Gender Bending Chicken

Well, we have 6 chickens. . .of which we thought all were egg-laying ladies.  However, one morning as I was sitting upstairs (pumping milk for my youngest, as I was to be gone on a garden tour of oak park that day), I could hear what sounded like a child talking.  Before even mentioning it, my husband said to me, "I think Vespa is crowing" - I didn't want to believe it.  I thought maybe it was a sound made after laying; I heard they do that.  

I went to my garden tour with friends, leaving inspired about my own gardening endeavors.  But, in the back of my mind wondering about my chicken's gender issues.  I investigated Vespa's features, looked some stuff up online, asked my fellow chicken owner friend and the conclusion - almost 100% sure we have a boy.  My she is a he.  

Soooo, weighing my options: store takes him back and I get refund ($4 and nothing for the months of organic food we have been feeding), store exchanges for a hen of similar age if they have it in stock, OR. . .i have my dad butcher him for soup stock?  Must talk to the nice folks at Belmont Feed & Seed and we'll see.  

To add, roosters are not allowed in Chicago.  Keeping her/him is not an option.  There is no keeping a cockadoodle doo on the down low.  Ah, the perils of raising livestock, even on the small scale!

UPDATE:  talked to Lydia at Belmont Feed & Seed and this is definitely a boy Vespa.  They had a hen of the same breed, but a few weeks younger, and we decided to go through with the switch.  It was hard to pack up boy Vespa, but it had to be done.  The boys said bye and sent him on his way with some blueberries they thought he would like.  Girl Vespa or Vespa 2.0 is now part of the flock.  She seems sweet, although it might be a while before the existing girls let her in their clique!  Adventures in poultry.  Below is the female golden-laced Wyandotte.

Hit the Ground Running

A bit off topic, already.  I had to blog about my half-marathon experience today.  I did the Rock And Roll Half in my home town of Chicago; beautiful weather and beautiful course through the city and along the lake.  I am not a big fan of organized races, but I like that an organized race commits me to training and sticking to it.  With three kids, life gets busy and it is easy to throw fitness to the back of the to-do list.  Training for this race forced me to make time to run and I loved it -alone time that also benefitted my health.  I did really well "for having three kids" and for a "woman of my age". . .hell, scrap that, I did well for me.  My time put me in the top 10% of 11,000+ finishers.  It started too early to drag the kids out of bed, so I had them ink me with permanent markers on my hands for motivation to look upon as I was running along.
 I love this city in the summertime and running helps me soak it up, as well as gardening, playing outside with the kiddos, bike rides, outdoor festivals and block parties.  I feel alive with the heat and sun, and I think I feed off the life around me that comes with the nice weather.  I just wish it wasn't so short of a season.

Thinking Inside of the Box

Trying out this blog thing, like everyone else is.  I have some stuff to share about life at the Roll house. . .living in Chicago with my husband and 3 kids, and 6 chickens, and a colony of bees!  My agrarian dreams are quenched for now within city limits and abiding Chicago law.  We have a couple raised beds and containers to green my thumb, rain barrels to quench said gardens in an eco-friendly way, and a few different compost methods going on (including the kids favorite - worms!).  Living well on the path to larger homesteading endeavors!