Dear PoPville – Just a Hen Chilling in my front yard this morning

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by Prince Of Petworth December 16, 2013 at 11:30 am 19 Comments

hen walk

“Dear PoPville,

Odd happening this morning at my home at 15th & V next to St Augustine’s Church. A smile anyway. Woke up to a live hen in my front yard today, yes, in busy downtown Washington, DC. Animal control came and was very gentle. On the 3rd Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”

jcm

All I wanted was to eat the chicken that was smarter than all the other chickens to absorb its power. And to make a nice Kiev. But oh well.
- Allison
  
  I was going to say looks like Christmas dinner to me! It’s a Christmas miracle!
  - Anonymous
    
    Yup. I boiled a whole chicken this weekend to make matzo ball soup and chicken salad.
    My stock pot is ready for Round 2!!!
- Anonymous
  
  Hahaha.
  Incidentally, my library hold on that book just came in– I’d placed in back in July when the show came out. That’s definitely the longest I’ve ever had to wait for a library book!
Anonymous

I love the action shot in the middle. Looks like something you’d see in a Missing Persons or Crimestoppers advertisement.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS HEN?
Anonymous

Did they ever adjust the laws in DC to make it legal for people to keep chickens in their yards? From the looks of this bird, it’s undoubtedly some boutique variety.
- MPinDC
  
  I believe Tommy Wells introduced legislation but it didn’t go anywhere.
  You can determine the sex of chickens when they are young to avoid getting a rooster.
  - Anon
    
    They are never going to legally allow chickens in D.C. Graham doesn’t like them.
    - anon
      
      unless, of course, we don’t reelect Graham. Just sayin’
Anon

Actually that looks like an unwanted rooster. You can tell by the saddle feathers. This is why you cannot have chickens in D.C. If your hen turns out to be a rooster, what do you do with it. Many people just let it loose and abandon it.
- AE
  
  If you had a hen it wouldn’t be a rooster
  - Anon
    
    It’s not a hen, it’s a boy. Read the comment. There are saddle feathers. Saddle feathers are only present on boys.
    
    Sexing chickens is not as simple as people think it is. That’s why so many unwanted roosters end up on the streets. There are only a few breeds (out of thousands) that you can tell the sex at birth. This is not one of those breeds. It’s a mix breed mutt, often called a barnyard mix. Pretty but nothing special.
    - Anonymous
      
      Why would people not want a rooster? It can’t lay eggs but can’t you still eat it? Or am I missing something?
      - Anon
        
        Roosters can be aggressive towards humans. Plus they crow loudly all day long. It is illegal to processes animals at home in most states. Most unwanted roosters are because parents thought it would be cute to get the kids chicks during Easter.. Hens can be pets but roosters are not.
      - Anonymous
        
        And if you have hens and want eggs, having a rooster around means you’re going to get little embryos in those eggs. Most people would rather not deal with that in their eggs.
      - Anonymous
        
        Roosters help protect the hens and if you want more chickens you need the roosters. But most people want eggs so roosters are destined for the stew pot.
        Not all roosters are aggressive.
Anonymous

Umm, that’s not downtown.
CT

So, why DID the chicken cross the road? :-)
David Do

So that is where the chicken from Orange is the New Black ended up.

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