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Tara and the Raccoon

By Annaliesa Anderson, Wisconsin

Annaliesa Anderson holds her 9-year-old chicken, Yellowie, along with part of the rest of our flock.

Once a chicken named Tara lived with me, Gertrude McCluck. She was a black and gold Ameraucana. Blackie (an Australorp), Brownie (a Red Star) and Yellowie (a Buff Orpington) lived with us too.

One night we were all sleeping. Tara was right by the ladder. Then I heard a noise. The next thing I knew there was a raccoon in the coop! It grabbed onto Tara's leg. Tara tried to get away, but it had too tight of a grab on her leg. I thought Tara would die! Then I heard another noise. It was a human. The human's name was Lena.

Lena scared away the raccoon. Then I saw Tara's leg. It looked horrible. Lena looked in the coop to see if we were all in the coop. Lena saw Tara's leg. Then Lena took Tara in the house.

The next day I saw Lena giving Tara a bath. Her leg still looked horrible. I could not see her anywhere for two weeks; I even looked in the coop for Tara. When I finally saw her, she only had one leg. Her other leg was nowhere. Then Tara was back in with us shortly after a month. Since she only had one leg she had to hop to get to places so she mostly stayed in the same place.

About one week after she came back in with us she told us her story. She said that in the house there were very nice cats and dogs. The dogs were very small. The cats were too scared to come see what was going on. They stayed far away from Tara. Tara's leg was infected so Lena had to give Tara many baths. At one point the infection on Tara's leg got so bad that Lena thought Tara would die and then Lena got another chicken. She was a black and white Barred Plymouth Rock. Her name was Rocky.

Then Tara's leg fell off while she was in the house. Tara was fine. Lena and Tara had standing on one-leg contests to help Tara get stronger.

After Tara moved back to the coop, she laid an egg. It was a teal colored egg. Lena was so surprised that Tara had laid an egg she almost dropped it. So then, Lena had six egg layers. She made bread for them once a week. She would use two eggs in it.

I hope you enjoyed my story about Tara and the raccoon.

Signed,

Gertrude McCluck

The Case of the Missing Chicken

By Lauralynn Anderson, Wisconsin

Lauralynn Anderson and friend.

It started out a typical sunny summer day in Wisconsin. My flock and I, Gertrude McCluck, Chicken In Charge, were in our spacious fenced-in pasture pecking the ground for scattered food when I realized Sylvia, an Ameraucana who was always dreaming up adventures, was missing. We went around the area looking for her, but saw her nowhere. Immediately I concluded she must have flown over the fence.

So we all decided to fly over the fence to look for Sylvia, since we were somewhat worried about her. While the other two Ameraucana s never had any trouble at all, Nina, a Buff Orpington, and I always found flying over the fence quite difficult. We searched all around the pond and by the edges of the forest, but we could not find her. We did not dare go far into the forest because foxes and other predators live there. We all know this, as one day we were happily roaming about in search of food when all of a sudden a fox appeared! Fortunately, Ashley, a big dog who lives here, happened to be exploring nearby and gleefully chased the fox away. While we were all fine, it was a terrifying experience so I was sure she was not in there.

We then turned around and went towards the people house. We looked all around it but Sylvia was not there. Wondering where she might be, we wandered farther and came across an area with many different plants, some of which were very tasty. A garden! Forgetting about Sylvia, we ate our way through until we came to a large strawberry patch! We happily started eating our favorite food, but before long I heard rustling nearby. I looked up and to my surprise I saw Sylvia's head! I called everyone over and we all asked her where she'd been and why she flew over the fence. She told us she had been bored and was curious about what surrounded the fence and was wanting to explore more, and that when she found the strawberry patch all of her travels had been worth it! We were very glad Sylvia was fine and that we had found so many nice juicy treats, so we decided to have a big strawberry party to celebrate!

We were very glad Sylvia was fine and that we had found so many nice juicy treats, so we decided to have a big strawberry party to celebrate!

Gertrude McCluck Explains

By Natalie Austin, Michigan

Beep! Beep! Beep! I hear the sound of my alarm clock indicating its 5:00 am -time to get up. "Brrrr" I grumbled as I pull off my blankets and greet the morning air that isn't half as warm as my bed.

I walk to the kitchen, still in my pajamas, slip on some shoes and head out the front door. I grabbed the basket I keep by the door for eggs. Maybe we'll even get a double-yolked egg, which are more common with farm-fresh eggs. I walk down to the coop, the dew chilling my feet, where the Rhode Island Reds and Silky Bantams are waiting.

"Did you see Linda's feathers today?" clucked a voice. "Yes! They were all ruffled and dirty! Probably from her laying in the dirt so much," clucked the other voice. I look around but I don't see anyone. I turn to the right and see a chick pecking at bugs in the grass. A chicken about 8 feet behind the chick clucked "Gertrude! Gertrude McCluck! There is a human! Gertrude! Get back here!" OK mommy," peeped the chick. "Wait a minute!" I exclaimed as I scooped up the chick. "Help mommy!" the chick peeped, desperately trying to escape my grasp. "A human has Gertrude! "Everyone into the coop!" Suddenly, complete chaos erupted. Every chicken was running into the coop except the chick's mother, who was pecking at my feet. Which by the way hurts a lot. "Just wait a second," I say, feeling stupid because I was in fact talking to a chicken. To my surprise, she does stop.

"OK. First off, YOU'RE Gertrude McCluck?" I ask the chick. "Yes" she peeped in reply. "And you are..." I inquire as I nod toward the older chicken. "Me? Oh! I'm Giselle McCluck, mother of 7 chicks. And I'm a great layer!" "Oh! Explain how you can...talk," I ask in a questioning tone.

"I wanna explain!" said Gertrude. "Well, OK" said Giselle. "Well," began Gertrude, "chickens can really talk and do stuff just like humans. We have our own community. And a school, jobs like laying eggs, pecking for bugs. The leader of the herd is Taylor Peep, and she assigns us jobs." Well that was strange I thought to myself. "So..." said Gertrude, "if you don't mind, could you keep this a secret?" "Sure," I say suspiciously. "Thank you!" said Giselle. "Now come along Gertrude," she said as I put down Gertrude McCluck.

As I watch them walk away, I can't help but have a new respect for chickens. I wonder what they do in their community. Are there more animals that can talk beside chickens?

Gertrude and the Empty Coop

By Theresa Austin, Michigan

Theresa Austin & Comet

"Oh no!" I exclaimed when I walked into the coop. I had just gotten back from visiting an old member of the flock. She had been taken away by the humans who live in the two-story coop next to us. Anyways, all the hens were gone! The rooster too! Where had all those Rhode Island Reds, Black Copper Marans, and Silkie Bantams gone? I, Gertrude McCluck, have always helped solve the flock's problems, but never all on my own! Oh no! Even my Great Grandmother's notebook is gone! How am I ever going to write down clues without a notebook? I need to call for help!

"Bock! Ba-Bock! Bock! Bock!" No one's coming! One more try! "Boooooock!" Still no one! I need to start exploring. "Eggs! There's eggs!" I rejoice! But they're icy cold! I check their color. Tinted. That means that they're either Piper's or April's, since they are Silkie Bantams. Why would they leave their eggs to freeze if they badly want chicks of their own? "Wait, they are quite big for Bantam eggs. Maybe they are double yolk eggs that were left for the farmer!" That still doesn't tell me where the chickens are.

"Peep!" I hear something! "Peep-tweet!" Oh! It's just that robin in the neighboring tree. "Who's there?" I ask after there's movement in the grass. There it is again! "WHO'S THERE?!" I shout. Out comes a little Rhode Island Red chick. "Hi sweetie." I whisper to the little chick. "M-m-mii-ss M-m-c-C-l-l-u-c-c-k, Miss McCluck." The chick peeps. It's recently hatched! It can't be far from its mother. That means that either Nugget, her mother was a humorous hen, or Melody are near! "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Storm, the rooster is near too! "Come on." I tell the chick as I lead her around the barn.

"Ouch!" I tripped over an egg hidden in some grasses. It didn't break! "The farmer must be feeding us good commercial food." I think. "It must have at least 16 percent protein, 3.5 to 4.5 percent calcium, and enough phosphorus and energy to meet our requirements for a productive and very healthy lifetime." Go Farmer Bill! I need to get back on track! "Bock!" I call. "Ba-Bock" I hear back. I'm getting closer! "Bock!" I screech. Nothing! I see figures moving, and then nothing. There's a coop. It looks brand new, homemade, and quite large. I walk in sending the chick to a pile of hay in the corner.

All the hens, the rooster and even some chicks jump out and yell "Surprise!" There are flowers everywhere. My good friend Comet, who is a Black Copper Marans, runs up to me and bocks, "welcome home Gertrude McCluck!" She hands me my Great Grandmother's notebook, which is now decorated with flowers and is signed "with love, Piper, April, Nugget, Melody, Storm, and Comet." It's a surprise party! For me! I am so happy to have so many feathery friends! Let the party begin!

Gertrude's Adventures!

By Stephanie Bias, Tennessee

Gertrude McCluck's my name, solving crime is my game!

I was pecking at my favorite food, cracked corn, yum! As I was eating my way to the roost, I heard a quiet chirp. I checked around.

"Over here" a hash brown colored chicken peeped frantically and I waddled over.

"What seems to be the trouble?"

"Oh, it will surly be a shame if my secret came out! I thought I should ask you, since you've done this before.(I ruffled with pride). You see, I've been laying fewer eggs lately, and look at my latest one!" She crowed sadly.

I looked at her egg, and jumping crickets, it was huge!

"Please tell me what's wrong!" She pleaded.

"Well, to find out, I have to ask you, how old are you?"

Why did Gertrude ask how old she was?

Answer: The older a hen is, it lays less eggs, but are more likely to be bigger or misshapen.

The Fair Truth!

By Emily Buettner, Illinois

Gertrude McCluck was having a fine day in her coop with her friend, Henrietta. They had been talking about this day for months and finally it was here!

"I sure can't wait for the fair Henrietta! Here he comes!"

The farmer took them and put them in there cages and drove off to the fair!

"I hope I get a blue ribbon!" Said Gertrude

"I hope I get Best in show!" said Henrietta!

When they got there they got set up in there cages and were ready to be judged . . .

"This is so exciting! Another hen told me this is her Fourth year here . . ."

"Can I see a Gertrude McCluck and a Henrietta?"

He took Gertrude and there went Gertrude McCluck! the judge was a old tired man who was very picky about Hens!

However, When she came back she got a blue ribbon! She clucked with joy...

Until her friend came back with a RED Ribbon!

"What happened Henrietta?"

"I don't know! He called me a cockerel though! My feathers are naturally pointy!"

"Are you sure?" Gertrude thought this man was crazy at first when she told her this, but then she realized something that was changing in Henrietta lately,

She hadn't been laying like the other hens and she tended to be more bossy and loud, maybe the judge was right?

(In the morning)
Hey um, Henrietta? Wake up!

"Did you figure it out yet?"

Gertrude just nodded her head and explained it to . . . "Hennery"

"You were signed up for the Hen division when you're actually a young Rooster!"

Stunned in surprise he asked how she knew for sure!

"When you said your feathers were pointy, that really gave it away! Only roosters have really pointy feathers and a big tail like yours!"

"Well that would explain a lot!"

Finally both accepting the new Hennery They looked at the rising sun, as Hennery did his first crow!

"I guess this is another mystery solved!"

I'm in 4-H and w have 8 pet chickens of our own and we did take them to the fair this year!

I was thinking of what to do when I had thought of one girl who brought 3 cockerels in the pullet division by accident! She didn't even know they were cockerels! That's how I got the idea of this story. Status for ribbons is purple (Best in show), blue, red, white, etc.

The Case of the Missing Eggs

By Jamie Clark, California

Jamie Clark and pet chicken

On a sunny spring morning, just days before Easter, Gertrude McCluck was going to visit her cousin, Rebecca McCluck in Potrero. She was so excited to see her cousin - she was at the edge of her seat when she drove up to the gate. "Rebecca!" she screamed when they hugged. "Good to see you again Gertrude! Everyone is waiting to see you. Come along!" Rebecca said. So they walked, wing in wing, to the farm.

All day they visited with the turkeys, horses, pigs, and the other hens. Everybody enjoyed seeing Gertrude and she was having a blast. Everyone went to bed happy that night. What a grand day it was for Gertrude McCluck.

