Meet Dudley (AKA "The Dud")

Dudley, AKA “The Dud,” is one of two roosters currently on the farm (the other, named Do-Right of course, was saved when he fell off the back of a meat truck in the middle of highway traffic – more on him later).

Dud got his nickname as a chick when he was, well, the “dud” of the bunch. He was supposed to be a she – a Sienna Star pullet to be exact. Shortly after arriving last year, his vent got clogged, and though we cleaned it, he lost all of his feathers back there and was bare-bummed for quite some time. He seemed to grow slower than the rest of the chicks and was routinely chased away from the food and water. Dud also had a deformed toe (I imagine it must have been broken at some point) and as he grew, it was funny (and sad) watching him run.

He was 8 months old before we realized that HE wasn’t a SHE – when we heard the most ridiculously pitiful crowing sound and realized it was coming from him. Now at roughly 15 months old, he is a beautiful rooster – though he doesn’t at all look like the Sienna Star breed to me (If you have any guesses as to what breed he is, I’d love to hear them in the comments!) He's become a fairly decent guardian for his ladies and has managed to keep the flock hawk-attack free for several weeks now. Although I wouldn’t call him friendly, he’s never once tried to charge any of us, so that’s a real step up in rooster character around here.

*Updated -- Dud died the heroes death on the farm -- taken out by a hawk while saving his hens. Rest In Peace Dudley. You will be missed