Posted by on Jun 17, 2013 in Backyard Brood, Blog, Featured Post | 880 comments

Oh, Dottie. It’s about time for you to stick your beak into things!

Until you arrived on the scene, we wouldn’t have thought a chick could be regal. But there you sat, all puffed up and proud in a minky fur coat. While the other chicks drifted to sleep in place by wilting forward in slow motion to the point of falling over, you let your head settle back, back, back into your little round body, until your chest puffed up beyond proportion. Nothing but the most stately posture for you, even in exhaustion.

But make no mistake; an air of refinement and a worldly countenance does not mean you are a quiet, diminutive wallflower. No, you’re a chicken who is all too aware that there are good things to be had in life, and who expects those things to be coming her way in short order. Should there be some delay in delivery, why, you’ll go right ahead and make it known that things are simply not progressing in the manner you would prefer. And you usually get your way.

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Reminds us of a certain somebody else who’s liable to be found in a huff amongst her brood, wearing black feathers, lace, and an expectant look on her face.

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The similarities are striking, no?

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Never a dull moment with your constant meddling and insistence on being involved. So observant, so curious. So amusing! The original shoulder chicken, right up in the middle and advising on human affairs.

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We considered making the wise matriarch your namesake, but neither Violet, nor Lady Grantham, nor especially “the Dowager Countess” really roll off the tongue too well. And honestly we’re embarrassed to admit it, but you were kind of named first, by default, pretty much right away. With all your attention-seeking antics and the repeated need to shout your name in admonition and delight, Dottie just kind of happened to you when “the Wyandotte” also proved too much of a mouthful. There was no changing things once it stuck. “Hey, Dottie! Dottie, get down!”

And get down you do, in your way. You are certainly at least a wee bit dotty – or batty – or even disheveled – when it’s time to get your relaxation on. Unlike the Countess, you know how to chill, let your hair down, take some time to soak up some rays…

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…even show a little leg. But of course it’s in your nature to luxuriate style, seeking out the most cushy spot and arranging yourself just so. “Where would the human be?” you ask. “I suppose that is good enough for me.” You approach such opportunities with such self-assurance that we have not the heart to stop you, especially when you are just so finely turned out.

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Plus you’re pretty much hilarious to watch, splayed out like a beached sea lion in your most elegant attire. You should see yourself dustbathe. (Oh yes, we have video… will post soon.)

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Flopped over sideways or standing up tall, that you wear such a beautiful outfit cannot be denied! You are certainly silver laced in both looks and attitude, and with each molt your feathers should come in more striking than the last time. Your current speckled silver collar, black lacy gown and fancy fluffy petticoat suit you to a T.

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Whether all those feathers make you Haughty or Haute or just plain Hot, one thing the other girls agree on: That extra fluffy body makes a really good pillow. So up in the middle of things you can stay. Like you’d have it any other way.

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