The Amazing World of chickens

Bluey's Story - part two

Bluey looked down at the rooster he'd just killed. Another death, another innocent life he'd taken. He felt terrible, he wasn't a bad rooster at heart, he was loving and considerate. No matter how many roosters he'd killed, he refused to believe that he was a killer. That he was like them.

His master cheered and laughed, as well as a large portion of the crowd. Beer bottles were thrown into the arena and money was passed around. Bluey was grabbed by the neck as his master lifted him up, showing him off to the crowd.
"This rooster is a champion!" He yelled. There were cheers and a few boos. He shook him. "Any one else want to challenge him?!"

One person stepped out of the crowd, holding a cage that contain a large, strong looking rooster. Bluey was terrified.

~

Bluey was shoved back into his tiny cage after a long night of fighting. Many of his feathers had been pulled out, he was covered in scratches and was in a lot of pain. But he'd survived. Not something he could say about the roosters that had competed. He didn't want to be a killer, he wasn't a killer. The people, they were the beasts, not him. He was Bluey, not scorcher. He would never be scorcher.

The next morning, Bluey was woken when a man picked up his cage and put it in a truck. A lot of the other roosters were put in as well, but not all of them. The really old ones were left behind. They weren't needed anymore, and they'd probably die without being fed. We must be going to a match somewhere else. Bluey thought as they closed the back of the truck. That only meant one thing though, more training, more fighting, more killing. But it also meant sunlight, only a tiny bit, but still sunlight.

The truck drove out of the shed and onto the road, and sunlight poured through the tiny gabs at the top of the truck. He looked happily at it, blinking at the wonderful, bright stream of light. They drove for a while, in the smelly, gloomy truck. But Bluey loved it. These trips were his favourite part of his new life, though they were long trips on a crowded, stinky truck., they were better than the fights and the shed and the kicking and the death threats and the tiny cage that he could barely fit in.

After a while, the truck came to a stop at a service station and the master stepped out and started refilling the truck. Bluey looked out of the truck and saw a little girl eating an ice cream. She had wandered away from her mother and was coming towards the truck. When she saw the chickens she was trilled and skipped over to where Bluey was. His master was on the other side of the truck and didn't see her.

The girl put her hand up to bluey and pet him with her little fingers. Bluey hadn't felt that sort of touch in a while, that touch of love. He brushed his neck on her hands. The little girl giggled. Soon her mum spotted her and started running over.  At the same time her mother spotted her, so did bluey's master.

"What the fuck do you thing you're doing, get away from my truck!" He shouted, shaking his fist at the girl.
She started crying and her mother ran quickly over. She picked up her daughter and soothed her.
"How dare you speak to my daughter like that, you shouldn't treat anyone in such a revolting way let along a little girl." She said in an angry but civil tone.
"She should have known better than to come near my truck."
"She's four years old."
"Perhaps you should take care of her better." The girls mother was angry but didn't want to escalate the situation so she turned around, but then she heard a rooster crow.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what have you got in this truck?" She asked walking towards the truck.
"I do mind you asking actually, stay away from my truck!" He shouted the women ignored him and went closer.
"What are you doing with a truck full of roosters?" She asked him.
"Uh.. selling them, obviously. To a butchers." He replied. "Now piss off."
"They're much too thin to eat and they're in terrible condition." The women turned to Bluey's master. "You are aware that rooster fighting is illegal in Australia?"

The man looked flustered. "This is none of your business, women! Leave me alone!" He yelled.
"Actually it is very much my business. I'm the co leader of the Australian animal rights committee. What you're doing is very illegal and breaks many of the animal cruelty laws as well as our strict guidelines on keeping animals. I'm afraid I'll have to contact the police."