Zombie Chicken

Not that long ago we had chickens here at Ever After Acres but decided it was best for our family to get rid of them.  One particular chicken will always be remembered because we are pretty sure he was a zombie chicken.

This particular rooster was a very large and aggressive bird that after a variety of attempts to deal with the issue we realized we had to kill him, as he wasn't safe to be around.  He would literally attack the kids, and trust me chickens have very dangerous beaks and claws.  Our oldest son was responsible for the chickens overall and he owned up to the responsibility of the good and bad knowing it needed killed.  Off he went into the woods to kill and bury this nasty rooster.  Soon after he returned and I asked the inevitable question, "You killed it?".  The reply was not what I was hoping for as he said "I snapped it's neck, heard the crack but when I put it in the hole I dug it got up and ran off".  So somewhere in the woods there was a chicken with a sore neck at the very least.  I told the kids they needed to try and find it and while they didn't find it there was ravens and an owl fighting over something and they assumed it was the injured chicken.    

The next morning at about 7am our phone rang and it was the neighbours saying there was a rooster in their yard making a lot of noise.  We apologized and I got our two oldest kids from bed to go deal with the chicken once and for all.  They caught the chicken and off into the woods they went again, this time with a scalpel to get the job done.  As they returned I asked the question "He's dead?".  They replied, "We sliced his neck and he was covered in blood but when we put him in the hole he popped up and ran off."  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  After much discussion about what they had done we decide the chicken wouldn't live long and no search was necessary.  
A few days later our middle child yells out the chickens name "Anatoli".  We all were a bit confused till she pointed out the window and the zombie chicken was back.  My son and I went outside and he was running around the yard trying to avoid us, which makes sense if someone tried to kill you twice.  I decided that I was going to deal with it myself but unable to catch decided being a pretty strong guy could end it quickly from a distance with a shovel.  While not the ideal approach recognizing this bloody chicken was probably suffering I decided to do whatever needed to be done.  I am regretful in telling you it took about half a dozen swings to finish the deed.  And if you saw me that day killing a chicken with a shovel thinking what a horrible human being, you failed to know the story that preceded to get us to that point.  
The chicken was taken and buried the job was done...or was it.  I cannot tell you what happened next cause nobody was there but all we know is that the next day the grave was empty and there was no chicken.  I am pretty sure it was an animal that dug it up and ate the chicken for food but for all I know he could still be out there prowling New Brunswick, The Zombie Chicken of Ever After Acres.