Green/Verde My favorite rooster is dead

This is a picture of him last week. He was the biggest fattest greediest and most needy chicken in the yard. He followed me around. He came when I he heard me come out my door. He came running when I would call for the chickens in the morning for breakfast.
He loved the sound of running water and loved to drink the water out from the hose while I was washing things or filling water trays. When it would rain, he would be standing in the puddles because he loved wet feet. I was forever refilling water trays this summer because Verde loved to stand in the trays and would knock all the water out. He had a lot of personality.

Yesterday morning I noticed that he was still in bed after all the other chickens had left. I swatted him out with a broom, but I was concerned. I gave him more food and I let him be.
I saw him later that day sitting under a tree, and he didn't really move from that spot.
I put food in front of him...he's normally a mean pig about food. So last night, I made him a nest and I hoped he would make it to the morning.
He made it. But he didn't make it past noon.
Everyone told me to kill him and make soup. A sick chicken is edible, but a dead one is bad.

I couldn't do it.

Let us watch Verde's (V-air-days) baby videos in his memory.

One is Green and the other one is Blue..but I forget which is which.

My neighbor's cat Nemo felt my pain and helped me dig the hole. Kiki supervised...as usual.


Good bye Verde. Life in the garden isn't the same with you gone. =(

2 days of Exciting Mastacani - it's never boring (in the Summer)

So what happened these last two days? Big choices.

First, I decided to become a vegetarian, or just not each chicken for the next few months. We'll see how long I can hold out.
Why?

I had to behead another rooster last evening. It was beating up the other roosters (I had 3) and it was being very rough with the hens.
Seriously the choices were: 1). the cute one that comes when I call it that cooes at me, 2) the gentle, but biggest and toughest rooster that has the best crowing skills (crowing every 5 minutes all day), or 3). The one that would fertilize the best eggs and is pent on raping every hen it can find.
As I ate the meat, I could taste the meat, and I didn't feel all that hungry eating it...so I think I'm going to pause from the chicken eating.

Next, today I was doing the same old stuff at work (socializing, sitting at a computer, and searching for the mayor to discuss projects) I found out that the Red Cross was coming, so we all took a class and got certified for First -Aid.

We also got a first aid kit, that will be stored in the shed so no one will steal it....though I tried hard to convince them to leave them in easily accessible areas. They (librarian, and that dude who watches me weirdly) told me people would steal the gauze and bandages if we left it out....whadda we gonna do *shrugs shoulders.*

Then I continued to work at the mayor's office, but stopped at my emailing to eat 2 watermelons and a whole lot of bread (some guy gave us watermelon).


Then I went home at about 4pm.
After I had rewatered my chickens (I have 5 left), I decided to hang out with my neighbors and we talked about Bijoux, and what an awesome cat he was: loving to all people, good mouse hunter, eats everything, soft and playful, and how we missed him.
I was then playing badminton with my neighbor Yulla, when her dad honked his horn and Tina went and found a kitten in his trunk that looked like Bijoux. Tina loved her look (she has a nice long tail and big eyes) but they don't want a baby making kitten, so ...I took her in. She was scared and shivering, but we hope she'll get over that.

So I decided to adopt a cat (lots or responsibility, and money, and I think then, she'll come back to the US maybe, when I go...we'll see) and Yulla will name her and Tina will teach her some manners.

There will never be one the same....Bijoux died in a car accident 2 weeks ago. We (my neighbors and I) were only able to talk about him starting today. I miss his ears.

So those have been my last two days, and I've done other stuff too, but you got the highlights.
(30 minutes later)
The kitten has escaped from the shed, so we'll find out tomorrow if she's still around. Later.

My chicks are a little older now

They're 1 month and 1 week and my! how they've grown.
Updates:

• 1 chick died of unknown cause or heart attack.
• They put themselves to bed promptly at 9pm.
• I have 4 roosters and 5 hens.
• I have 1 chick so much smaller than the rest.

Here is Bandita (she's a girl) and she used to pass out under that light bulb after a full day.

Like, she would face plant (so cute).
Here they are at 1 month, and they're all buddies now. I left them out of the coop now cause the threat of crows stealing them away is less. Bandita is way small as compared to the rest.

They do my weeding for me.

REALLY! Look! They are in bed! It's daylight at 9pm, and the chicks are in their coop. They're better behaved than kids.

Cute story told by my neighbor Cosmina:
So, a chick somehow got a plastic bag stuck to its foot, so it was scared and running around trying to get away from this monster. It saw Cosmina, ran up to her panting, and tweeted at her to help it. Cosmina said that it was the most adorable thing because it was really panting and scared and knew to come to a human for help. She told me she thinks my chicks are smart. Uh oh, plans for chicken soup.....