At sunrise the next morning Rebecca cried, "The eggs!". All the hens gathered around in the coop. "Oh dear" whispered one of the hens. Gertrude was already on the case. Jamie, the girl who takes care of them, came to collect the eggs. "Where are all the eggs?!" Jamie asked, dumbfounded. Sadly she said, "Maybe a bobcat came... oh well, come eat girls! Hopefully this doesn't happen again." The chickens were let out to enjoy the morning.

After breakfast Gertrude started looking for clues. In front of the door she found the first clue. Footprints. They were smooth and long. " What animal could have these footprints? Ah-ha! Turkeys! They must have put on socks and came when we were sleeping!" Gertrude said. The hens went over to the turkey coop to confront them. "Why did you steal our eggs?" Rebecca asked angrily. "What eggs? We don't have any eggs." answered the one-eyed turkey, Uno. One of the hens saw lumps under a blanket in the back of the coop and screamed," There they are!" "No these are plastic Easter eggs from last year. You got it all wrong! We're getting ready for Easter, silly!" Uno chuckled. All the hens blushed. "We're sorry! We're just upset that our eggs are missing. Again, so sorry!" Gertrude said. "That's alright. Good luck on finding your eggs." Uno smiled.

Later, the hens walked to a Manzanita tree and took their daily dirt bath. Suddenly a bright blue bunny came out of a bush! "Ladies I am so sorry, but I took your eggs." He said. " I am the Easter Bunny and when I was taking my last batch of eggs to my Easter den, I dropped them! The Easter farmer was all out of my magic eggs so I took yours and put my Easter magic in it. I hope you will forgive me," said the Easter Bunny. "It's all right" Rebecca said. All the hens agreed. " If this ever happens again, just tell us and Jamie, ok?" "Don't worry - I already told Jamie, and I must be on my way- I need to prepare everything for Easter!" the bunny said. Off he went, and everyone had a great Easter that year. What a grand vacation for Gertrude McCluck.

Gertrude McCluck and the Lost Chick

By Josh Collier, Kentucky

"Gertrude, Gertrude!! There's a young one heading this way," said Matilda a young Langshan hen. I looked up from my meal of scratch grains and tomatoes and saw her running toward me. "Quick go see if he is lost," Matilda said frantically. "All right I will, but you need to calm down Matilda. You're going to pass out" I said as I turned toward the little white fluff waddling this way. We met about half way between the coop and the oak tree where he came from. "Well now, what's your name?" I asked as he came up to me. "I'm Marvin and I'm looking for a doctor for my mama ‘cause she has bumble foot. But I got distracted by some dog food that made a trail this way. I love that stuff but mama tells me not to eat it because it gives me high cholesterol." "Well, why don't you come with me to the hen coop? It's starting to get late so let's hurry."

"I'm getting kind of hungry," said Marvin when we got to the coop. "Mama tells me not to beg ‘cause it's rude, but I'm sure if you feed me something that's not high in cholesterol she won't mind too much." So, I took him down to Doshie the gray silkie who had other chicks and plenty of warmth and starter feed to share.

After he got settled in I went to see Ezekiel the Langshan rooster. "Today I found a young chick out by the oak tree" I explained to him. "Oh, were there acorns on the ground yet Gertrude. That reminds me, I wonder if the walnuts are ready." "Would you stop talking about food you're already 5 pounds overweight, besides I've got something important for you," I said. "I need you to announce in your morning crow that we found a chick on our farm." "O.k., I guess I can but really, were the acorns ready?" "Oh, forget you." I said as I walked to my roost very annoyed.

Next morning, Ezekiel announced it in his crow alright; in his 4 o'clock crow!!! But I guess everybody heard it because it was so loud I even heard the neighbor's deaf dog start barking! Anyway, as soon as I got off the roost at about 9am (I slept in because of the very loud early crow) Matilda came running toward me flapping and squawking so that she almost looked like she had Newcastle. This time though, she said she had seen a full-grown hen. As I went to check it out, Marvin came running out from under Doshie screaming "Momma, Momma!!!" "Hello", I said as I neared the hen. "Hi," came a tired reply. "I'm Marvin's mom. I hope he wasn't any trouble to you" "Oh, he wasn't,"I said. "I'm sorry that we've got to run," said the hen "but I've got to get back to my farm." "Oh, I understand," I said as they started their adventure home.

Fieldtrip to Dinosaur Exhibit

By Tyler (Ty) Connolly, Oklahoma

Run! It's Sasquatch!!

Hello, my name is Gertrude McCluck and this is my adventure to the dinosaur exhibit with my classmates from Cluckster Elementary. It all started last week when our teacher told us about our upcoming field trip. I was so excited that I could hardly stand it. I ran home that very afternoon and had my mom sign my permission slip. Waiting for Friday to arrive was pure torture. When the big day finally came, I could hardly wait to get there. The bus ride seemed to last forever! I was sure the driver must be lost. But, just as I was getting worried, there it was!

We all had to line up and listen to lots of rules before going inside. We were told to keep our voices low and, of course, no running or touching. Usually I'm not into rules, but this day I didn't care what I had to do to get into that building! When we walked inside, it was like another world; nothing like the chicken yard. All I could do was stand and smile in amazement.

Our tour guide started by explaining things before we got to look around. He told us what the dinosaurs ate, how they lived, and what it meant to be extinct. I was hanging onto every word listening and learning. After hearing all the rules and our lesson, we were ready to go and see all the cool dinosaurs.
The pterodactyl was high above our heads, as if he was flying. His wings were huge and his beak was very pointy. It looked like a gigantic bird. We learned that they weren't dinosaurs at all, but flying reptiles. The triceratops, we were told was today's rhinoceros. It had horns that it could use when predators got too close. While they looked mean, they were plant eaters and only fought when they needed to protect themselves.

But, my favorite and the one I had waited so long to see was the Tyrannosaurus Rex! I stood there just staring up at it. It looked as if it was ready to eat me. I learned that it was a carnivore and a hunter. It was feared and I could see why. With its huge claws and 60 dagger-like teeth, what prey wouldn't be scared? That's when I learned the coolest thing a skinny chicken like me could ever hear. Scientists were able to do tests that showed that we chickens are the nearest living relative of the great T-Rex. Just imagine me a descendent of a meat-eating dinosaur!

We ended our trip by looking at the eggs that dinosaurs hatch from. You know, like me and my classmates did except bigger, of course. We could have all fit into one of those eggs! Now I know why the nests were on the ground, because the T-Rex couldn't fit in a tree. This had been the best day of school ever. I not only learned about dinosaurs, but found out where I came from.

The Admiral of the Ocean Sea

By Josiah Durand, Missouri

Archeologists have recently discovered a small document, and on close examination saw that it was chicken scratch! Decoding the scratch with a powerful microscope, scientists deciphered this poem, "In 1492 Gertrude McCluck sailed the ocean blue." Afterwards they found that this Gertrude McCluck claimed to be the rightful Admiral of the Ocean Sea. In her autobiography she wrote thus:

"I, Gertrude McCluck, was given to the now well-known Christopher Columbus as a present for his 8th birthday. His father was a wool weaver and Chris worked at the loom. To pass the time I told him stories of the sea, which I had learned from my grandfather who had lived in Portugal in the courts of King Henry the Navigator. Chris nicknamed me Niña, which means girl. With my encouragement, he went to sea at the age of 14. While Chris was out sailing I sketched maps of the world. Finally I convinced Chris to sail west to reach the Indies. Since I had connections in Portugal, we traveled there and asked the King for provisions for our voyage west. He said no. I suggested to Chris that we ask the King and Queen of Spain. They said no at first and Chris rode away dejected. However, I refused to give up and convinced them to say yes. We left on August 3, 1492 with three ships, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, and the Niña, named after me, of course! After three weeks, Chris said, 'Niña, my dove, we must turn back!' I persuaded him to sail on and convince the unruly crew who also wanted turn back. What chickens! On October 12, 1492, land was sighted and I told Chris, 'This is a new world.' He never did believe me!"

So ends the amazing autobiography of Gertrude McCluck, the real "Admiral of the Ocean Sea."

Gertrude McCluck, Super Chicken

By Geneva Durand, Missouri

"Large vegetarian pizza, delivered to the Drugstore Barn off Mooville Road, please, Gertrude," my boss called.

"Egg-zacly. Mooville Road barn." I swung onto my chicken-motormobile. I'd be there in a flash.

"Baaack! Baaaack!" Whoever ordered this pizza was deaf! "Baaack! Baaaack!" Finally the barn door opened slightly. "Your pizza," I shouted.

"Thanks. Here's the moo-lah."

"Thank you." I peered a little closer. "Miss Angus," her tag said. After she shut the door I ran around the barn. I was determined to get to the bottom of this odd place. I told myself there was something suspicious about it - but actually I was just nosy. I'd get up to the loft - there was a ladder around the back. I climbed up carefully, wrapping my wings and claws around each rung.

I peered carefully around the hay. My beak dropped! Buttons and gears and spinning rotors all whirled around me with quite a lot of noise, and right in the middle of it all sat my customer, calmly eating her pizza. I caught my breath and hoped she would say something.

She stood up, flipping on a switch. "Half a gallon - a gallon - ten gallons - twenty," she commented to herself. "Let's see - a hundred is enough for a start."

I slipped down further and could see that a machine was pouring liquid into a huge round container on the back of a truck. From my position I could just see the letters, "Chickago Water Department." I strained my ears again.

"This drug," the cow continued to herself, "this drug will make every human, cow, dog and horse want to obey me!"

Good. Not chickens.

"Not to mention every chicken!"

Oh no! I gasped. Then I laughed at myself. There was no way you could get every chicken to drink this stuff! At least... that is to say...

"...One hundred," she finally said. She flipped the machine off muttering, "Now let's head for the water department. They did need more water now, didn't they!" She laughed to herself. I stiffened suddenly. She would put it in the water! I was so shocked that I let go, falling right into Miss Angus' pizza. She grabbed me angrily and threw me into a small room.

"What do you think your doing, little snoop?" she growled, as best a cow could. The door shut with a bang.

I dropped to the ground, wiping off pizza sauce. I heard the growl of the truck's engine as it headed for town. It was time for . . .

"One... two... three... take off!" I bawked to myself. Crashing through the door I veered up toward the sky aiming for the Water Department truck up ahead. I landed on the back door handle and pushed down with all my might, opening the compartment and letting the drug spill harmlessly to the ground. Super Chicken Gertrude McCluck had saved the day once again!

Gertrude McCluck and the School House Scramble

By Rebekah Farr, Indiana

"Gertrude!! They did it again!"

I looked up to see a frazzled Buff Orpington running up to me. It took a minute to realize that it was Puff, one of the school teachers.

"What's the matter Puff?" I asked as I looked up from my scratch.

"The chicks are not listening to me!"

"Did they tie you to the flag pole again?" I asked with a frown.

"No, they could not stay still; they were trying to fly all over the room."

"Oh really?" she had my attention now. The chicks always loved school, and now they were acting up.

"Gertrude, if you want to see for yourself I'll show you."

"I'll have a look" I said as I grabbed my trusty spyglass and we headed out.

"You know Gertrude, school has just started. I don't see how they can be so flighty."
When we got to the school the chicks had a line in front of a ramp. One of the chicks ran down the ramp, flapped her wings and tried to fly but it ended in a crash landing about three inches away from where she started.

"See what I mean?" mumbled Puff in disgust. "Gertrude. Gertrude?"

Rattle- rattle- buzz- ding!

"That's it!"

"What's it?"

I explained that the chicks had just grown in their new feathers and were now trying to learn how to fly and that they would be flighty for weeks. But she could have some fly time in between classes.

Gertrude and The Lost Chicken

By Viktoria Fleming, Virginia

Viktoria Fleming & Sweet Pea

As Gertrude McCluck exited the chicken coop from laying a egg, there was a great commotion in the barnyard. Feathers were flying everywhere. A very scary dog was barking and chasing chickens that were happily pecking the barnyard minutes before. Then all of a sudden farmer Dan ran out of the farm house and chased the dog away.

"Gertrude McCluck!" squawked Henrietta in a frantic voice, "I am missing my little chick Sweet Pea."

Now was she with you last night in the coop? Or did she go over to see her friend Harold the cow?" Asked Gertrude McCluck.

"Well," clucked Henrietta still very scared for her chick, "She was under my wing last night since it was very cold and she has not gained all her feathers... but now I remember her with me right before the dog tried to attack me."

"We should start a search party for her," cackled Gertrude McCluck.

So they gathered about ten other hens and five other roosters. They searched for Sweet Pea everywhere in the 39-acre farm, until the sun was about to set behind the trees, for when it gets dark the foxes and coyotes come out to get their supper. They were saddened that they could not find Sweet Pea.

