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The neighbors directly behind our office/house have four chickens. Roosters, actually. Like all the other roosters in Baghdad, they crow with the dawn. And at random intervals all day long.
This doesn't really bother me. You get used to living around farm animals, and I'm already on a fairly early schedule by my standards. A few weeks ago, they either got a new rooster or we started noticing the one that was already there. He crows just like the others, only his voice is horribly mangled, like he's been in some kind of rooster traffic accident, or possibly lost a cockfight.
Imagine it: you're sleeping fitfully, resting after a long day and perhaps just one too many vodka tonics the night before. Just as the sun’s rays peak over the horizon, long before they would actually penetrate your window, you are started awake by a loud RROOOO-A-ROOOO-A-RROAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! This last part actually ends in some sort of throat-grinding guttural noise like a peacock's death rattle.
It's very disturbing. And loud, because this bird is the largest rooster in the neighbor's yard. He is perhaps 60 cm tall. And his yard is a mere 10 meters from my window.
For the first week, it was an oddity. We wondered what was wrong with this bird. He was christened "Roostard" for easy reference. We made jokes.
The second week, we got tired of being woken every morning. Roostard stopped being an amusing note in the day and became an annoyance.
The third week, we decided Roostard had to die. We asked around. Ali suggested we shoot him with a BB gun - not very loud, and the wound wouldn't be obvious. Then we thought of poisoned seeds, but we don't want to kill the other chickens. We prayed he would die in the storms last night. He crowed us awake the next morning, happy and healthy as a chicken can be.
At last, we realized we could just buy and eat Roostard. We asked Maher for help, but it may be another day before we can go over there to negotiate for him. Rest assured we will slaughter him immediately.
This morning, Roostard upped the ante. I found one of his minions in my back storage area. The smaller rooster jumped through the hole in the upper fence and onto the boxes of 1.2 meter dish antennas. He stood there, looking at me. I dashed upstairs to get the camera.
When I returned, he was gone. But he left a little present for me on the dishes.
This doesn't really bother me. You get used to living around farm animals, and I'm already on a fairly early schedule by my standards. A few weeks ago, they either got a new rooster or we started noticing the one that was already there. He crows just like the others, only his voice is horribly mangled, like he's been in some kind of rooster traffic accident, or possibly lost a cockfight.
Imagine it: you're sleeping fitfully, resting after a long day and perhaps just one too many vodka tonics the night before. Just as the sun’s rays peak over the horizon, long before they would actually penetrate your window, you are started awake by a loud RROOOO-A-ROOOO-A-RROAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! This last part actually ends in some sort of throat-grinding guttural noise like a peacock's death rattle.
It's very disturbing. And loud, because this bird is the largest rooster in the neighbor's yard. He is perhaps 60 cm tall. And his yard is a mere 10 meters from my window.
For the first week, it was an oddity. We wondered what was wrong with this bird. He was christened "Roostard" for easy reference. We made jokes.
The second week, we got tired of being woken every morning. Roostard stopped being an amusing note in the day and became an annoyance.
The third week, we decided Roostard had to die. We asked around. Ali suggested we shoot him with a BB gun - not very loud, and the wound wouldn't be obvious. Then we thought of poisoned seeds, but we don't want to kill the other chickens. We prayed he would die in the storms last night. He crowed us awake the next morning, happy and healthy as a chicken can be.
At last, we realized we could just buy and eat Roostard. We asked Maher for help, but it may be another day before we can go over there to negotiate for him. Rest assured we will slaughter him immediately.
This morning, Roostard upped the ante. I found one of his minions in my back storage area. The smaller rooster jumped through the hole in the upper fence and onto the boxes of 1.2 meter dish antennas. He stood there, looking at me. I dashed upstairs to get the camera.
When I returned, he was gone. But he left a little present for me on the dishes.
