluffy muppet birds.

Silkie chickens are notoriously difficult to sex as youngsters. There's a saying among enthusiasts of the fluffy birds that until it lays or crows, you don't know for sure whether you've got a hen or a rooster on your hands.

But after a few weeks with my little flock, I had my suspicions.

Belinda had always been bigger and bolder than the other pullets, and as the weeks went on, I started noticing more and more rooster-like behavior from her.

Have you even SEEN a chicken more fabulous!? You have not. 

Belinda was always the first to do anything - to get up in the morning, to try a new food, to leave the coop to go outside, to meet me at the door when I came to feed in the morning. Any time there was a strange noise or someone new came to the coop, she would be on alert. There were some suspiciously long and flowing tail feathers emerging, as well as long, silky feathers down her neck. And while she was never an aggressive bird, there was definitely something more assertive about Belinda. As time went on, I became more and more sure that what I thought was a hen, really identified as a roo, but until the bird laid an egg or crowed at the crack of dawn, I couldn't be certain.

And then... well then, this happened (make sure you have your sound ON):

Belinda, it seemed, was definitely 100% rooster. I apologized to him for using the wrong pronouns all this time, and began referring to him as Bro-Linda.

He's forgiven me. I think.

In any case, I'm happy to have this handsome fellow as head of my flock, no matter how he identifies himself.