"I am really sorry that we could not find your precious little chick," said Gertrude McCluck.

All of a sudden before Henrietta could reply, there was a shapeless object limping in the darkness.

Every chicken ran into the chicken coop scared of the thing that was limping. A minute later it came in the coop. It was SWEET PEA! She managed to tell her story with little interruption

Sweet Pea started cheeping and told her story, "I was walking besides my mom and then a ferocious DOG came and grabbed me with his mouth and ran to his house. He was playing with me quite roughly.... Until he heard his dinner bell. I scrambled as fast as I could to underneath a big red wagon and hid there for a while. Some nice people came, scooped me up and took me into their car. I was scared until I could see our farmhouse, coop, barn, and farmer Dan. They asked farmer Dan if he was missing a chick. He said he was so they gave me to him. He put some medicine on my bite marks from the dog and put me down by the coop. SO HERE I AM!! Everyone especially her mother Henrietta gave her a hug. So Gertrude McCluck asked her if she was O.K. and if Sweet pea wanted some scratch to eat.

"I am fine now that I am with all the other chickens. And yes I am very starved and would like to eat."

So everyone was happy that she was back.

The Smallest of the Small

By Mary Gang, Ohio

It was a little chilly out, and all of us Buff Orpington hens were perched on our favorite spot, a nice thick stick that was built into our coop. I had Billy, our rooster on one side and my friend, Janet, on the other. Billy crowed and started to show off, flapping his wings and such, so I turned to Janet, ruffling Billy's feathers by ignoring him.

"So, Janet," I clucked, "How do you like it here? It's been a while since you came here."

"Oh, I like it fine, Gertrude." She replied, "But I just wish I hadn't come here in such a sad state."

"As do I. But, you can't change it!"

"You're right. Say-"

At that moment, Billy took off, flying down and bowling over a small, white bird that had hopped out of the bushes. It must have gotten scared, because it ran behind Janet.

I called the hen over, saying that Billy was a big feather-brain, and that he ought to lose his spurs. I got a closer look at the hen, she was about one wing-feather high, and had all white feathers except for a few black dotting her chest. She was beautiful, and alone.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Paris." The hen clucked, "I'm an American Semma. My breed is from Malaysia. I....kind of got separated from my rooster, Smore. Can you help me?"

"Of course!" I clucked, and then asked Janet, "Do you know of any place she could've come from?"

"Maybe. There's a farm about 50 coop-lengths that way." She motioned with her beak. "I've seen it once; it has three coops, one orange, one green, and one yellow. It has-"

"Yes! Yes! That's it!" Paris chirped. "We were out, free-range, you know. And we got chased by this dog! You see, I'm new here, just got here two sunrises ago with Smore. So, I flew off and didn't know which way to go. And, I wound up here." She shuffled her wings, embarrassed.

"I know what you can do." I said. "Wait here until Farmer comes, then he'll take you inside, and call everyone he knows. You'll be home in no time!"

"Alright! Thanks! Hey, I don't even know your names!"

"Well, I'm Gertrude McCluck, this feather-brain is Billy, and this is my friend, Janet."

"I came here not long ago." Janet explained. "I got left behind when the rest of my flock left. I came here."

"Oh...that's sad!" Paris sympathasized.

"Not really." Janet said, "Because now I have good friends!"

"Good point!" Paris clucked. "Well, here comes your farmer. See you later, I guess!"

We all clucked our good-byes, and Paris got picked up by Farmer. We saw here and Smore twice more that month, and they continue to come back. As for me, I'll never forget how I met the smallest chicken breed in person.

Astral Adventure

By Alexander Goldberg, Virginia

Alexander Goldberg and friend

"This is Gertrude McCluck on Moon Rocket, calling Earth," said Gertrude. "Are your receiving me, I repeat, are you receiving me?"

"This is Rowena Edgecomb at the High Hen Observatory Rocket Center to Moon Rocket, receiving you loud and clear."

"There are reports of a possible local attack from the Saint Canary Academy so be on the lookout for their CHASER craft.

"Okay, crew," said Gertrude over the intercom, "Team One, report to the control room. Team Three, report to the look out and security check points. Team Two report to your bunks for sleeping shift. Any questions?"

...Time passes...

"Attention all Astro Chickens! We've landed. Everyone up! Meeting in the control room!," called Gertrude over the intercom.

As the crew headed to the meeting, Soren noticed Marcus had a glazed look in his eyes. He looked strange - not himself at all. Soren immediately realized that Marcus's will must have been taken over by the dastardly fiends at the Saint Canary Academy.

When the crew had assembled, Gertrude gave them their orders.

"Team One is first out of the ship. Team Two... three of you should be fine for the look out and security points. The other two will take care of the control room. Team Three - sleep shift. But first, a visit to the feed room! Be ready to go in a half hour."

After the meeting, Soren approached Gertrude and told her what he had seen in the hallway.

"I know I saw that terrible look on his face," said Soren.

"I don't doubt that you did," said Gertrude, "but go on ahead and get something to eat and some sleep. I'll notify the Rocket Center and ask for their orders."

Later, when Team Three woke up, they found themselves in chains along with most of Team Two - all of them except for Marcus.

"Oh my gosh," said Robin, "I can't believe he fooled us so easily!"

"Uh, what's happening," said Athena, "I mean, why are we in chains?"

"Marcus and fourteen others from Saint Canary Academy took over the rocket" said Anna. "They are waiting for Team One to return to finish the takeover. Then they will ‘dispose' of us and take our ship for themselves."

"And Team One is due any minute now," groaned Gertrude, "Where is Rocket Center? We're out of options."

Just then, Team One entered... in chains.

"Now we use the CHASER to space them," said one of their captors. "Go on, get in!"

The Astro Chickens were forced inside of the CHASER and it was launched. Once away from the launch, the doors to the CHASER began to open.

"Oh no!" thought Gertrude, "We are going to be sucked out into space!"

Gertrude had a falling sensation and woke up with a thud on the barn floor under her roost.

"Well," thought Gertrude, "that was one weird dream." And off she went to see what tasty bits might be found in the garden.

Rain. The Story of a Gray Blue Easter Egger

By Anna Grapengeter, Colorado

Anna Grapengeter preparing incubator Below: Rain, her gray-blue Easter Egger.

A loud, earsplitting screech broke the evening silence. Rain, a blue-gray Easter Egger hen had been dozing in the nesting boxes, when Gertrude McCluck, a Buff Orpington hen, screeched a loud warning. " Dogs! The dogs are loose!" She darted across the shavings of the coop, and scrambled up the ladder that leads into the nesting boxes. Her golden feathers fluffed up as she hopped into her nest. The rest of the flock scattered, while two dogs were pacing back and forth, trying to figure a way inside the coop. The coop was inside a large yard the shape of a circle, a big wire and wood fence enclosing them. Rain hopped out of her nest. The other hens looked at her awkwardly, knowing that an Easter Egger broody was very rare. Rain sat on her own green eggs, a brown one from a Rhode Island Red and a few white ones from a Leghorn. Every day the nesting boxes were filled. Leghorns, they lay almost every day, over 300 a year. You can buy Leghorn eggs in stores, they are the most common layers of those white eggs. Rain slid down the ladder and landed next to Oliver, the flock's rooster. He was a huge Easter Egger rooster, his spurs were very long and sharp, always winning the fights. He was calm, "no need to worry, they are both outside the fence, but be very cautious while you are outside." He raised his voice, "it's all safe, you may all head back outside."

The flock slowly spread out in the grass outside. "Those are big dogs!" Rain thought, but ignored them and turned to relax for a bit. She had been sitting on her eggs for 20 days. At 21 days the eggs usually hatched, so she had to wait one more day.

"So close," she thought, and turned back into the coop. She jumped into the nesting boxes as Gertrude McCluck was turning her own eggs. Buff Orpingtons, Rain knew, where quite often broody and in the way. Rain fluffed up and sat on her beloved eggs. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. The next day she woke up late, the sun was up, and it was already hot outside. Instantly Rain got up and checked her eggs.

Four of her six eggs had big holes, a little tooth hung on the end of one of the chick's beaks. This allowed her to break open the egg, called the egg tooth. An hour later, the four eggs hatched fully. There were two Easter Eggers, one White Leghorn and one Rhode Island Red. They were fully dry and fluffy. "Mother," the Rhode Island peeped. Rain was silent and found out her other eggs were rotten. So she pushed them out of the nest. She settled on her chicks, they peeped, and one poked its head out from under her, deep in sleep. She fluffed up, she was a mother and she was proud.

Got Eggs?

By Kristen Holeyfield, Arkansas

Kristen Holeyfield & Runt

It's summer again, and something suspicious happened this year. Molly and Polly were constantly clucking about how they were planning to have chicks, and Star Bright was bragging right along with them. While they were doing that, I noticed Runt sadly ambling into the coop. I guess I can't blame her. She has been waiting to have chicks her whole life.

Anyway, today around noon Star Bright, Polly, and Molly claimed they lost one of their eggs. So, I sent out orders to each hen after I called for a meeting. "Susie, check the coop in case the egg was misplaced." "Henry, look in the bushes." "Runt.....Where's Runt?" All the hens, and guineas blasted off screaming, "Runt!!!!"

She had never run off like this, and she'd never missed a meeting! I thought that she would be by Little Girl Dog's food bowl trying to sneak a peck-full of food. I was so worried I did not notice Little Girl come up behind me. Suddenly, Little Girl Dog snapped at my head! She missed my head but got some of my tail feathers as I tripped on my feet and went rolling away. Whew! That was a close call!

That night we still had not found Runt or the hens' eggs. I watched the twilight fade into darkness while Star Bright cried herself to sleep. I couldn't handle failing this! I got up out of my warm nest and searched outside the coop. I needed to get out of the pen, so like a dog; I started digging by the side of the pen. The noise awoke all the hens and roosters.

Sunny questioned me angrily, "What in the chicken coop are you doing?"

I responded proudly, "Finding Runt and the missing eggs!"

Star Bright, Polly, and Molly asked, "Can we help?"

While the rest left, Star Bright, Molly, and Polly helped me dig. We crawled under the pen and began to search. We searched all night with no clues! Then we heard Henry crow. Suddenly, we saw something scooting out of the woods. It was Runt! We raced toward her and spotted three eggs. Runt had one blue egg and two while eggs.

She explained, "I'm so sorry! I just wanted some chicks so badly that I stole your eggs. I couldn't help myself! I brought them back because I knew they were rightfully yours. You must love them bunches." Runt seemed pitiful. I knew she felt awful.

Star Bright stepped forward and said, "You're forgiven. I will be glad to share my egg with you." Molly and Polly did the same. Tiredly, we all walked back to the coop.

All was happy when we came back. Not a chicken "bak" about Runt stealing the eggs.

Later that summer Runt had three baby chicks. She smiled proudly at her precious babies. She was very thankful for the loving community that had shared their eggs and allowed her to become a mother.

Gertrude Mc Cluck's High Flying Adventure

By Foster Howe, Pennsylvania

"Roosters and gentle hens, we will be arriving shortly, so strap yourselves down. Please watch your chicks. Thank you." Click.

"Hear that Babs? We're almost there. And you thought we were going to crash!"

Babs's comb flushed.

"I was not worrying about crashing. I was worrying about something else," said Babs coldly. "Apparently, the Farmer lost money on some egg sales. Some pullets laid a few no-yolk eggs and the customers are mad. That, and the price of feed, when we get home, we might be lunch!"

"Hold that thought Babs. It looks like the C.I.C. has to solve an argument," I said.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too, and you know it!" chirped a feisty little Bantam. (Though, really, all Bantams are little.)

"What's going on here?" I asked loudly.

"She won't admit that the treasure of Dominique is real!" said the loud one.

"What is this treasure" asked Babs inquiringly.

"Supposedly, the great rooster, Dominique foun-"

"STOP! Isn't that a breed of chicken?" I asked.

"Named for him, of course. Anyways, he founded a trading post on modern Guatemala City. That much is fact," said the disbelieving one, frostily.

"But according to legend, he found a great treasure of gold, grass and feed in a cave only open every 1,000 years in 1011," squeaked the loud one.

"So you mean it's open now?! We could go get it Gertrude!" said Babs.

We thanked them, and upon arrival, we headed for the city.

"I'm hungry," complained Babs annoyingly.

"What else is new?" I muttered under my breath. "Go find some grass."

So as I looked through the dense grass, I saw a glimmer.

"Hey Babs! Come here!"

She waddled over. She looked at it. But then -THUMP!!!

