Well, one day, while I was out taking a dust bath, I received a letter from some poultry friends asking for help in a pecking situation. So, I packed my bags and headed for their coop.

Once I arrived, SweetHeart, one of the 22 white Leghorns, introduced me to the flock and showed me their combs, which all had little red scabs on them. Foghorn, the white Leghorn rooster, said, "None of us are sure who or what is giving us these scabs. They seem to somehow do it without us realizing it. Ms. McCluck, please help us!" he said as he took his wing and rubbed his scab.

So, I set out with my trusty spyglass and investigated. I saw some chicken footprints that were not the white Leghorns, and a dark rusty red feather. I wrote this down in my notepad. Then I got a great idea. I scurried over to explain my plan to the Leghorns.

"Now, we will put green paint on all of your combs. When who or whatever pecks at your combs, they will have paint on their beak."

"I think it's a marvelous idea, Ms. McCluck!" said Tippy, another chicken.

"I'll go get the paint," said Little Peep, Tippy's best friend. Once everyone had green paint on their combs it was time to roost. The Leghorns generously let me roost with them. I stayed awake and low and behold, one of the chickens clucked, "there he is! Go get ‘em!"

I "flew" out of the coop and pulled a string that dropped a net as a trap that I had set earlier. There, flapping around was Rusty-Red, an outlaw Araucana rooster with green paint on his beak.

After everyone washed their combs, we all talked with Rusty-Red.

"Rusty-Red, why were you pecking their combs?" I asked with my notepad in my wing.

"Well, you see, I don't have any friends or a flock of my own and I thought if I could defeat Foghorn, I could live with the Leghorns," he said, looking ashamed.

"Well, Rusty-Red, I hope you know that was wrong. Really wrong. Now, because you are indeed an outlaw, you will have to go to the coop jail," I said, pointing to the coop jail, which was some ways from here.

Rusty-Red nodded and sadly went with the Golden-Sex-Link police chickens and police guineas.

The next day, it was time to go back to my good, comfy home-coop, so I said good-bye and put this case with my other solved mysteries in a file in my suitcase. Because you just can't fool Gertrude McCluck, C.I.C.!

Note From The Author: All poultry in the story are real and live on my family's farm; except Rusty-Red...he now resides in the freezer.