I Lost 2 Good Friends Today
By Ann LeFlore
@poehere (15126)
French Polynesia
August 17, 2017 7:41pm CST
Today is a sad day. I woke up this morning to Tomas and Gertrude singing away. They do this every morning at the crack of dawn. However, this afternoon they meet their untimely death.
A few months back their mother was killed and eaten by a dog. I happened along just in time to rescue Tomas and Gertrude from the jaws of death. I gently picked up these two chirping balls of feathers and put them in my sack. I carried them gently across the river to their new home.
Thomas and Gertrude lived in a cage at my organic garden. They were feed the finest foods to eat. They feasted on organic veggies and corn that I grow in my garden. The two grew up big and strong. During the day they followed me around the garden cocking and crowing as they went along. They were so happy to return home to their cage at night. They knew they were safe and wouldn’t lose their life to the mean ugly dog that took their mother’s life.
However, today this wasn’t so true. A neighbor came by the garden and saw the fine birds feasting away on organic corn. He asked my boyfriend if he could have them for his dinner tonight. So my boyfriend made the fire and took poor Thomas and Gertrude to the river. He cleaned the hen and cock and left their remains for the eels to eat.
Now poor Tomas and Gertrude will be the hit of dinner tonight in his wife’s chicken stew.
24 people like this
23 responses
@LadyDuck (458976)
• Switzerland
19 Aug 17
@poehere I see, seen this way is different. I had a pet duck in the house of my grandmother, I loved him and I know that one day, when I was not around he was killed and eaten. He did not run away as they told me. I did not speak to my grandmother for a couple of months.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
@LadyDuck Anna we raise them to sell. We have some for eggs, some for eating and some for reproducing. He is leaving tonight on the plane to go to another island for work. We had a lot of people stop by yesterday for chicken before he left. I kept teasing him calling them oh the poor birdies. We were laughing at this. I have plenty more to take care of. One mother has 12, another 9 and one 8. There is one sitting on her eggs and she will have 14 when hatched. So considering all this I will have more than enough chicken to feed in the next few weeks.
3 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
18 Aug 17
@poehere I was also shocked but I was unaware that this your business to raise hens and sell them.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
22 Aug 17
@1hopefulman Yes, it is. My boyfriend likes doing this.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
No Patsie this is sort of a joke. We raise chicken here to sell. We have a lot of chicken at our organic garden. One mother hen just had 12 babies and another one had 9. Please don't be mad at him we sell the chickens off now and then. We raise them on organic veggies and corn we grow at the garden. People here pay a good price for the chickens because they are organically feed. They also buy a lot of veggies from the garden too.
4 people like this
@Tina30219 (81536)
• Onaway, Michigan
18 Aug 17
Sorry to hear you lost 2 friends today. I am sure your neighbor will be enjoying his dinner tonight.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
I am sure he will. He did get some fine chicken. They were raised on organic foods and veggies out of the garden. So they are delicious.
@Tina30219 (81536)
• Onaway, Michigan
18 Aug 17
@poehere I bet they we're I am sure he enjoyed them very much.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
@Tina30219 He comes to the garden once a week for chicken. We keep certain hens for laying eggs to sell, others for babies, and ones for eating. These were in the cage for eating because they were young and not so old. Older birds are tuff and have to be boiled for 5 hours before they are tender and can be eaten. Normally the older cocks we keep for the hens.
@just4him (307029)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
18 Aug 17
Oh, that is so sad for Tomas and Gertrude. However, it should be a good meal for the neighbor and his wife.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
They come up once a week for 2 chickens. It is my boyfriend who kills them and cleans them. I refuse to do this. Normally when he is killing and cleaning the chickens, I go to another part of the garden to work. I don't like to see people kill animals.
1 person likes this
I am bad at times and do this. Have to read between the line at times. Keeps you on your toes.@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
29 Sep 17
This is sort of a play on words post. We actually raise chickens to kill and sell. They are much healthier than buying them in the market. No hormones or crap is fed to them. I was being funny with this post because my boyfriend and I were joking around and I was telling him poor birdies. Seriously I don't get attached to the chickens. Now if he did this to my rabbits I would of been angry. I am attached to my rabbits and I have raised them since they were small. The babies he can sell to the clients, but not the mothers or the one male I have for breeding. I don't breed them often, but now and then we have people who want some so I do breed them then.
@dgobucks226 (34405)
•
18 Aug 17
Sorry for the birds, but I guess that is part of the food chain process. Anyway their lives had purpose didn't they?
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
@dgobucks226 When I was young we visited my grandma on her farm in France. She would go out to the chicken pen and just grab a few birds and wing them up in the air and break their necks. It all happened so fast I was amazed. I hated to see her kill the birds, but we did like eating her fired chicken. I never heard the other story because the chickens were running around so when she came to get a few of them. I guess they saw her big knife in hand.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34405)
•
18 Aug 17
@poehere Funny story about chickens. When my Mom was a little girl she had to hold the legs of the chickens while my Grandma cut their heads off. My Grandma would make a little cross out of twigs to put on the chickens before killing them. They would quiet right down before they met their fate (that is sort of the funny part not the head cutting part
) Have you ever heard of something like that?
