Scary Things In The Night

Has anyone ever approached you and told you that they had some bad news and some good news and asked you which one you wanted first?  I always ask for the bad news first so that I can process and deal with the bad news and then have some news that is good to look forward to.  That is sort of what this post is - a good news/bad news scenario.  And I'll give you the bad news first and then will follow up with the good news in tomorrow's post.

Nighttime can be scary.  There are things that go "bump" in the night.  Evildoers wait until nightfall to engage in their treachery, villainy, and debauchery.  Macabre happenings such as murder often happens at night.  Lives are lost and blood is spilled on the ground by trespassers who break in and take what is not theirs.  This is a story of terror, trembling and blood-curdling fear.

In yesterday's post we explained that we were feeling on top of the world.  We saved a hen that was nearly dead from hypothermia and gave her a second chance at life.  We were feeling real good about ourselves.  We snatched that hen from the jaws of death and gave her an opportunity to continue eating bugs and worms all day in what she must think is heaven on Our Maker's Acres Family Farm.

But alas, the day was about to take a turn for the worse.  As we walked to the barn to milk the cows and looked toward the hen house, my eye caught something out of place in the periphery.  Feathers! Lots of feathers were scattered on the ground outside the hen house.  It was as if there was a big pillow fight in the barnyard.  I opened the hen house door and as the door creaked open and my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I saw more feathers.  One of the nesting boxes was covered in white feathers.  What in the world?!?!

My eyes slowly scanned the hen house and I saw a mutilated corpse on the ground - a lifeless form minus many of its white feathers.  This was an Aracauna hen.  She's one of the girls that lay the blue and green eggs.  She, along with one of her sisters, we call the "barn owls" because they are kind of wild and they like to roost up in the rafters of the barn.  This was a stunning, sad development.  We barricaded the area with Crime Scene tape, made a chalk line around the body and opened a formal investigation.

Although there had to be witnesses, no one was talking - at least in any language that I could understand.  There was fear in their eyes.  Snitches get stitches, they say.  As I looked around for a suspect, a motive, or a weapon, my eyes settled on a second victim.  The "barn owl's" sister was laying in a crumpled pile underneath the roosting bars.  I think there is a serial killer in the area and I think this was a hate crime.  Justice must be served.  As the neighbors, friends and family members of the murdered victims, huddled solemnly and tried to console one another, I vowed to make things right.

I was able to ascertain that the perp made entry into the chicken's abode from a side door that had been left open.  I have half the door blocked with wood to discourage entry by the mischievous goats who liked to get in the hen house and wreak havoc.  The mere size of the opening eliminated certain suspects.  It wasn't a black bear, but that left a lot of smaller suspects.  We'll have to close that door at night from now on.

In a truly twisted turn of events, I stepped back in the hen house to continue my investigation and found yet another twisted, sick, sadistic crime taking place. Cannibalism!  A rooster was eating the remains of the dearly departed.  What did it taste like, I wonder?  Chicken, of course.  "Protein is protein", said the rooster.

Chick - Filet

The beginning of the day was marked with optimism and life.  We were suddenly confronted with murder, cannibalism, and death.  And a killer was still on the loose. Lock your doors.  Hide your kids, hide your wife.  You don't have to call and confess.  We're looking for you.  We're gonna find you.

Tune in tomorrow for some good news.