Ninja Rooster (encore)

7/7/2003 Ninja Rooster has died. That was a tragedy from our perspective but a comedy from everyone else's. He had gotten to the point that not only did he attack every small person he saw, he attacked Evelyne every time he saw her. He would run up to the fence in his attack mode and slam right into it if she was on the other side. She got to the point she wouldn't go into the pen without carrying a big stick (but she didn't walk softly so she'll never be President). He often threatened me but he always backed off at the last moment when I told him "NO!" and never actually attacked me. I was giving Ginger some medication and was totally engrossed in getting her taken care of when Ninja saw his golden opportunity. He attacked full force from my blind side and drew blood. Fatal Error on his part. I went to Evelyne's house and told her he was either going to be stew or Coyote food. Rick decided he was in the mood to go ahead and kill him and dress him out. This is where it gets sad. Rick chased him with a large box and Evelyne chased him for several minutes with a broom (or maybe it was a rake), finally got him cornered, grabbed him by the tail and as she maneuvered for a better grip he took off again. I had been tending the burning trash cans to keep the grass from starting on fire. She came to me VERY irritated with the bird by now. We traded places and I went to chase the bird. He obviously knew he was in big trouble as he started running as soon as he saw me. I finally cornered him with the help of an industrial sized mop, grabbed him by the wings and we were off to the chopping block. As you all know, I don't handle blood well and it is very hard for me to kill creatures (with the exception of the rodents who all have it coming, especially those damn pack rats). So as Rick got ready to chop his head off I looked away. I heard a "thump" but it was more of a "thud" than a clean sounding whack. Obviously his neck was stronger than Rick had anticipated. Another shot should do it. The bird is now lying perfectly still so it is OK for me to leave him with the gutting process and return to tending the fire. WRONG. The bird lifts its head and starts off again, albeit in a staggering drunken fashion. We catch him again and by now Evelyne is back to see what the commotion is all about. I hand the stunned bird to her and leave the task in their hands. The rest of the story: we baked him in a slow oven over night. Great flavor for shoe leather. So after lunch we boiled him and took the rest of the meat from the bones and made chicken and noodles...still a little on the "firm" side but quite tasty. Evelyne's comment is: "We aren't doing that again." So I guess I need to start looking for a butcher for all these roosters I have out in the pen.