Most people have heard of the 7 Deadly Sins. If you haven't, they are:
- Anger
- Envy
- Gluttony
- Greed
- Lust
- Pride
- Sloth
So what do the 7 Deadly Sins have to do with anything on the farm? Well, it seems people aren't the only ones affected by these sins.
It's like this. . . I knew something was helping the peafowl eat their food. I'd fill up the bowl, and every morning it would be empty again. It usually lasts for at least 2 or 3 days, so I knew some other critter was helping eat the food.
Well, now I know what it was.
Yep, the rat was no doubt used to crawling through the chicken wire fence to get into the peafowl pen, chowing down on the dog food in the greed food bowl, then back out and home. (I know it was supposed to be greeN food bowl, but it was such a good Freudian slip I left it in.)
Only this time the rat ate a little too much. His too fat stomach would no longer fit through the holes in the chicken wire and he got stuck.
It was deathly cold. He couldn't move. So he froze to death.
While the rotten rat's death certificate might give the cause of death as hypothermia, that's not the real reason he died. Nope, he died because he ate too much and could no longer fit through the holes in the chicken wire and get out of the cold.
So there you have it. . . Death by Gluttony.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow….fascinating. Poor little yucky icky rat guy.
Kind of gruesome, but I can’t feel too sorry for the rat. They make such an awful mess in the feed room that one less rat is fine by me!
Aw, see I love rats. I don’t really like them eating the chicken food, but I wouldn’t want one to die of exposure. I guess that’s what I get from having pet rats.
Maybe I would feel differently if I ever had pet rats, but all I’ve dealt with is the mess these rats make in the feed shed with urine and feces. It’s filthy and it stinks! They chew up any leads or ropes I leave in there, they even chewed up some peacock feathers I had stored in there!
That being said, I don’t wish any creature a slow death like that from hypothermia. But I still want them gone and this time of year the snakes aren’t making meals of them, and one cat can’t keep up!
Yikes that is a big rat! Death by gluttony guess he got what was coming to him : )
I guess that’s why they call them the 7 DEADLY Sins ……… LOL
No special sympathy for rats here, but I do feel a solidarity with this one because I’m a sinner, too …… and the thought of such immediate consequences makes me flinch! LOL
Yep, that’s what I figured. A literal DEADLY sin.
I reckon the rat didn’t merit any grace so got the consequences. Maybe he forgot to SAY grace. I just know the gluttony done him in.
I’ve had pet rats, and I still don’t feel sorry for that greedy wild rat. He had a choice and chose the wrong one. In life there are consequences. So be it!
I’m glad your peafowl’s food will last a few days longer now. Feed isn’t cheap!
~Lisa
Boy you got that right! The feed bill never gets any lower.
I guess if the rat hadn’t eaten quite so much this time, he’d still be making nightly raids on the food bowl. I suspect he has some cohorts that are still helping themselves.
Hi, I stumbled across your website and I love reading your little stories. They are all so clever
My dream has been to have a hobby farm ever since I was young girl. Our dream will hopefully come to reality as we are looking to relocate from Phoenix to Minnesota (I know crazy). So keep us in your farm prayers and I’ll keep checking in on your site so I can learn little things like bringing in the peafowl food at night 
Blessings to you and every little thing on your farm~
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie! Welcome, and glad you enjoyed the stories. Stop by anytime!
I’m sure you will love being on a farm, although I must admit, going from Phoenix to Minnesota sounds like a BIG adjustment. I hope you like cold weather. REALLY cold weather!
Best wishes and I hope you find your farm a blessed place.