) Have you ever heard of something like that?
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
24 Aug 17
They did this without seeking your permission first? This is not good. You just don't go offering up someones pets for Food without making sure it is ok. I would not want something like this.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
24 Aug 17
Well, he told me he was preparing the chickens for a client, but he didn't tell me which ones. We raise chicken and feed them organic veggies and stuff. People come to us to buy them. My boyfriend is the one who prepares them. I refuse to do this.
@sumofalltears (3988)
• United States
18 Aug 17
Sorry for your loss, I would be upset with my boyfriend if he gave my birds away.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
@sumofalltears Yes we raise them for eggs and food. Many people come there because of how we feed them and take care of them. They are so much better than the ones you buy in the markets.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
We raise the chicken to sell. I have plenty of them there. One of the mother hens just gave us 12 new babies and another one gave us 9. People here would rather eat organic food now and that is why they come to see us when they want some organic chicken. I refuse to kill them myself and my boyfriend does this for the people who order them.
1 person likes this
Are you ok with what your BF did?@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
22 Aug 17
I read the other comments and saw that your BF did not do something hurtful to you as it is a business that he has.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
24 Aug 17
@1hopefulman You are so right on this one. It was sort of fun to do this. But they were my chickens that I save from a dog. He didn't say he was going to kill these two. But it is fine because now I have too many babies to feed. Guess it was time for them to go.
1 person likes this
Thanks
@ARIES1973 (11426)
• Legaspi, Philippines
22 Aug 17
Poor chickens! That would be a delicious dinner. Those were feed on organic and must have a better meat. I could imagine your place, it seems that would be a nice place to live.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
22 Aug 17
It is beautiful here on the islands and I do love it here. Yes the chickens are organic and they are so much better to eat.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
Yes, they were for selling. I was just being funny because when he killed them, I was telling him poor birdies. We raise organic chicken in the garden because they are so much better than store bought chicken. At times it is good to be funny and see if people really read what you have written. This was one of the times I decided to be funny about the birds. I guess it is because I feed them and care for them. I hate to kill them and I won't. It is up to him to fill the orders.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
19 Aug 17
The question I have is, are you mad at your boyfriend or was it time for them to be someone's dinner?
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
22 Aug 17
No, I'm not mad. it was time for them to be somone's dinner. A mother hen just hatched 12 new chicks yesterday, saw them this morning when I arrived. I also have another mother hen with 9 and one with 8. So there is plenty to go around right now and I still have to feed them all.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
24 Aug 17
@RichardMeister Right, they have to go sometime. It was their time to go.
1 person likes this
@RichardMeister (5328)
• Otis Orchards, Washington
22 Aug 17
@poehere It's one of the things I learned growing up on a farm–no matter if they are pets (other than dogs and cats) they have to go one way or another.
@countryrose (242)
• Phoenix, Arizona
2 Oct 17
Even though it is a business, I imagine that it is harder when you have rescued them and named them. Might be similar to be a foster dog owner and then they move on to their permanent home. Sure you won't see them die but you still provided a service. It's the attachment issue.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
2 Oct 17
I didn't get that attached to them. I feed them and at times they would follow me around and I'd have to put them back in heir cages.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
19 Aug 17
how horrible. i would kick him to the curb for a while and maybe he would think about asking you next time if you want to give a pet away for such a thing
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
24 Aug 17
This is sort of a good idea. We have an organic garden and we raise a certain amount of chickens to kill and eat or sell to our clients. Other are for eggs and some are for laying eggs and having more babies. A client ordered the chickens and he prepared them. I was sort of being funny when I wrote this. He is a good guy and would never kill a pet of mine. I was the one who found these two just before a dog got to them. It was sort of a joke between us and we named them. That is about all. He said he was killing some for an order and these two were ready to kill if someone wanted them. I just told him poor birdies how can you do this to them.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
He comes once a week for chicken from us. We have people who come on certain days each week. They normally call ahead and my boyfriend fixes the birds for them so they are ready when then they arrive.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
We raise them to kill. I was sort of being funny with my story here. He is leaving today to go work on another island and he killed a lot of them yesterday for our clients. I kept teasing him about the poor birdies because he kept showing them to me and telling me they were saying hi to me.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
22 Aug 17
This is sad that a mongoose attacked all your hens. We have ours in cages because of the dogs. At times the wild dogs or dogs that people have thrown away will come there and try and catch a few for a meal.
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
18 Aug 17
Yes, it is sad, but we have a lot of chicken to sell. We have a large pen that is filled with roosters and hens. We also have smaller pens to raise chickens and we have a lot of babies right now. We also have anothe place just for eggs.
1 person likes this
@poehere (15126)
• French Polynesia
22 Aug 17
Thank you so much. It was their time to go. We raise chickens here on the islands and sell them to people when they order them. I guess my two little ones finally grew up and it was there time to go. I don't feel so bad right now because one of the hens just hatched 12 new chicks. So there is plenty in the cages now that need to be fed so they can grow up.
1 person likes this