"Well, look at this. You hens found the treasure. Mr. Dominique won't be pleased," said an evil- looking fox. He had black fur, golden claws, and razor-sharp teeth.

"W...who are you?" asked Babs.

"Why, I am... the Fox of DOOM!!!" Lightning struck the ground twice. "GO NOW!"

We were suddenly home. Babs looked at me. I looked back.

"So close," she said.

"Well Babs, I have to tell you something. I took some gold just before that fox creep showed up. I figured we didn't have much time after the THUMP.

So the next morning, the farmer came to collect eggs, and found some gold lumps instead. Once he traded it in for money, the farm was normal again (or at least as normal as it ever was).

Gertrude's Big Scare

By Elyse Johnson, California

Elyse Johnson training her chicken.

My breath stuck in my throat. My heart stopped. I froze. The pitter-patter of my feet stopped.
A dark shadow loomed over by the bush. I strained my eyes, trying to see what it was.

Suddenly, it dashed across the pen area and disappeared behind the hen house.
The words, "Predator!", "Run!", and "Gertrude, go! Run for safety's sake, McCluck!" were swimming inside my head. A noise, that sounded more like it came from a chicken, came from behind the hen house. I frowned. "Should I? Or shouldn't I?" I mumbled. Should I go look, or should I run?
Curiosity won.

Hesitantly, I tiptoed towards the chicken coop. I held my breath and peeked around the corner. Just as I did, the stranger turned around and all I saw was a foot flying towards my face! We both let out a yelp. I nearly jumped out of my feathers! Quick as a wink, I ducked back behind the corner. My legs buckled, plopping me down on the ground. In my head, I replayed the happenings that just took place.

It was a rooster! A black rooster. I jumped as his head popped around the corner. I could hear the Silver Leghorns and Welsummer pullets making a racket from inside the hen house.

I stared at the rooster. "Who are you?" I asked. He blinked. "The name, Cluck Norris, and I'm a Java rooster," He answered. "And you?"

I stood up and stretched. "I am Gertrude McCluck, and I'm a Buff Orpington. You're new here." His wattles shook when he nodded.

"Come on." I yawned. "I'll show you around. Just don't scare me again. I'm too old for this."

As I led Cluck Norris around my 19 acre chicken yard, he told me all about his exciting tales of chasing predators, and saving many poultry lives.

Because of our short legs, we arrived back at the hen house just as dawn broke.

For a minute we just sat there and stared at the sunrise, absorbing the beauty of it. The sun peeked over the hill like a gold coin. In the east, the sky was streaked with brilliant shades of pink, orange and yellow.

Finally I got up and dusted myself off. "Come on, let's get a move on," I called to the black rooster.

We hid behind the hen house while the farmer unlocked and opened the door. Chickens came pouring out, squabbling and pushing each other in their usual manner. The two of us joined them for a much needed breakfast.

That night, I slept well, knowing that from now on I didn't have to worry about predators, as long as we had Cluck Norris!

Mr. McCluck Saves the Day

By Priyanka Johnson, Virginia

Priyanka Johnson. Below: Investigator Gertrude McCluck, who is really Priyanka's rooster.

One day, on a cold, rainy night, Gloria sat with her father on their small couch in their warm, little mouse house below the Johnson's large, green porch. As the rain was making loud pitter- patter noises on the pavement road, little mouse Gloria watched in amazement as her new ballerina mouse toy danced across their kitchen table gracefully. When Gloria's toy was finished dancing, she hugged her father tightly saying, "Thank you father! Oh, thank you for making me this wonderful toy!" Father mouse lifted her onto his lap and said, "Your welcome Gloria."

As the young mouse slipped off her father's lap, she gasped and screamed as she stared through her house's only window. Her father ran to where she was standing and saw a dark figure of a bat through the window. The bat smiled at them devilishly, and at that instant, the bat threw a rock at the window. As the bat was breaking and throwing rocks at the window, father mouse quickly hid his precious daughter in the wooden cupboard located above their small, glass stove.

When the bat finally created a hole big enough to fit through the shattered, glass window, the bat jumped through the hole and stabbed the father mouse in the heart with a medium sized shattered piece of glass. The bat put his ear to the dead mouse body lying on the floor, and smiled.

Suddenly, right when the bat heard the sound of police cars, he jumped through the hole in the shattered, glass window, and ran as fast as he could to a large, black crack in the pavement road, and jumped inside. The police cars stopped abruptly. Then there was a shout inside of one police car for all the police officers to come out of their cars. Investigator Gertrude McCluck stepped out of one of the vehicles, and ran inside the small mouse house.

As he searched everywhere for a living creature or mouse, he finally heard a young mouse's cry from inside a cupboard above a glass stove. He opened the cupboard and found a young little mouse with tears dripping down her small, beady eyes. As McCluck listened to the mouse's cry, he heard her mumble, "Why did that bat kill my father? Why?" Investigator McCluck felt sorry for the young mouse and carried her out of the house, and into one of the police cars.

After a two-hour drive, McCluck entered into his house, and rested the young mouse on his large, red velvet couch. Mr. McCluck waited patiently as the mouse recovered and described to him what had happened before the police arrived. After collecting the information that Gloria had told him, he then told his wife to take care of the mouse while he searched for the bat who killed the little mouse's father.

Searching and searching, the noble Investigator McCluck finally found a large crack in the pavement where the bat must have crept in after he had killed Gloria's father. As McCluck looked inside the crack, he found a ladder leading to the bottom of the hole. After he climbed the ladder and reached the bottom of the hole, he heard one bat laughing continually and saying, "Finally I killed that stupid old toy maker! He deserved it too. Beating an old bird like me with an iron rod for just stealing money from an old mouse is no way to treat a bat."

McCluck walked slowly and listened carefully to the bat talking about the old mouse he killed. Suddenly, McCluck jumped in front of the bat that was sitting on a wooden chair, and said," You are under arrest bat!" McCluck cuffs the bat's wings together, and throws him in jail for a life's sentence. Later on in the story, McCluck adopts Gloria as if she was his own.

The Case of Stinky Sally

By Rachel Knaub, Arizona

Hi! It's me again. Gertrude McCluck C.I.C. (Chicken in Charge) of Gerney Acres Farm. I love solving mysteries with my friends and trusty spyglass. The case began when I was walking back and forth form the chicken coop and smelled something funny. It didn't smell like anything I had smelled before. Whatever it was, it was stinking up the farm. Then I heard something. It was Babs the chicken. Babs always had a tale to tell so I kept listening. Babs was talking to her chicken friends Rose and Chick-a-dee.

"Hey Chick-a-dee," said Babs.

"What," said Chick-a-dee.

"I heard that there's a stink monster on Gerny Acres Farm," said Babs. Babs kept talking to Chick-a-dee and Rose, but I wasn't listening. I, Gertrude McCluck, must solve this case.

So I went to one of my most trusted and sleepiest agents, Skittles the dog. Skittles was a dachshund with legs just six inches long. "Hey Skittles, have you seen or smelled anything peculiar lately?" I asked.

"Everybody sees me from the back porch, and I smell just fine," said Skittles.

"No! No! No! Not you. Gerny Acres Farm," I said.

"Oh, Gerny Acres Farm. Well, Gerny Acres Farm does have a strong stench, but I don't know what it is," said Skittles. "But I do know something that Cleocatra the cat said to me. She said that there's a stink monster on Gerny Acres Farm and said it was me," said Skittles in a drowsy voice.

"Well, I'll leave you to sleep," I said, and I went off to get some other clues.

I went to one of my other agents, Hermes the horse. Hermes was in the pasture all day so he could have seen something.

"Hermes, did you see or smell anything suspicious?" I asked.

"Billy and Bobby were stealing my grass today, those bad goats," said Hermes. "I also saw something black and white in the grass today," said Hermes.

"Okay. Thanks, Hermes," I said, but Hermes didn't hear me. He had already gone back to eating grass.

I investigated all over the farm, but I couldn't find any more clues. Just then I smelled something. It was really stinky. I took a couple steps forward, then another, then another, then another. The scent was getting stronger. Finally, I was at the entrance to a hole. Then I heard a sound from some bushes. A small black and white animal came out of the bushes. Wait a second, I remember seeing this animal in a picture. Could it be true? The animal was a skunk!

The skunk's name was Sally. Sally had two baby skunks. Sally was black with two white stripes down her back. Sally was shy but protective of her kits. If an animal tried to harm her kits, she just sprayed a stinky liquid at them.

"Can you remember some animals you sprayed?" I asked.

"Well, I sprayed a dog that chased and barked at me. Then I sprayed a cat, and a very rude cat she was," said Sally. Thanks to me, Gertrude McCluck, the farm was peaceful once again.

The Mysterious Sound

By Hosanna Konsavage, Kentucky

Hosanna Konsavage & Haircut, her Polish chicken.

I, Gertrude McCluck, was heading to the chicken coop when I heard the noise. It was time for bed, and I knew that farmer Andy would not miss me if I didn't show up. So I waited until I heard the noise again.

"Cluck-a-roo-roo!"

"OW!" That sound hurt my ears. It sounded like a dying or sick rooster!

"Hmm...I think I'll investigate." I said as I grabbed my magnifying glass and leather, detective pouch. I searched where the sound came from until I came to the rippling stream. I looked around every stone, bush, and tree, but all I found was a smooth, black feather that I thought might belong to a Black Giant or a Black Australorp. I tucked it into my detective pouch for safe keeping...It might be a helpful clue. Then I searched in every tree, but all I saw was a grey squirrel and something I thought was a medium-sized bird. It looked a lot like a chicken, but I knew they were all sleeping. Sleep...that word made me tired. Maybe I could just take a little nap...

"Cluck-a-roodle-roo!"

"What!" I woke with a start. "What in the world was that?!" It sounded like the other calls, but this one sounded a little more like a rooster. I looked around and noticed the beautiful sunset. Then I looked up and saw Smokey, the young Black Australorp, sitting on a branch of the oak tree above me.

"What do you think you're doing!? It's not time to be out of the chicken coop!" I yelled.
Smokey nearly toppled over. "I was jjjust practicing my, um, rooster ccall," He stammered. "I'm sssory to wwake you."

"You don't need to be able to do a rooster call yet! You're too young!" I wanted to say, but instead I said, "You're doing great! Let me hear you again!"

"Okay, cock-a-doodle-doo! Wow! I did it! Now I'm a real rooster!" exclaimed Smokey excitedly.
"Gertrude I'm a real rooster!"

"Yes!" I replied, remembering my joy when I laid my first egg!

I have never met a mystery that was too hard for me, Gertrude McCluck, to solve!

Unique Crow

By Anna Kruschner, Tennessee

Anna Kruschner & Mr Frodo

I was watching a cricket intently, getting ready for the jab. "Alright girl," I thought, "You've got one shot. Better make it good." I gathered myself together, crouched down, and...

"Gertruuude!"

Startled, I slammed my beak into the ground, several inches away from the bug. Ruefully, I watched the cricket jump away. Then I turned to see who had allowed my snack to escape.

In front of me stood a small mass of fur-like feathers, with a beak sticking out of what seemed to be a head.

"Oh, it's you, Orville," I said, recognizing the young Blue Silkie Bantam rooster. "What do you need?"

"It's been fourteen weeks since my hatch day!" he said excitedly, flapping his wings.

"That didn't seem a good enough reason for me to lose my cricket." I thought.

He jumped up and down impatiently. "It's time! I'm ready to crow! I can feel it!"

Maybe I could handle the loss of my cricket for something as important as that! "I'll gather the hens together, and we'll meet at the big rock, OK?"

He nodded happily and ran off.

For the next fifteen minutes I told all the hens about the big event. Then I flew over to where Orville nervously stood by the big rock. I glanced over the crowd gathering. "Let's see, there's Penny, Amber, Emma, Sylvia, Claire...Hum...Hmmm...Yep, looks like everyone's here.

"You ready?" I asked Orville.

He gulped, and then awkwardly squawked, "Yes."

I flapped my wings to get everyone's attention. "Hens and pullets, chicks and...and...well, rooster," I said looking at Orville, "Our friend here, Orville, is here to sound his first crow!"

There was loud applause. I stood still, enjoying my moment. Then when the clapping died away, I nodded to Orville and he hopped onto the big rock. Everyone hushed. He took a deep breath, and out came - Croak-a-croak-ee-doo! Everyone tittered, and poor Orville got red in the face. He tried again, but all that would come out was a deep croak. Everyone burst out laughing.

"Time for the C.I.C. to step in," I murmured to myself.

