My SS Chickadee is the top girl in my flock. She leads with an extremely gentle hand - er, wing - warning the flock, gathering and protecting the flock and rarely pecking or being bossy. She has a pair of lieutenants to do the dirty work. She allows the lowest bird to eat with her separately when the meanies have had their fill and moved on. She is an absolutely delightful bird to look at, round and plump with a delicate small head. I love the speckles and it is very good camouflage for a free-ranging bird. She was a very funny looking chick, way behind her brooder mates in development, so I'm delighted she turned out well. She is not the best layer, unfortunately, I think she had a small deformity or injury to her vent as a chick and her eggs are often misshapen and rough, that's just her and not the breed, I imagine. She is definitely stalwart, stands up to the dogs but has a sweet and gentle manner. She's much more interested in her fellow hens then in people, but she'll let me pick her up.
