Identity Crisis

As you know, after losing our precious Ruby chicken we got another chicken, Pearl, to keep Opal company.  We just didn't realize that Opal didn't want company, and poor Pearl has been relegated to living in the chicken tractor for her own protection.  Other than that, Pearl has been doing well and especially loves being out in the yard.  She stays close to a human at all times (I think she realizes that we will try our best to protect her from Opal) and she has become my ultimate cuddle chicken.  As much as Ruby and Opal both loved to cuddle, Pearl loves it even more, and we have established an evening routine that involves a lot of snuggling and nuzzling before I put her away for the night.  Yes, everything has been humming along...that is until a couple of mornings ago...just as the sun was beginning to come up...

"Er er er er errrrr...."

"Is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"Er er er er errrrr..." came the reply.

"I think Opal did that a couple of times when she was young," I told myself.  "Just a fluke."

Well, if you define "fluke" as something that now happens each and every morning, I guess then it is just a fluke.  However, I am beginning to grow suspicious that "Pearl" may really be a "Paul", and this makes me very sad.  You see, we live in the city and are just very lucky that they allow chickens at all; however, in our city you can only have two chickens without a permit, and roosters are not allowed at all.

I hope that my beautiful Pearl chicken figures out that she is really a hen and stops all of this crowing nonsense soon.  If not, I will never be able to convince the city that she is actually hen and Pearl/Paul will have to return to the family from which she/he came.  I would hate to lose the best cuddle chicken I have ever had!