A necessary reprieval

"When the need arises - and it does - you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don't farm it out — that doesn't make it nicer, it makes it worse."

Robert A. Heinlein

We always thought that Heinlein was a bit overrated, but he may have been onto something when talking about the wonderful and terrible responsibility of animal ownership. Today we had to "farewell" our quirky mate Cornelius. His behaviour had been deteriorating of late, including ignoring his flock to ensure his own safety, and hogging the food instead of facilitating it's distribution.

There had been much discussion in the last few months about his usefulness on the property, and his case was not helped when he failed to sire any new fluffy chicks last season. We tried to blame it on the fires or other factors, but the sad fact is that his tenure became increasingly tenuous!

Recently we purchased a couple of new pullets, assured that they were both female. As time passed, it became obvious that the statuesque "Xena" was becoming androgynous and even dipping into the decidedly masculine side of the chicken spectrum. Today "she" crowed - and thus "Xena" has officially been renamed "Zeus". As for Cornelius - we gave him a great last day on the planet, then dispatched him for the greater good of the flock.

Long live Zeus, the new King on the block.

To alleviate the trauma associated with the "farewell", we decamped to our local watering hole Willie Smith's and enjoyed a few medicinal beverages and the magnificent "taste of the valley" board. It doesn't fully heal the wound, but it was a nice and timely diversion.

Beautiful presentation - tastes even better!