Many people have commented about our Zelda story. If you have chickens, you’ve probably heard stories of hens turning into roosters, but like Big Foot, you’ve probably never actually seen one.
Here are some more before and after shots of Zelda (and we know it’s Zelda because she has a metal ID crimp that has never been removed.)
This is Zelda *before* the winter:
Zelda before “the change”
And here she is after the winter:
Zelda after “the change”
Here are some closeups of her neck which are the most dramatic part of this change:
Zelda’s neck before “the change”
Zelda’s neck after “the change”
To answer a few questions:
Come on, really? She’s now a he? Zelda is not *really* a rooster, she’s more like a transgender chicken. When we got her she laid eggs, which means that she obviously has female organs. We have not seen a blue/green egg (she’s the only one that laid that color) since early-winter. She will not be able to fertilize any of our hen’s eggs, although in her heightened state of maleness, I’m sure she’s going to try.
Does this mean you have a gay chicken? Nope, it means I have a chicken.
What’s her breed? Her breed is Easter Egger but I’m not sure that has anything to do with anything, I think this can happen to virtually any breed although I’m willing to bet that in order for it to happen two conditions need to exist: there have to be no roosters in the flock and the hen who is turning must be the leader.
Does she crow? I have not seen her crow, but this winter I did hear a few strange sounds coming from the hen house and upon reflection, I think it was Zelda trying to crow with what she had. It’s a softer strangled kind of crow and not one that will upset our neighbors (I hope.)
If she turned male, can she turn back? Ah, that’s a question I can’t answer. Will she revert to more feminine traits once the chickens have more room when they start free-ranging in the yard, or is this a permanent condition? I don’t know, but you can bet that I’ll be keeping an eye on her and will report back with any news.
I have some friends who are chicken vets, I’m going to send pictures of Zelda to them to see what they have to say.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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