"Hold it!" I squawked, and jumped up beside embarrassed Orville. "That was a fine crow - for a Silkie rooster!" All the hens quieted down to listen. "Doesn't anyone here know anything about Silkies?" I could hear the chirping of the crickets. In other words, silence.

"Well, it's about time you did! All roosters like Orville here," I patted his back, "have a unique crow! It is one they should be proud of! Just think, with a rooster that is so much quieter than most roosters, the humans won't yell at us at 4:30 in the morning anymore! So I say, keep up the good work, Orville!"

Being done with all my exclamations, I stalked off toward the coop.

From that day on, Orville struts around the yard, crowing once in a while, and all the hens admire him for it. I say that the C.I.C. did a good day's work.

Note: this story is based on an actual historical occurrence. Thomas Alva Edison did go to a hen house to watch an ellipse and all the chickens came in with him!

The Day of the Eclipse

By Grace Malinoski, Indiana

Cock-i-doodle-do! Cock-i-doodle-do!! COCK-I-DOODLE-DOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Gertrude McCluck stirred and sighed with irritation. This rowdy new rooster had taken over the coop, and seemed intent on rousting all the hens out of a cozy sleep. She decided to get up and eat some breakfast before all the chickens arrived at the feeder in a feeding frenzy.

After breakfast, the hens began to lay eggs, search for bugs, and talk. Not one of them seemed to notice the strange person coming into the yard, except our friend Gertrude.

This person was in fact Thomas Alva Edison, who had come to observe a natural phenomenon, known as an eclipse. He had chosen the hen house/yard as the ideal place to watch it.

Gertrude (being the chicken in charge) decided to ask Pearl (one of the guinea hens) what Pearl thought of this large human. Pearl squawked with irritation and said, "It's a shame that our coop be ruthlessly invaded by strange humans!"

Gertrude replied soothingly, "I'll just check him out, and I'm sure you're over-reacting, Pearl. There's no need to get your feathers all out of whack."

Pearl wasn't listening and she continued on loudly, "He could be here to butcher us! My comb is shaking with the possibility! Let's alert all the hens to the danger!"

By this time, all the hens in the coop were coming over by Gertrude and Pearl and the human was in the hen house.

"What's going on, Gertrude?" asked Hilda, the Leghorn hen.

"Can't a bird get a quick breakfast in this coop without a guinea hen squawking her head off?!" yelled the irritable Bantam Ada.

" Did some hen say BUCHERING!!!" cried Yvette, Pearl's sister.

"BE QUIET!!" shouted Gertrude.

"Now, don't over-react, and I'll find out about him soon," she continued. "He hasn't even looked at us."

Suddenly, a dark cloud spread over the sky and the sun started to disappear. All the chickens began to head towards the hen house, still commenting on the human and the early nightfall. Then the sun was completely hidden in a total solar eclipse.

With all the hens in the coop, Thomas Edison was rather crowded, but he stayed in and watched the eclipse. After a while the sun peeked out and the rooster crowed again. Then the sky cleared up and Thomas Alva Edison left. All the chickens woke up and began their day anew.

Sage Meadows & Buttercup

Gertrude McCluck Adventure Story

By Sage Meadows, California

It was evening. I had just finished a dust bath and was shaking off when I noticed that Harriet wasn't there. I went over to Babs, "Have you seen Harriet lately?", I asked.

"The last time I saw her, she was over by the compost bucket," replied Babs, lazily and unworried.

I was concerned but I told myself not to worry. She'd show up when it was time to go into the coop for the night.

An hour went by and then it started to get dark. We headed to the coop and I stood at the door and
counted to make sure we were all here. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7... Harriet was missing! "I'll be right back," I called to my friends.

I ran into the middle of the yard and yelled "Harriet, where are you?" I heard a reply in one corner of the yard. The reply had come from a bush! I ran to it and called "Harriet?" There she sat looking scared but determined on what looked like fifteen eggs. "Oh Harriet, what are you doing?"

"I have to sit on my eggs or they'll die," she said.

I sighed. "Harriet, come to the coop. If you stay here a raccoon or a coyote will sniff you out and eat you and your eggs. You should lay in the coop. It's a lot safer and probably more comfy. Besides, those eggs aren't fertilized so they won't hatch."

She sighed. "Oh Gertrude, I know you're right. It's just so hard to leave my poor eggs."

"I know it is Dearie," I said. "Come on girl." We had to hurry because the light was fading fast and we can't see in the dark.

Once back at the coop with Harriet I counted again. Eight. We were all here. Knowing that, I could sleep soundly through the night.

Chickens in Space

By Rachel Moore, Tennessee

One day Gertrude McCluck said to her friends ,Pearl and Babs, "Guess what guys! I made something that will take us to Mars!"

"Really!?" asked Pearl.

"How?" said Babs.

"Well, I read a book and found the instructions on how to build a space ship," said Gertrude.

"So, what are we waitin' for? Let's go!" Babs clucked.

"Yes, let's!" agreed Pearl.

So Gertrude took her friends to Mars. When they got there Pearl said, "Why am I sneezing?"

Babs said, "Because Mars is covered in red dust."

All of a sudden they saw alien chickens. Pearl and Babs screamed, "Ahhh! Help!"

Just then one of the alien chickens said, "Ms. McCluck, we get Backyard Poultry and we read you can solve any mystery."

"True," she said. "I can."

"Great!" said the other. "Maybe you can help us."

"Okay, I'll try."

"Well ever since we were chicks, we've wanted big combs like yours; but, we got these flat ones instead. Why?"

What did she tell them?

Answer: She told them that some chickens (even aliens) get flat combs called pea combs, others get big combs called single combs, and some get combs that are named after flowers.

When the alien chickens heard this, they were happy and invited Gertrude, Pearl, and Babs for lunch. Later Gertrude and her friends went home.

Gertrude McCluck Chicken In Charge

By Sarah Mossad, Florida

BOY I am hungry. Me too, it's not but it's not feeding time yet.

Hey kids. Hey Mr. and Mrs. Cluck, what you all doing?

Well we sure are hungry but it's not feeding time yet.

You know if they feed us too much we could get well umm ( Fat ) and no one wants a fat chicken so kids you have to wait for your time to eat, let me tell you a story when I was just a baby chick my owners would throw food all the time I got a little husky I have that thing in my brain that tells me too eat before the others chickens get it so don't be a fat chicken just wait for to your feeding time.

Hi Mom, hello Gertrude.

Mom I'm hungry! GERTRUDE do not shout at me! You just have to wait like all the other hens.

FEEDING TIME! (says Gertrude's best friend) All the chicken ran for the feed!
As all the chickens ran for the feed Gertrude stepped on something. "Eww what did I step on?" (looks at foot )

Gertrude looked straight as a little chicken was about to cry.

Ohh I'm so sorry I, I didn't mean to. That was my first egg.

I am so, so sorry, You're going to have a bunch more though.

It's okay, I know you didn't mean to.

So what is your name? I've never seen you in this barn.

I was just transferred from Australia.

Gertrude McCluck and the Stinky Egg Mystery

By Ashleigh Nuce, Michigan

Ashleigh Nuce's chicken

Once Upon a Time, Gertrude McCluck was drowsily sleeping on her roost when she suddenly heard a piercing squawk from below-

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!! Where are my eggs!!? Where are my eggs!!?"

It was Peaches, a gorgeous broody Buff Orpington hen like Gertrude herself.

"What happened, Peaches?" Gertrude asked.

"I only got up for a moment to take a quick drink and a bite of food and when I got back, three of my 7 handsome pinkish-brown eggs were missing! Don't you see why I am so horribly upset? You must believe me!!! Oh, please, please, PLEASE get my eggs back Gertrude! I f anyone can, YOU can!

You're the best detective EVER!!!" she squawked hysterically.

"It'll be fine, I believe you, just settle down, Peachy." Gertrude already had her trusty magnifying glass out in her wing. As she searched the coop near the box where Peaches had worriedly settled herself onto her 4 remaining eggs, she presently noticed a few fragments of shells leading to the hen-door.

"Does something reek or is it just me?" Peaches asked Gertrude.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Gertrude felt her primary coverts rustle. She desolately turned to Peaches and said, "I don't think I can recover your eggs."

What had happened to the eggs?

Answer: The eggs had been stolen by a skunk which left a little bit of fetid odor. Skunks love eggs but will hardly ever mess with hens. They are very sly fellows! After Gertrude and Peaches locked the door up tight, they returned to their nests and fell asleep. The next day, they cleaned the hay out and happily watched David, Benjamin, Nichole, and Lydia hatch out.

Gertrude McCluck and the Christmas Goose

By Jacinta Ohnheiser, Texas

There was a large blizzard during the night. The howling of the wind kept Babs awake. She peeked outside the henhouse and saw a shadow swoop overhead. Restless, she hopped off from her roost. Babs blinked several times muttering to herself, "I've stayed up too long. My eyes are playing tricks on me." Babs then soon discovered that Franz was missing.

Early the next morning Gertrude woke to find Babs pacing back and forth in the henhouse. "What's the matter Babs?" Babs stopped pacing and looked to Gertrude. "Franz is missing!" she said. Gertrude hopped off her roost. "Let's ask Warbeak the Cuckoo Marans rooster to help us search for Franz." "Warbeak is still asleep." They ran out of the henhouse to get help from Warbeak.

The music "Morning Moods" from the play "Peer Gynt" by Edvard Grieg was playing. The tranquil atmosphere was shattered. Gertrude and Babs burst into his coop squawking. Warbeak gave a loud squawk in reply. In alarm, he fell from his roost. "Franz is gone!" cried Gertrude. "Franz is missing," cried Babs. Warbeak sleepily suggested, "Let's go search in the wood." The three of them hurried toward the forest. Ludwig the plow horse, called to them as they passed by, "Be careful out there. The snow is very deep!"

Gertrude, Babs, and Warbeak had walked the forest for hours. Much to their relief a clearing could be seen up ahead. They went across as quickly as they could when suddenly, there was an ear splitting crash. Gertrude looked down. She saw a very big crack in the ground, which was over a fishpond. Water was rapidly seeping through. Gertrude shouted, "Run!" She took off like an arrow with Babs right behind her. Warbeak jogged closely lagging behind. It was difficult for the heavy rooster, but he managed to make it to the other side of the frozen fishpond before the ice cracked completely through.

Gertrude thought she had heard a goose honk. Franz the Embden gander had overheard the farmer and his wife talking about inviting their city friends over for a Christmas feast. Franz was to be the main course. Franz escaped. He flew off to a large forest which was to the east of the farm. He found shelter there and stayed away. Gertrude looked up. Franz was flying down from the window of an old shed. Landing noisily next to Gertrude, he greeted them happily with more honking. Gertrude wearily retorted, "We have been worried looking for many hours to find you." Franz frighteningly replied, "I'm going to be Christmas dinner!" Just then, Brigitta, Franz's cousin who secretly followed the trio called to Franz. "Don't worry Franz! The farmers Christmas dinner guest are "vegetarians." The dinner menu had to be changed."
Hearing the good news they all went back to the farm. Gertrude, Babs, Warbeak, Franz, and Brigitta sang "O Tanenbaum" as they returned through the snow.

Chelsey Olauson with her brother and Dominique hen. Below: Chelsey Olauson's ducks

I love reading, writing, taking pictures, 4-H, animals and my family. I have two brothers and my mom and dad. I have 25 Buff Orpington chicks, one Dominique hen, seven cattle, two horses, three sheep, two geese and seven ducks. I also have five cats.

The Case of the Night Burglar

By Chelsey Olauson, North Dakota

I, Gertrude McCluck, am on the trail of a criminal. I run closer behind him. I reach out a wing. Almost there...Briiiing! The shrill sound of an alarm clock breaks through my dream.

"Drat!" I exclaim, "I almost caught the criminal!"

"Sorry, but I have to go to school Gertrude," May said.

"The bus is here May!" Mary, May's mother, yells up the stairs. May hurriedly got dressed.

"Bye! Don't get in any trouble today!" May yells to me. The day stretched before me, long, warm, and boringly devoid of excitement. Mary is banging around downstairs in the kitchen and muttering. I can't here her, so I press my ear to the floor.

I hear Mary say, "I could've sworn I put Gertrude's favorite mealworm cookies over here." I suddenly can't hear her. I press my ear even tighter to the floor. I moved around trying to pick up a sound. May's bedroom door swings open. Mary walks in and sees me on the floor.

"Uh, Gertrude, are you okay?" she asks me.

"Yep I'm okay!" I said, rocketing up off the floor, "Just tying my shoes!" I fibbed. We both glanced down at my three-toed talons.

"Okay then," said Mary, and she walked out of May's bedroom, "I was just getting you up. You will have to have some cereal, because the cookies I made you disappeared last night."

