Category Archives: Pecky Greenleg

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“I don’t understand. Why do you need to go back to the hatchery? We just bought chick feed last week.”

Jake shifted uncomfortably and tried to look his mom in the eyes.

“Well, I just want to ask a few questions…find out how a hatchery is run. For-for a-a paper, er, a story I’m writing.”

His mom looked at him oddly. He knew it was a lame reason when they’d just been there last week.

He sighed. “Ok, it’s like this Mom-“.

“Alright dear,” she said suddenly, turning to get the car keys. “I need to pick a few things up in town anyway, so I’ll just drop you by the hatchery first.”

Jake couldn’t believe his luck. Now, how was he going to get Pecky in the car without her noticing?

An hour later, Jake’s mom pulled into the parking lot at the hatchery.

“I’ll be back in a half hour or so to pick you up, ok?”

Jake nodded as he climbed out of the car, carefully pulling a rather large, bulky backpack out after him.

He waved nervously at his mom and waited for the car to disappear around the corner before walking inside.

“Hi, I’m looking for Gilbert,” he said to the smiling woman at the front desk.

“Well hi there sweetie! Gilbert you say?”

“Y-yes. I have a few q-questions for him. For a-a story I’m writing about chickens.”

The woman smiled at him brightly and picked up the phone.

“Hold on there just a minute and I’ll see if he’s busy right now.”

Jake felt Pecky move slightly.

“Alright dear, Gilbert is just three doors down that way,” she said, pointing down the dimly lit hall.

“Thank you.”

Windows lined one side of the hallway. Jake looked out and saw row after row of chick brooders. Some were stacked in fives, others as long as a pool table.

Workers in white lab coats walked about, checking on the fuzzy yellow, brown and white chicks. A soft glow filled the room from the heat lights keeping the chicks warm.  It smelled like musty hay and ammonia.

When he reached the third door, he knocked timidly.

The man he’d talked to the week before opened the door.

Gilbert.

He looked at Jake with surprise and then resignation. “Oh. You’re back. Well, you’d better come inside. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

Pecky shifted in the bag, poking Jake in the shoulder with his beak.

Hmm. Well isn’t this interesting. He definitely knows something.

“Yes,” said Gilbert, glancing at the bag. “I do know something. Something about where your bird came from and why you mustn’t tell anyone about him. For his own safety…as well as yours.”

This is a continuation of the story about Pecky Greenleg and Xavier Feathersworth.  Click here to read chapter 1.

This is based in fact. We really did lose one of our new roosters to an unknown assailant. 

*   *   *

“Murder! There’s been a murder!”

“Who was it?” peeped Esther.

“Who did it?” cheeped Hilda.

“Who’s next?” asked a calm and unusually confident Pecky.

The hens fell silent. Pecky had never spoken with such authority before…and the hens didn’t like it one bit.

“Well, it won’t be me,” said Mildred.

“Oh it won’t be any of us,” snapped Esther. “It happened in the other coop, not ours.”

“That doesn’t mean it can’t happen in this one,” said Pecky.

Puffing out their feathers, they all turned their backs to Pecky and continued speculating, a bit unnerved by Pecky’s question.

They should be nervous.

He and Xavier Feathersworth had come up with a plan to eliminate all the roosters in the smaller flock.

You see, Xavier was just as miserable as Pecky. Just as picked on. Just as fed up. Last night, Xavier had carried out step one in the plan.

Sir Hubert McFeatherington, the former leader of Xavier’s flock, had disappeared without a trace.

Only a pile of feathers and 7 nervous chickens remained.

As Pecky paced the run, he saw Xavier approaching.

“Well?” said Pecky.

“It’s done.”

Pecky sighed.

“How are the others in your flock taking it?” he asked.

“They saw the attack on Sir Hubert so they’re are nervous and scared,” said Xavier.

“How did it…how did you do it?” asked Pecky.

“I made a deal.”

“A deal?!”

“I couldn’t very well do it myself,” he said defensively.

“No, I suppose not,” said Pecky. “So…what attacked him?”

“An opossum.”

“That was quite a risk,” said Pecky, eying him with shock. He’d never heard of any chicken making a deal with a predator.

Pecky was a little in awe of Xavier.

Xavier was a bit worried about “the deal”.

“Wh-what was the deal?”

Xavier turned his head and picked at a few feathers before answering.

“You.”

To be continued…