The Honest Courtesan

I’ve never had pullets grow as quickly as this bunch; not only are they already beginning to look like adult hens, they’re boldly shooting out of the nursery every morning and have already started exploring outside, as you can see.  One of them is already clucking, which surprised the hell out of me because normally they’re still peeping until around the time they start laying, around midsummer; I wonder if they’ll start laying early as well?  It wouldn’t surprise me, nor will it surprise me if the biggest of the three ends up being the alpha hen despite her youth, given that I’ve never seen one so bold at this age.  The other two already follow her lead, and none of them are as nervous as most chickens; while most of them apparently find my moving around while I deal with their food and water every day to be cause for alarm, these three seem perfectly comfortable scratching near my feet while I work.  Perhaps that calm energy will even spread to the older chickens, and wouldn’t that be nice?  The only thing that remains to be seen before I give this breed my stamp of approval is how well they lay, but given that they haven’t disappointed me yet, I’m quite hopeful.