CSI: Cowfeathers

Well, Blogger is still declining to upload any photos into the blog. Thanks to my friend, Trish, who sent me a link to the complaints from other bloggers,  it seems this is a widespread issue that is as yet, unresolved. So, instead of photos I will tell you a story.


Farm Story.
CSI:Cowfeathers.


So, if you have seen any of the crime scene shows- the only one I watch anymore is Castle, the others stress me out- the scene begins with a middle aged woman in her primitive farm kitchen, early morning grey, winter light illuminating the scene. She is checking on drying herbs spread out in the oven. She stands, sips some tea (large, large mug) and looks out the window at the bleak scene; dry, yellow grass and the fallow kitchen garden, one sad, shriveled eggplant limply hanging on a dead stalk. Snow begins to lightly fall.
She gathers her dogs and puts on hat, boots, coat that obviously belongs to a man as it sits well off her shoulders and covers her fingers. She starts up a brown hill towards an old red barn. It is windy and stark, and you can hear sheep lowing.
As she nears the barn, beyond an enormous, ancient water trough,  something shiny catches her eye in the paddock to her right. She pauses and sees it is a dish detergent bottle. Then, to it's left, a black lump is identified. It blends into the dark mud, but as she looks, she can see it is a body.


She climbs into the large trough instead of going through the frozen gate of the paddock, and as she goes to step out the other side, there, is another body! This one is frozen into the mud, and its  stretched neck is a red line through the ice surrounding it. It is hopeless, and obviously not movable, but she pushes gently with her boot, just to be sure.
She then crosses to the other body, it is on it's back, feet in the air, soft down of the belly feathers blowing gently in the wind. This beautiful bird was one of the big healthy Australorp hens. She gently picks its stiff body up in her arms. It is not Ebony, the eldest of the hens. It is one of the younger girls. Investigating the body, it has no visible marks or molestation. Palpation of the body does not reveal a bound egg or an impacted crop. In the meanwhile, she has called to the hens, and they have come pouring out of the house to see her, in hope of food, into their outdoor pen. The rest of the hens look fine, active, curious, hopeful.
So, how did the two birds die? Henicide? Natural causes?
After a fond farewell to the bird, and a thanks for all the eggs she had produced for the nourishment of our bodies, she was placed in a body bag and set aside while the living were cared for. Set free, and given a few thrown handfuls of scratch, corn and a few bowls of layer ration, they all "set too". The geese added LOUD vocals to the proceedings, and the ducks put their two cents in as well. The sheep were let to pasture and the horses had their lighter blankets switched out for the heaviest of their coverings. The cats pleaded for a second breakfast and then it was time to deal with the investigation.
Walking around the chicken pen and the barn, there is no evidence of predator intrusion, no gaps in fencing, no feathers stuck to barn boards- evidence that a bird was pulled through a gap in the wall. This was investigated because of the detergent bottle. It is from the inside of the barn, and conceivably could have fallen off its shelf to the ground, but how did it get outside?
And why was the Australorp out? It looks like the Partridge Cochin had been dead at least overnight, but the Australorp looks like she just died. Body temperature puts the death after 11pm. (just adding this for authenticity- I made it up, but I still think it was very recent...)
A long handled digging tool helped chip away  the mud/ice to free the other dead hen. This is the Partridge Cochin- big, feathery, gorgeous bird with feathered feet and a reddish brown color. Her neck feathers had been removed, but the neck itself seemed intact. The body also was intact, and showed no sign of being torn asunder (hawk, 'coon) and the head was there ( so not likely a skunk). Fox would've taken her home. So, did she lose her feathers after death? Did the dogs lick them off postmortem? ( Note to self: think about this when dogs try to lick you...) There is a spot on the frozen mud that may be blood.? CSI:Cowfeathers has no diagnostic equipment on hand to prove or disprove that notion.
So, the hen gets a body bag as well, and the bodies are sent to the Cowfeathers Morgue.


Without the advent of any more evidence this will remain a cold case on a very cold day.


The woman walks back home in the snow, wondering what happened. Hoping no more evidence will present in the way of bodies. Could there be a serial chicken killer lurking around the farm?


To be continued........
(If anything else happens, which, it probably won't. Just life on the farm. I really don't like serial killers, chicken or otherwise,  despite their popularity in the television genre!)