"Oh really?" I said. I smelled a mystery! I decided to use some of this long, warm and no longer devoid of excitement day to catch the culprit.

After I ate, I ran out the door. Mary called after me, "Don't forget to tie your shoes!"

"Ha, ha, very funny!" I yelled. I kept my detective kit in the barn. My detective kit was comprised of a magnifying glass, a bottle of water, a color chart of animal fur that I made, and a couple of cookies. The cookies were provisions in case I had to do a stakeout.

I went to the kitchen with my magnifying glass out. I saw a clod of mud and a tuft of grayish fur. I saw a trail of mud that ended at the window. I pushed open the window and saw the huge sycamore tree that had a big knothole in the front. I saw something move in the knothole. Suddenly everything clicked. That night I set a trap and did a stakeout. I left my mealworm cookies sitting out. Suddenly the window creaked open, letting a cold breeze in. I had been dozing and this woke me up. I gripped my lever tighter. The intruder swung in the window. It reached for the cookies and I pulled the lever. A net swung out of the darkness and captured the intruder. I woke up my family with the racket I was making.

"It was a raccoon. A raccoon had the ability to do this. They eat anything, including my favorite cookies," I said proudly.

And that was the Case of the Night Burglar.

The Case of the Missing Food

By Savannah V. Olsen, Arizona

Hi, Gertrude McCluck here! I am the C.I.C. (Chicken In Charge) at Gerny Acres Farm and today I solved a case. It all started at 7:30 a.m. Since it was Saturday, all the farm animals slept in but when I went to get breakfast, everything was gone! First things first, I went to see my trusty sidekick Skittles the dog to see if he saw anything.

When I arrived at Skittle's spot on the porch, he raced up to me and started babbling about some big, scary, pink monster. So I started asking questions.

"When did you see this monster and what happened?" I asked.

Oh I'd say it was ummmm....about 7:10 this morning. He was a big fellow and he made a scary "eeek!" sound too. If I wasn't here, he would have eaten us all. I chased him with my lightning-fast speed, and he ran faster than a turkey from thanksgiving!" explained Skittles. I got much information from Skittles, but I was going to see if I could get more from Hermes the horse.

I found Hermes by the fence chewing on some grass (since all the hay was gone). "Hi Hermes, have you seen anything strange lately?" I asked.

"Well I did hear about a monster on the loose," he said.

"I know about that but have you seen anything that has to do with the missing food?" I asked.

"Now that I think about it, I did see a trail of food by the barn. I was going to go follow it, but that's when I saw Skittles going crazy about the ‘horrible monster'," Hermes said. Now that I had a clue, I was going to investigate.

When I got to the barn, I saw the trail, but not just any trail. It was a trail made of scratch, and boy was it delicious. When I finished eating the last of the trail, I noticed I was at the neighbor's barn. Past the door I saw the largest pig I had ever seen in my life!

"Hi, I am Gertrude McCluck, the Chicken In Charge at Gerny Acre's Farm."

"Hi there, I am Petunia the pig, I am not in charge of anything, but I am the largest pig in town!" exclaimed Petunia.

Well that explains the monster, I thought. "Have you been around Gerny Acres lately?"

"Matter of fact I have," she said.

"AHA! So you were the one eating everyone's food!" I yelled.

"I am sorry. The farmer forgot to feed me so I snuck out and ate everybody's food," she confessed.

"All is forgiven. Just don't do it again." I said. After that I went back to my coop, and breakfast never went missing again!

Hi! My name is Taylor Opolka. I am 11 years old. My chicken's name is Brah (as in ZEE-BRAH). She is 1-1/2 years old and she is a Barred Rock and her personality is laid back and happy. She likes to lay in the shade and chase bugs. I love her a lot. This story is based on my four chicks; Leggo, Fudgie, Wiggle and Nugget. I wrote it about them being lost because every day when I look for them I can't find them and then they turn up in the oddest places. I hope you enjoy it!

Gertrude McCluck and the Case of the Cheeky Chicks!

By Taylor Opolka, Michigan

Taylor Opolka & her Barred Rock hen, Brah

"What a fun day!" I thought as my fellow clucks and I clambered into the coop and onto the roost. Henrietta and her seven mischievous, fluffy chicks settled inside of one of the nesting crates. A silly little mystery had happened that day and it had been up to the C.I.C. (Chicken In Charge) to solve it. It had all started that afternoon, I was sitting in the yard preening my feathers when I heard a fit of frenzied squawking. I rushed to the ruckus to find none other than Henrietta pacing and looking like she had eaten some rotten corn.

"What is the problem?" I asked Henrietta, who was flapping her wings franticly.

"My chicks!!" she clucked, "My chicks are missing!!" She jumped and flapped and had quite a hissy-fit.

"Calm down, calm down!" I screeched, "I will find your chicks."

"Really?!" she asked, "Oh thank you!" she said. "Their names are LuLu, Leggo, Fudgie, Wiggle, Nugget, Annie and Diabblo." And with that I raced off to find those sly little chicks.

I searched high and I searched low. I found pebbles and bugs, but no chicks. And then I ran into the farms rooster, Big Boy. "Big Boy?" I panted, "Have you seen seven baby chicks scuttling around here?" I asked.

"No, not seven but I did see two running toward the farmers garden," he said. "They were whispering about how scared their mother would be," He continued.

"Thank you very much," I said and sped away to find the rascal hatchlings. I scrambled to the garden to see if the chicks were still there. Then I spotted them, two small yellow puffs sitting in the onion rows, with their little crops full to bursting and their breath stinking of onion. "Hey, you little hatchlings have your mother scared to death!" I squawked, "What were you thinking?"

"We thought it would be funny to scare mommy!" one said, "Right Fudgie?" he continued.

"Right Leggo," she said.

"Well get going back to your mother, she thought you guys got caught by a fox!" I said. And with that the two waddled off to find their mom. Then I ran straight into the grouchy four-year-old hen, Rebecca (AKA Re-PECK-a). "He-hello Rebecca," I stuttered. "Have you seen five chicks?" I asked.

"What do YOUUUU care?!" she snapped flapping her wings and clawing the ground.

"Henrietta's chicks are missing, I found two in the garden," I said.

"I did see three running through the cow pen," she said. Then she stuck up her curved beak and strutted away.

"Thank you!" I called.

"Whatever!" she called back. I scrambled to the cow pen. Racing to the cow pen I kept a close eye out for chicks and saw three sitting on the back of the Collie dog, Bruce, and two in the cow pen. "Go home to your mother, she is worried sick!"

"Fine!" they said in unison and ran home. Thinking of the fun filled day as I dosed off gave me sweet dreams.

Gertrude McCluck's Day Out

By Lauren Parker, Mississippi

"Good morning everybody. I have somebody you might want to meet," said the farmer. Gertrude McCluck opened her eyes.

"Meet Rickey." He put Rickey in the pen. "I'm going to visit my brother this weekend. I better fill your feeders up." He did and left.

"Hi, my name's Gertrude McCluck. Those over there are Eggatha, Duke Strutsmore, Rose, Babs, Chick-a-dee, and our youngest one, Gabby. Everybody, this is..."

"Yea. We know. The farmer just told us. Hi, I'm Rose."

When everyone got acquainted, they all went in the chicken yard.

"Hey, who's that over there?" asked Rickey.

"Oh that's Skittles on the porch."

"Good Morning Gertrude," said Gabby. "Hello Mr. Rickey. Welcome to Gerny Acres. Gertrude, I heard Eggatha wanted to talk to you." Gertrude turned around to Rickey but he was already gone talking to Duke. She went back in the chicken house to talk to Eggatha.

"Gertrude, I'm glad you found me! My egg is gone!"

"What egg?" Gertrude said.

"The egg that I have been sitting on for weeks. Bab's egg is gone too! What are we going to...."

"Sorry to interrupt but Gertrude, is this all of the chickens?" said Rickey curiously.

"Oh no. See those five trees?"

"Yea."

"Well, on the other side is more chickens. We raise the chicks and they make the farmer's breakfast. I'm the Chicken in Charge or CIC over here and Sarah is the CIC over there. Raised her myself."

"I just thought this couldn't be all the chickens. I'll see both of you later."

"OK. Eggatha, calm down. I'll help you find your egg. It probably just got hidden under the straw. Come on. Let's go look."

They looked for ten minutes. "Eggatha, I'm sorry to say, but your egg is not here, but I promise, I'll find it."
"Have either of you seen Gabby or Rickey?" Duke asked frantically.

"I just talked to Rickey a few minutes ago," Gertrude said and then turned to Eggatha, "It's time to get out of the pen." Gertrude jumped up on the roosting post. She leaped at the door, hit the latch, and unlocked the door. When she landed on the ground, she pushed the door open. She went out of the chicken house and started to the porch. When Gertrude reached the porch, she saw Skittles laying on it. "Skittles, we're missing Gabby and our newcomer, Rickey."

"What? No Hello?" Skittles said.

"Hello. Now please help me," said Gertrude.

"I heard Billy and Bobby saw something around their pen, but couldn't get out of the pen to look."

"OK. I'll go check. Thanks!"

"Wait Gertrude. I'm faster. Get on my back." Gertrude got on his back and they were off. When they reached Billy and Bobby, they asked them where they saw the motion.

"It was over there by that bush," said Bobby.

"Thanks!" Gertrude and Skittles crept over to the bush. They heard a voice.

"I know that voice," said Gertrude. They went around the bush. "It's Rickey!"

"Ah Gertrude. I thought you would come." Rickey turned around ,still talking. Gertrude jumped up and landed on Rickey's back. "Before you do anything you regret, you should know I have Gabby and the eggs and I will throw all three of them off a cliff." Gertrude got off quickly.

"What do you want?" said Gertrude.

"You to leave and never come back." Thankfully out of all this, Rickey never saw Skittles. Skittles was slowly sneaking up behind Rickey. Gertrude saw this. She played along.

"Ok, but I want to tell you something."

"What?" asked Rickey.

"Skittles, NOW!!" Skittles jumped on Rickey's wings and feet snarling.

"Now you have two options. One, tell me where Gabby and the eggs are or two, take a walk with Skittles."

"They're behind that tree," said Rickey. Gertrude went to the tree and found Gabby sitting on the eggs tied up. Gertrude untied her.

"I knew if the eggs didn't stay warm, they would not hatch."

"You are one smart chick!" said Gertrude.

"What should I do with this one?" asked Skittles.

"Ship him to Secret Chicken Society." Gertrude turned back to Gabby. "Let's go home. When they reached the chicken yard, they explained what happened and gave Eggatha and Babs their eggs back.

And they all lived happily ever after.

This is based on a true story.

How a Dove's Egg Turned Into a Chicken

By Lilly Raisler, California

One day I went to my mom's friend's house. They had doves, and there were dove eggs. A kid got a dove egg and was going to put it in a warm place at her house to see if it would hatch. I wanted a dove egg to see if it would hatch. I put the egg in my glove before school, and two weeks later I got out of school and my mom said it hatched into two chickens. I looked in my glove and it had tiny shells and my mom gave me the two chickens, they were so cute. They were New Hampshire chickens. It was a blessing that God gave me a dove egg and turned it into two loveable chickens. Now the chickens are two years old, but sadly one died.

The Mystery of the Egg Crook

By Makailee Rodgers, Kentucky

"Baa, Baaa," "Ok, Ok, don't get so excited!" I was over by the sheep's pen asking if I could borrow some of their hay to fix my nest, but it seems like they don't want to share. I was about to ask Bessie the cow when I heard a lot of noise in the hen house. I waddled over to take a look. When I got there, Babs came squawking out of the coop. "Whoa, Whoa, take it easy, what's wrong?" I asked. "When I got back from the party in the barn last night," Babs said, "Mine and Henrietta's nest were missing three eggs." I was thinking it over when I heard "Psst, Psst." I turned and saw that it was a young cockerel. "Shhh", I said, "I'm thinking." "No", said the young cock, "listen to me." I had to figure out this mystery, but it sounded important, so I waddled over and with a "plop" I sat down to listen to his story. "I was out last night instead of at the party and I saw something enter the coop," said the cock, "I entered to ask the hen what she was doing, but I don't think it was a hen." "Why?" I asked. "Because it growled at me," said the cock. "Maybe it was somebody making fun of you," I said. "No it wasn't," he said, "because it was a deep dark growl, chickens don't growl".

