Since the days have been getting shorter and the weather has been rainy, I haven't had a chance to spend much quality time with the "ladies" in the backyard. Cam does a wonderful job of tucking them in at night and making sure they are safe and sound from any backyard critters. After 2 or 3 days of not really seeing them I made it a point to go out and sit with them until they called it a night...and that's when I realized, Shelly is a Rooster!
Since I'm not a chicken expert (YET!) I was hoping that my feeling was wrong and started referring to good old GOOGLE but was so impatient that I just called the Urban Farm Store where we got her..him. Pete told me to look for pointed 'saddle' feathers at the base of her body near her tail so I ran out and looked and sure enough, Shelly was a Shelldon. It explained a lot about her/his personality and also just how BEAUTIFUL (handsome!) she is! The first thing I did was cry. I love that little chick that EggBerta raised from 3 days old and since roosters aren't allowed within city limits we technically have to get rid of her...him. Another reason for my tears was a bit selfish, or maybe just the farmer in me coming out ~ he's not going to lay eggs! He's an Ameracauna and the hens lay variations of blue, pink, and green eggs or so I hear. Eggberta was supposed to be an Ameracauna but she turned into a Wyandotte, so when she went broody I tried for the Ameracauna again :( 
