Our Fearless Mascot

We recently were given a juvenile feather-footed bantam chicken named Fiddle.

Despite what most people think chickens (at least this one) are pretty clever. They are mostly good at being chickens and surviving in a hostile world as it turns out. After not one but two near death encounters with a juvenile redtail hawk Fiddle spends most of his day hanging out on the front porch of the store beyond the gaze of said hawk.

The other day I thought I heard Fiddle crow for the first time so I am willing to concede my error in determining gender. I was pretty sure it was a hen. You wouldn’t believe how many times tourists ask if HE lays eggs.

Not for the forseeable future is my answer now.

Check out the pictures of the hawk perched on the back of a chair licking his chops. People seem to be very interested in how long chickens typically live. If it hadn’t been for Fiddle’s superior intelligence I would have thought he’d last about another week but quite to the contrary he continues to thrive although he does march imperiously up and down the porch.