Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Chicken Chat => Topic started by: Pollyanna on September 12, 2010, 20:56
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Hello everybody,
I thought you might like to hear a little story! The title says it all really but here we go...
As those of you who have read my posts will know, I have three Silver Spangled Hamburgs called Matilda, Harriet and Henrietta. When I first acquired my girls however, they came as a quartet!
This is the story of the fourth one (Martha) who couldn't make her mind up whether she was called Martha or Arthur; :unsure:
Martha/Arthur was in the hen house for just over a day when her true nature became apparent. She constantly picked on and bullied, (not to mention, mounted) poor Harriet! She/he strutted around the run, chest puffed out, neck stretched and to all intents and purposes, she crowed!!!
On the second day, I seperated her/him from the others but this just made matters worse... the noise was deafening! Things came to a head on the third day when, after relentlessly beating poor Harriet to within an inch of her life, Martha/Arthur was given her/his marching orders. With a final and rather indignant, not to mention ear piercing squawk, she/he hitched up her skirts and left the chicken coop for good! :D
Thankfully, once the evil Martha/Arthur had departed, the girls settled down and you could almost see the look of blissful relief on their little faces! Harriet recovered well although she still has a bit of a bald patch at the back of her head but new feathers are poking through!
I have heard of trans-gender birds before and I wondered if this was what had happened in Martha/Arthurs' case. Funny thing is, she/he was still laying despite her/his totally masculine behaviour!
Pollyanna :)
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Oops! :blush:
My apologies for the inappropriate wording in there and thank you Mumofstig for editing it for me.
(Sorry it wouldn't let me reply to your message, something about 10 posts!)
Pollyanna :)
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That's a really great story - you probably sell it to THe Sun :D
Where's Arthur/Martha now? Does s/he still lay?
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That's really a great story! My lowest hen is now challenging the top hen. Go figure!