I wrote everything down in my notebook. ‘Well, I'm going to go get my breakfast now, I hope you figure it out", said the cock. I watched him for a few minutes, and then I waddled to the coop, where it was quiet, to think this over. I heard a "crunch" sound; I looked down and there on the floor sat the new puppy the farmer had bought. He had two eggs on the floor and one in his mouth. "That puppy is always up to something," I said to myself. "What are you doing," I said. "I'm eating a snack," said the dog. I got an idea. "Were you in the coop last night?" I asked. "Yeah, I played a joke on one chicken," he said, "I scared him and he thought it was some wild animal, it was so funny." You shouldn't be eating our eggs," I said. "Sorry," he said, "I was just hungry." He left the other two eggs on the floor and I set them back on the nest. I went to the barn where everyone was and said it was just the farmer's new dog that ate our eggs and growled at the cockerel.

The Mystery of the Missing Green Beans

By Caight Sager, Virginia

Caight Sager and friend

I was walking in the barnyard when I heard a rer-rer-rer-rer-roo!It was Sedgwick the rooster. I thought, "Oh no a chicken hawk!" But to my relief he was squawking at Penny the goat.

"Stop that racket!" I said.

"But Gertrude, she ate the green beans," Sedgwick croaked.

I said, "Let me talk."

So he flew off. Penny was crying and I asked, "What happened?"

"Oh Gertrude he said I ate the green beans," she stammered. Then she finally said, "He was on garden duty and last night he went to the coop and I went to the stall. Then this morning he started squawking at me!"

"Sounds like I should check on those green beans," I said. So I told Penny to eat her lunch while I went to check on them. I snuck behind Sedgwick, who was watching some robins flutter under the hazelnut tree. Most of the green beans were gone. Suspiciously some had holes. Someone yelled behind me, "GERTU-U-U-U-U-U-UDE" it was Ms. 9 a plump Australorp. What she had to say was predictable, "Sedgwick has been accusing everyone of eating the green beans! Because he saw holes in them he claims they are peck marks."

When did he go back to the coop? He was not out anymore, I thought. It was getting close to dinnertime so everyone, including Sedgwick, was eating. I stole away to the garden and hid under an overturned wheelbarrow. It was dark, but the moon finally came out. What a beautiful full moon it was, then all of a sudden a streak of brown zoomed past me. I had just blinked when I saw a flash of white. "A rabbit of course!" I said.

So in the morning I told everyone the holes were rabbit marks. Then Sedgwick apologized to everyone. But the next morning he started yelling, "What happened to the cucumbers!?"

I thought to myself, "I will be glad when Muffin the rooster goes on garden duty!"

The Journey Into the Forest

By Emily Scally, New Hampshire

It was a warm summer evening. I was watching my chickens from my white, large kitchen window. I noticed a peculiar new addition to my flock, however, it didn't take me long to figure out that it was Gertrude McCluck, but I was wondering how she had gotten into my yard...

To be honest, I was a bit startled when she wasn't frightened when she saw my flock. Most of my flock was on the middle of their molt. When a chicken molts, it is when they lose all of their feathers to gain another set. However, I have three new baby chickens, so they aren't molting, they are just beginning to lay their eggs. So Gertrude met everyone and from what I examined, it seemed as if she didn't have a care for what a chicken or person's appearance is, that what was important was who they were.

After about three to five minutes Gertrude had gotten excited, so it seemed that she wanted to explore and show my flock a little fun. In this taking, she ran as fast as she could and jumped as fast as she could to get to a tree. The tree must've been at least 100 to 120 feet tall. At that point, I slowly and most softly walked out my screen door onto my small dark brown deck. It has an old half full gas grill in the corner. Across there was a floral metal bench that was drenched with water. I tried to be the quietest as I possibly could to try to see what they were doing. Suddenly my chickens were led by Gertrude McCluck into my neighbor's yard. Everywhere they went, I followed. So I ran in my purple, heeled flip-flops across the two-acre yard to get to the neighbor's. My flock was already way ahead. If I wanted to know where they were going I had to catch up.

I was standing on the hill that divided my yard and my neighbor's yard. Their yard was filled with flowers that covered the entire property. Their yard wasn't much bigger than mine, but the view was stunning. The arrangements of flowers were from dark purple balloon flowers to bright orange and red day lilies. I saw that the chickens had moved on, which meant I had to too. However, to get across their yard meant I couldn't be seen, though my chickens didn't have this problem since they walk over almost every day it was like a regular thing. The way their property is was strange to me. The house was a wooden shack of some sort with a big window on the side facing the street. The house is near the street with this giant mass of flowered land behind their house, making it look like the flowers were right behind the house. Luckily there were no windows on the backside of the long wooden house, so I quietly ran across the vast open yard meeting the woods on the other side. Just trying to keep up with the flock was hard enough; not trying to be seen by my weird neighbors was awful. If my neighbors had caught me I would be grounded for life, but that would be the least of my problems. There are many predators out near my property. Animals of all kinds, from fisher cats to foxes and hawks everywhere.

About a quarter mile into the jungle forest like woodlands, I found my flock looking at something as if they were studying it. Creeping in from behind a bush I could see that what they were studying or surveying was none other than just an earthworm. Suddenly one of my chickens, Matilda of course, who probably is the best bug catcher, took the worm and ran past me as I hid more into the bush. All the other chickens in my flock were running as fast as they possibly could to catch up to Matilda. As she ran and ran back across my neighbors' yard, through the thick flowers, over the hill that divides us and back into the coop to eat her tasty snack. Meanwhile, my flock and I were starting to catch up to her; I managed to come in front. Running farther and farther in front, I caught up to Matilda and found out that her tasty snack was not a simple earthworm; it was a snake. I snatched the snake from Matilda's beak and flung it out into my yard and then I gave Matilda a few dried mealworms for a job well done.

Gertrude McCluck, Chicken In Charge

By Elizabeth Sidor, Illinois

Elizabeth Sidor and pet chicken.

I am Gertrude McCluck, detective hen, Chicken In Charge. There aren't always mysteries to solve, but that doesn't mean that nothing ever happens around here either. Why, just last week Molly came puffing into the yard pulling a wagon (with the help of some cocks) and on the wagon was a strange looking box. I wasn't overly surprised, since Molly is an energetic young hen, always wanting to try the newest things.

"What's that?" Pumpkin cried with wonder as she rushed over, followed by her young friends.

"It is a microwave," Molly said grandly. "When I was sick and had to stay in the human's coop, I saw the humans use this to cook their food in seconds. It really is a wonder and," she went on, glad to have an audience of over 20, all with beaks a gap in amazement, "I found this at the junk yard, so it is free to anyone."

She showed the cocks where to unload the plastic box, and then took a cord that came out the back of the microwave and pushed it into some holes in the wall.

"What are you going to do with it now?" Missy cheeped.

"I am going to cook an egg," Molly explained, looking around the room with mischievous eyes. "No, I will cook enough eggs for all of us!"

Following Molly's instructions, we gathered 23 duck eggs (we don't like to eat our own eggs), and placed them on a tray inside the microwave. Molly closed the door, and pressed some buttons. A light went on inside and you could see the eggs going around in a circle.

"You see, they cook right in front of your eyes," Molly said with a wave of her wing towards the machine. All around me, everyone starred in delight. Some even went closer. "Isn't this the most" but her words were cut off by a startling bang that made everyone jump back.

"Watch out!" someone squawked as bits of egg and shell flew everywhere while everyone made a dash for the door. Outside as the bangs continued we looked with wide scared eyes at each other, and then at Molly who was almost weeping.

"I guess the heat made the eggs explode," Peter crowed, "Do you think that's what they mean by scrambled eggs?"

When no more explosions were heard, we all crowded at the door trying to get a look, yet not daring to cross the threshold. Bits of yellow and white were everywhere!

"Sorry Molly," I said, "I am afraid those eggs aren't cooked...they're creamed!" The eggs were eventually cleaned up and I hope Molly has learned that some things are made for humans only!

The Mystery of the Mysterious Box

By Kodi Skeltis, Arizona

Hello, I am Gertrude McCluck, C.I.C. (Chicken In Charge) on Gerney Acres Farm. My loyal companions are Hermes the horse and Skittles, a trusted, but not so intelligent, dog. It takes a fine eye like mine to notice things like boxes and weird things going on at the farm.

One day I walked past the coop, and Babs, a fellow chicken, was talking to Chickadee. I went to see what she was saying. She was talking about a place where once a year, during spring, a chicken from each farm would go. Then she said the chicken that went would be killed. I, of course, didn't believe her but what if there was such a place? What if I was the chosen chicken? Then Julie, the family daughter, came home and in her hand was a box...big enough to hold a chicken.

I was really freaked out. What was Julie doing with the box and why was she so happy? She kept saying something that sounded like "fair." What was "fair"? Wait! Was it the dreaded place where chickens go? Then I heard something that really ruffled my feathers. She was talking about me. She was saying I was going to the "fair." Was I going to die? I was honestly very scared.

The next morning I was eating scratch minding my own business when the man of the house picked me up. Then he put me in the box. Julie was walking by so I let out my loudest "BOCK"! Julie just kept on walking by. The man put me in his truck and started driving. I thought the end of my life was near. Then the truck halted. I felt like I was being picked up and carried. I knew I had lived a good life and sadly, I thought it was going to end.

I thought that if I was going to die, I should die in fashion so I cleaned my feathers and brushed them. There was a crack in the box so I decided to look around. There were kids running around screaming and huge machines that were probably torture devices. Everyone was screaming! It was so loud I thought my ear holes were bleeding. I was scared. Hopefully they'd spare me. I was carried into a room where I saw a lot of other poor chickens. I was taken out of the box. They put a chain link on my foot that was connected to a small uncomfortable nest. It was time. I lost all hope. I was going to die.

I was waiting for the final blow, but none came. Then I heard the speaker announce the start of the Beautiful Chicken Contest (B.C.C.). I wasn't going to die! I let out a BOCK of happiness. I waited for about an hour in a separate room. I saw the judge walk to my room and put on a blue ribbon. I had won first place! I was relieved and happy. I was going to live a good life. C.I.C. signing out.

Taylor's Chicken Story

By Taylor Taube, Oklahoma

One day, Gertrude was waddling into town for some grub at Quicky-McChicky. She was going to meet Harold the Fayoumi chicken at one o'clock sharp. While she was waiting (she was always a bit early), Gertrude noticed out of the corner of her eye, that the egg from the top of Quicky-McChicy's was gone! She looked from side to side, and high and low, and she even looked underneath all the laying hens! With no luck at all, Gertrude sat down to think. Then she began to pace back and fourth. When Harold showed up, he saw Gertrude dancing like a chicken on tilt!

"Whhhaat are you doing?" he laughed.

"Looking for the egg, have you seen it Harold?"

"If you haven't seen it then neither have I, sorry."

So with out saying another peep they set off on a journey in search for the missing egg. The two spent all afternoon searching. They pecked at everyone's door, asked every hen and baby chick, and even put up missing posters. As soon as dusk started rolling around they quit. Gertrude and Harold just had no hope left in them; they had searched everywhere five times! What else could they do? As they were getting up, Gertrude caught a glimpse of something shiny out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw the manager of Quicky-McChicky putting the egg back on the star!

"You found it!" Gertrude clucked with joy.

"Found what?" the manager asked.

"The egg of course! Didn't you know it was missing? We've been looking all day for it!" Gertrude cried.

"Well I am sorry you spent all that trouble looking for it, it has been here this whole time. It needed to be repaired and cleaned to a glossy shine."

"That would have made things a lot easier if we had know that. I feel like a silly goose! I should have asked you first thing."

"Well let's not worry our little wattles now. How ‘bout you two come in for today's special, meatballs and bread."

"Yum, Yum, we would love to," Gertrude and Harold sang.

All through supper they laughed and clucked with joy. Next time Gertrude would do the simple thing and ask the chicken in charge.

Gertrude McCluck at the Halloween Party

By Olivia Thompson, Missouri

"June" is real Olivia Thompson's pet Dark Brahma hen! They like to go to pet costume classes, too!

"Gertrude!" calls my friend, June, as she runs out of the coop frantically. "Are you going to the Cluckingsons' party tonight? They'll have games!" Unfortunately, that's not enough to win me over. June sighs and laughs. "They'll have candy corn, your favorite." Quickly, I agree. Only there's one catch to this annual festival, you have to come suited up for Halloween. And everyone knows chickens don't just have costumes laying around. Except, maybe June, I cackle jokingly to myself.

I start running frantically around, trying to get the materials I need. "Henrietta!" I cackle, "Where is that old tee-shirt the farmer threw out?" "Over there." she says, pointing with her beak. "Thanks!" I squawk as I run for it. I tear it into strips.

