Monday, February 2, 2009
Requirem for a chicken
On Saturday she was still alive. There was no sign of the imminent disaster. But on Sunday, when I came to clean the henhouse she was lying there, dead.
It of course came as a shock, because being a Malines (aka a Mechelse Koekoek or Mechels Hoen) it was such a big beast, not looking sick at all. The breed is also known for not being susceptible to disease. But perhaps it was a sign that next to her, there were 7 eggs, freshly laid. I can't imagine that this was the cause of her dead, but rather a last attempt to be productive.
Of course it would be unwise to eat those eggs - and the fact that it is freezing doesn't make it easier. When an egg is frozen, it's better to throw it away, because the shell is broken anyway (but doesn't leak (yet)).
But then of course the problem is: how to get rid of Obelixa (named by the children, not me!). A previous chicken was burried in the garden, in accordance to local law. That implies that you should dig at least half a meter, to avoid that animals dig the body up later. But since it is freezing, that's not an option either - apart from the fact that the cemetery
now is used for breeding vegetables. So I wrapped her in a plastic bag, left it in the back of the garden, surrounded by some leftovers of wire-netting (very appropriate, as in Dutch that is kippengaas
) to avoid that the cats, wild and domesticated alike, go play with her.
On Monday, I was able to check with the municipality to see what could be done. Finally, it seems I can have it picked up by a firm called Rendac. They come by and take the dead body away - for free. Alas, it takes a maximum of two working days, so yesterday evening I had to put her at the front of the house, hoping today they would come by. As you can guess, that wasn't the case yet, so let's hope they come tomorrow, and understand the use of the wire-netting!
Thanks Obelixa, for the eggs, for cleaning the garden, for keeping Asterixa company.
posted by Vince | 10:44 PM
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