Princess Diana is a rooster. Let's just get that out of the way. The comb, the wattles, the confident little strut in that rain-soaked photo, everything screams "I am a gentleman, thank you very much." And yet, the name is staying. That's the kind of beautiful, defiant logic that makes the chicken-keeping community so wonderfully unhinged. I love it. I also completely understand the hesitation. You raise a bird from a fluffy peep, you name her after a literal princess, and then one day she crows at dawn and your whole identity crisis begins. Do you rename her Prince Charles? Do you admit defeat and start over? No. You double down. You keep the name and let the universe sort it out.
This is more than a cute story about a misidentified chicken. It's a practical lesson in how we relate to our feathered friends, and how they relate to us. The original poster didn't post a question. They posted a statement: "Pretty sure Princess Diana is a roo, pretty sure her name is staying." That's confidence born from experience. Anyone who has kept chickens knows that the second you try to impose rigid rules on these birds, they laugh in your face. You don't own chickens; you coexist with them. And sometimes that coexistence means accepting that your hen is actually a rooster, and that's fine. The coop doesn't care about gender norms. The flock doesn't care about your naming scheme. They care about mealworms and shelter and not being chased by the neighbor's dog. The rest is just human drama.
If a reader came to me and said, "I think one of my 'hens' is crowing, what do I do?" I'd tell them two things. First, take a deep breath and look at the tail feathers. If they're sickle-shaped and curving like fancy mustaches, congratulations, you've got a boy. Second, ask yourself if it actually matters. If your local ordinances allow roosters and your neighbors aren't going to file a noise complaint, then keep the name, keep the bird, and enjoy the free alarm clock. If you can't keep a rooster, then you have a harder conversation ahead. But don't let the name hold you hostage. Princess Diana is a state of mind, not a biological fact. The bird doesn't know she was supposed to be a lady. She's just living her best life in the rain, looking fabulous, and crowing about it.
So here's the concrete takeaway: stop worrying about getting it right the first time. Name your chickens whatever brings you joy. If you name a roo Princess Diana, own it. If you name a hen Sir Clucks-a-Lot, own that too. The birds don't care, and the internet will absolutely love you for the chaos. The only thing that matters is that they're healthy, safe, and maybe a little bit dramatic in the rain. That's the real royalty.