Soon I have all of my materials gathered. I wrap myself with the old shirt, and look like the best chicken mummy you could imagine. I head over to the Cluckingson's coop right before midnight, and the lights are off. I peck at the light switch as I click on the light. There's all my friends, disguised as all sorts of creatures, clucking and crowing. "GOOD JOB, GERTRUDE!" they yell. At first I'm surprised, and even all of my detective skills can't analyze this one. Finally, June struts up to me, her witch's hat high on top of her small, red comb. "You won the 'Best Super Sleuth' Award, we all nominated you." She tells some other masked chickens to move over, and there is the biggest pile of candy corn you ever did see.

June's "chicken scratch" wing writing, is the name of the award. "Awww, thanks guys," I cackle, then we all dig in. "Just another day with my poultry pals." I exclaim, and then let the candy corn melt in my beak.

Friends are like candy corn, I think to myself. They're always great, no matter what time of the year!

The Case of the Contrasting Eggs

By Abbie Valine, Minnesota

Abbie Valine and her rooster, Re.

Hi! This is Gertrude McCluck, and I'd like to tell you about the time I solved a mysterious case involving eggs. Most of my cases involve eggs; I'm a chicken, after all.

It started out as most days do—waking up on the roost and needing to lay an egg. Except for the fact that I was visiting some friends and woke up on their roost, the day seemed pretty normal.

I had gone to visit my good friends, the Valines' chickens. (A couple years ago, I solved a case about who was pecking their Dark Brahma rooster.) Anyway, I woke up, stretched, and jumped down. I waddled over to the feeder and began to eat. Just then, a shy young Dark Brahma/Silver-Laced Wyandotte pullet named La walked past me.

"Hello, La!" I said.

"Oh hello, Mrs. McCluck!" she replied politely (The Wyandottes are always very polite).

As I continued my breakfast, four young guineas scampered up and started eating.

"Hello, Eeny, Meeny, Miney, and Mo!" I said.

"Hi, Gertie!" they screeched in unison.

"Humph," I thought, "They should call me Mrs. McCluck, like La!"

Suddenly, I heard a shriek from the nest box. I immediately grabbed my trusty magnifying glass and flew up to investigate. Inside, I saw a Rhode Island Red named Pauline.

"What's wrong, Polly?" I asked.

"Look at these weird eggs!" she whispered.

I looked closely. Lying in the shavings were two eggs. One was very huge, the other very tiny.

"Who laid those?" Pauline asked.

"Hmm. Let me think about this for a while."

Pauline moved to another nest box to lay her egg while I carefully considered the evidence. Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea. I jumped down from the nest box and walked over to La's brother, Re.

"Have you seen La?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's over there," he replied.

"Thank you,"

He marched away to take a dust bath, his rollicking gait reminding me of his father, Featherfoot. I walked over to La.

"How old are you, La?" I asked her.

"Five months old on the 15th," she said.

"Aha!" I exclaimed. "Excuse me, La."

I walked back into the coop and found Pauline.

"I found out who laid those eggs!" I told her.

"You did?" she exclaimed, "Who did it?"

"It's really very simple: La is a pullet, and she's twenty weeks old. That's when pullets usually start laying. When a pullet begins to lay, some of the eggs are very large. In fact, I heard that the world's largest egg was 9 inches in diameter!"

"Wow! But what about the tiny egg?" Pauline asked.

"Well, guinea hens lay very small eggs. One of the guineas must have just started to lay, too!"

"Well, that makes sense," said Pauline.

I then told all the other hens, so that they wouldn't be too surprised when they saw the weird eggs. And that, good readers, concludes "The Case of the Contrasting Eggs."

The Mystery of the Cornish Rocks

By Katarina Vance, Tennessee

The hullabaloo all started in August. Hens rushed through the pasture in a busybody manner. Roosters crowed to each other non-stop. It was insanity.

"Gertrude, oh, Gertrude!" Sadie the Silver Laced Wyandotte squawked, running towards me from across the field at top speed.

"What? Oof." Sadie plowed me down into the dirt.

"Oh sorry, Gertrude, I was just wondering if you could do a little detective work for some, you know, scratch?" the pullet asked.

"I'm your chicken," I replied, as I righted myself. "Now, what's your problem, Sadie?"

"Well, my sister Sedie told me a bit of juicy gossip, that I want you to investigate. It's the thing that's getting everyone all whipped up. You ready for this?" I nodded.

"Okay," Sadie continued, "she said that one of her friend's friends overheard Maggie placing an order for some Cornish Rocks. Who would want Cornish Rocks, right? No one knows what it means. Maybe, they're a special type of gravel or something. I don't know. I want you to find out. Can you do it?"

"Oh," I had no idea what Sadie's sister had meant, but there was no way I could resist a scratch reward. "I'm on it."

"Thanks a bunch!" the pullet exclaimed. She disappeared around the corner of the chicken tractor.

Now that Sadie was gone, I started my investigation. As I approached the feed shed, I spotted Maggie, our flock's human caretaker, washing a metal tub and some chick feeders and waterers out feverishly. A box of red light bulbs and a heat lamp lay in the grass by her side.

"I've got to finish, got to finish!" she muttered.

"Maggie, what's the fuss?" I asked.

Maggie looked at me blankly, not understanding. "Oh, Gertrude, if only you could help me." She chuckled. "Well, that's not going to happen, now is it? So I might as well get to work."

"Ugh." I fluffed my feathers and stalked off.

For the rest of the day, I spent my time in the chicken tractor, wondering what Maggie's incoherent mumblings had meant.

A heat lamp, red light bulbs, chick feeders, waterers, and a metal tub, what's she going to use that for? I wondered. Suddenly, my mind tied the loose ends. What was it that my mother hen had said about meat birds? Now everything made sense.

I approached Sadie, who sat in a nesting box on the upper-class side of the chicken tractor. Her sister was clucking to her from a neighboring nest.

"Don't you think it's at least a little wrong to create such fuss over this?" I asked Sadie and Sedie.

"No, what are you clucking about? Do you know what the Cornish Rocks are?" Sadie replied.

"Yes, I do. Cornish Rocks aren't what you think they are, Sadie. There's nothing unusual about them. They've just been ordered a little late. Now, if you don't mind, I believe I have some payment to collect."

"What?" Sadie asked.

"Don't you remember being a chick?"

"They're chicks?"

"Yes."

Guess Who is Coming to Town?

By Leah Wharton, Ohio

Leah Wharton and Elvis, her bantam chicken. Below: Ivanka is the turkey in the story.

Gertrude McCluck was in the town of Appleville to visit her distant cousin Spike for a dinner party. Gertrude had finally got to Spike's Chicken House when she saw Spike. Spike said "Molt my feathers! I haven't seen you in awhile." They talked for a little bit and went to the chicken house.

Gertrude and Spike were laying outside the chicken house when Gertrude saw something suspicious in the bushes. Gertrude says "What is that tall thing in the bushes?" Spike said "Oh, that is Ivanka the turkey." Well, back where Gertrude lives, she really never really sees turkeys. Gertrude says "Well, when did she come?" Spike told Gertrude that she came a couple months ago. She also said that there used to be nine more, but they got killed by a fox. Gertrude became very sad. She thought that if that happened to her friends, she would be heart broken. Spike says that no one likes her. There are always saying mean stuff to her and pecking her when they don't really know her. Spike is the only one that talks to her. She even eats and roosts with her. Gertrude said "Did you invite her to your dinner party?" Spike said "Yes I did, but she really didn't want to come because nobody likes her. I told her she can sit by me then. So she said she will come."

It was the time of the dinner party. All of Spike's were there. Phil, Verna, Elvis, Halloween and her baby, and many more. Then came along Ivanka the turkey. Nobody said anything to her except Spike. Spike introduced her cousin Gertrude. Ivanka felt more comfortable that she had someone to talk to. Ivanka said "Hi, I am Ivanka the turkey." Ivanka tells Gertrude her story of how she got here.

Everyone was eating and Gertrude noticed that no one was sitting near Ivanka except Spike and her. Gertrude felt bad for Ivanka. Gertrude said something to Ivanka about it, but she said she was used to it. Gertrude wanted to say something to everyone about Ivanka, but Verna went babbling about her shiny hair and how she takes a dirt bath everyday to keep it shiny. After Verna was done talking, Gertrude spoke out loud saying "Why don't you guys like Ivanka? She is a bird just like us." Then Verna went babbling on how tall and different colored Ivanka was than everyone. Gertrude said "Elvis is shorter than you guys, but you don't judge him?" After what she said, they all started thinking how they were judging Ivanka because she was tall when they weren't judging Elvis that he was short. They all felt bad and apologized to Ivanka. After that, Ivanka felt like the luckiest bird in the world. That night, everyone talked and slept with her on the roost.

From that day forward, they never judged a different bird again. No matter how different the bird was. Birds are all the same.

Our Trip To Washington D.C.

By Haley Yoder, Pennsylvania

Haley Yoder and friend

We decided to go on a bus trip. I, Ms. Haley Bug, Ms. Tidbit and of course Gertrude McCluck. We traveled by bus all the way to Washington D.C. Once we arrived we went to the Air and Space Museum. We were on an adventure to be sure. Ms. Tidbit, Gertrude McCluck and Haley Bug liked the large rock from outer space that was described as a meteorite. Gertrude McCluck especially liked the large box of international money collected by donations to keep the Air and Space Museum operating.

Then we went to the museum of Natural History. Haley Bug was quick to show Gertrude McCluck and Ms. Tidbit the ancient rocks and minerals contained in this exhibit. The Hope Diamond was in glass on a turntable all by itself. It was made with one large Sapphire and many diamonds. One diamond necklace in this museum stated the princess who wore the diamond necklace was beheaded! There were lots of gems on display.

Gertrude McCluck was ready for another adventure to find a bird dinosaur, a Pterodactyl. After many dinosaurs we had lunch in the cafeteria. The adventures never ended with all the art sculptures crafted from recycled materials all around the area.

We went past the Smithsonian Castle, it was beautiful. After lunch Ms. Tidbit, Gertrude McCluck and Haley Bug rode in a rickshaw. Now you may ask what is a rickshaw? Well, we three hens sat on a large seat in the back of a very large three-wheeled tricycle. It was driven and peddled by a human person. We were on our way to see the Lincoln Memorial. We saw the reflection pool. Every state of the United States is listed on a wall at the pool. The policemen and women rode horses. Well, our grand adventure ended all too soon.

Gertrude McCluck and the "Early Egg"

By Sam Zanto, Minnesota

It was early. It was very early. It was so early that I, Gertrude McCluck, was not yet awake (and I'm quite an early bird).

I was dreaming happily about laying the biggest egg and the farmer praising me for it when I heard a loud "Ba-Cock!" and I was scared. So scared, in fact, that I flew off the roost fast enough that my fellow chick, Rose, thought someone put live coals under my feet.

"Ha-ha" she laughed, "I've never seen you move so fast."

Glaring at her, I straightened my feathers from the drop, and went to go check out the noise. There in the nesting box, straining with all her might, was Plucky, the three-and-a-half-month-old Dark Brahma pullet. I chuckled to myself (as Plucky was often trying to lay an egg early), and flew up.

"What's up Plucky?" I asked, "Is the first egg here yet?"

Plucky replied, "No, not yet, but I thought I felt something this time."

"Plucky," I said in a kind yet over-done voice, "I don't believe your first egg is going to come for a while, being that you're a Brahma and all."

Plucky was silent for a moment, then she burst into tears. "Oh, Gertrude! I wish I could lay an egg now! Oh why wasn't I a Leghorn so I could lay eggs before six to seven months?" she sobbed.

I patted her wing. "Because you were supposed to be a Brahma from the time you were in your egg," I answered calmly, "And you should be proud of it, being that you are the only Brahma in this poultry flock and all. Why are you the only one? Because farmer wanted a special chicken, and you are that special chicken."

Plucky soaked that up nice and good for a few minutes. "But isn't it hard to wait for your egg to arrive?" she asked.

"It may be at times," I said, "But I learned two things. The first thing is to be patient, and the second is to enjoy being young!"

Plucky dried her tears, said, "O.K, Gertrude. I'll wait until it's time for me to lay an egg," and jumped out of the nesting box.

After we both had jumped out of the nesting box, Plucky, Babs (who is an extremely early bird), and I took advantage of an early morning and filled our crops with bugs before the other hens even flew off the roost.

And so Plucky learned to be patient and content with where she is in life, and never had any more pre-mature egg-laying attempts and enjoyed being young and being a Brahma (yet when she laid her first egg, she was extremely excited).