The Great Impersonation, The End

Sadly, Carmen did not know how to keep the advantage he had so bravely won, and he became aggressive. He has pecked the hand that feeds him and attacked the person that feeds him until I feel unsafe going anywhere near the chickens without a long walking stick or Hero on a leash. The final insult was when Jenny & Jean-Marc recently arrived for a visit, and Carmen chased her all the way from the barn to the house—where she found the back door locked! Her shrieks brought me on the run with my “chicken stick,” knowing immediately what the problem must be. A couple of whacks with the stick finally drove Carmen away. His days are numbered now, and as soon as we have a pen in place to protect the girls in his absence, he will return whence he came. Not to the egg, but to the store, where I am assured he will be taken home by someone who doesn’t mind aggressive roosters. I personally think you’d have to be certifiable! I will miss his splendid beauty and melodious crowing, but I will not miss HIM!

To my delight, I found my first egg on Oct. 5, nearly three weeks before I expected to. To my disappointment, it couldn’t by any stretch of the imagination be considered blue! Jenny got on the internet and found an official Ameraucana breeders’ website which clued me in that many chickens are sold as Ameraucanas or Aracaunas which are really mutts! They may lay blue eggs, or perhaps green or pink, but they should really be called Easter-Eggers because they are not Ameraucanas. I found a local breeder, very nice man named Randy, who was willing for Jenny and me to stop by on the spur of the moment today. He was so interesting and gave us so much information: If Carmen is aggressive, he’s not an Ameraucana; they are gentle, timid chickens. If the eggs aren’t blue, they aren’t laid by an Ameraucana. They only lay blue eggs, although each chicken has her own individual shade! And I could tell by looking at his chickens that mine don’t look anything like them. Apparently I have a coop full of imposters! Not only Carmen, who pretended to be a pullet when he was really a rooster, but ALL my girls have been masquerading as Ameraucanas when they're just plain old MUTTS!
I still think they’re beautiful, though, and I still love my girls, even if they never give me a blue egg. Sniff! Esmerelda very graciously laid another one this morning after having taken nearly a week's vacation, so Jenny got to get it out of the nest (while I held Carmen off!) And Jenny and Jean-Marc each got a poached Zephyr Hill egg for breakfast along with some scrambled store-bought free-range eggs. No comparison! Esmerelda may be laying beige eggs, but the yolks would put a pumpkin to shame! And they both agreed the eggs were delicious. Of course, they wouldn't have dared say anything else--Carmen would have gotten them!

Esmerelda is looking at us admiring her egg. What do you suppose goes on in that little chicken brain? She was cackling away on the roost (the only one doing so) when we opened the door, and then she hopped down to come check on us. Personally, I think she's proud of herself, so I told her, "Thank you, Esmerelda! Good girl!" Carmen does all the crowing so I figure she might as well get some praise for a job well done!