It’s difficult to describe what Charlie looks like. When people ask, I usually tell them that she is a black chicken sporting a copper mantle.
But that’s my being lazy because she’s so much more. Her “black” feathers are actually iridescent and in the light they shine green, blue and reddish-purple. Jewels hidden in the darkness of her shadows.
Her mantle, surely the envy of all, has delicate copper speckles running down her neck and spilling out onto her collar. No finer necklace could ever adorn a lady.
Even her feet, those incredible, miraculous feet are not like any of her sisters’ in the coop. Charlie’s feet have feathers on the sides of her legs and tiny prickly feathers on the toes-tips. She is the envy of all in the coop, the hen with a pair of stunningly beautiful shoes unpurchasable by others.
This weekend, a family friend (hi Emily) came to visit. Emily works with horses and has a true sense about, and connection with, animals. She literally had Charlie eating out of her hand and has on occasion even held Charlie in her arms while Charlie tucked her head beneath a wing, safe and content.
Emily whispers to our chickens.
Emily took this photo of Charlie (and that’s little Pippin in the corner) and while it’s still difficult to see the colors (you can see a bit of it on the edge of the wing) it’s still a much better picture of Charlie than I am able to get (block blobs watching fish.)
In this photo, you can also see Charlie’s incredible feet. I’ve been asked to write an article for Backyard Poultry on the surgery we did for Charlie and so in the next few days, I’ll be getting some good closeups of her toes for you to see where they are today.
And lastly, yeah, if you’ve noticed, Charlie was in the house for this photo, but that’s because we had company who wanted to keep, well company with Charlie. To all of you who are concerned, Charlie spent the night back out in the coop with her sisters.
Photo credit: Emily Bersin
