Trama

When the remains of a local chicken farmer is found, the Jeffersonian team is brought in on the case. The team must question the farmer's many enemies in order to solve the case. Meanwhile, Angela launches her own animal-rights campaign.

The weird face of a hydrogen sulphate-affected corpse, found floating in a river fits Nick Rabin, head of personnel at industrial chicken farm Clucksten, which is opposed by John Collins's animal rights campaigners and baker Roy Meyers's group of smell-bothered neighbors. Nick's severed thumbs and toes were used at protests elsewhere. His widow, Gaynor, anonymously helped Josh. Meanwhile Booth worries about his character judgment instincts and Angela is emotionally obsessed with 'saving' a piglet.—KGF Vissers

When the mutilated remains of a local chicken farmer, who is set to inherit a chicken factory farm that is aggressively protested against for inhumane living conditions and animal cruelty, are discovered on the bank of a nearby river, the Jeffersonian team is brought in on the case. The team must question the farmer's many enemies, including extremist animal-rights activists and bitter neighbors, in order to solve the case. Meanwhile, Angela is bothered by the farm's practices and launches her own animal-rights campaign.—Fox Publicity

We open with a troupe of little girls -- the Woodchucks. Apparently, they discovered a body while camping and brought it to the Jeffersonian (along with soil and water samples) because Dr. Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is their idol. "These ladies, they are pros," Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) says. Bones throws them a bone, so to speak. The girls are thrilled -- until Bones then tells the not to disturb the crime scene next time. The girls boo. "You're mean!" a Woodchuck yells. Naturally, Bones doesn't understand. "How will they learn?" she asks.

Later, Wendell (Michael Grant Terry) notes the body is missing it fingers and it smells like a "fart." Not very scientific, but it probably means the body was doused in sulfur. Booth (David Boreanaz) follows up Hodgins' theory that the dead man was part of government unit experimenting with suspended animation (which would apparently involve sulfur in some way). And guess what? Turns out a master sergeant from a government agency called DARPA went missing recently. But things get even weirder: Angela's facial reconstruction of the victim yields a photo looking "half man, half chicken." What the cluck?

The team decides to reexamine the body. Wendell notices a lot of scar tissue. Hodgins notices red stripes on the palette. "Is that an organism?" Bones asks. It is indeed. "It's a parasite found in chickens," Hodgins explains. So we're right back to the concept of a half-chicken, half-human soldier. No one is overly pleased. Booth then runs the ridiculous facial reconstruction through the system -- and gets a hit! Oddly enough, the photo matches the head of personnel at a nearby chicken farm. And, yes, the man looks more than a little bit like his product. "This is getting weirder and weirder," Booth says.

B&B arrive at the farm to find protestors referred to as "animal rights nuts" by a bitter security guard (Sean Bridgers). Indeed, the chickens are packed into a warehouse like, well, chickens. They meet the wife of the dead man, who is an accountant at the farms. Mrs. Rabin (Tracy Middendorf) says her hubby had worked at the farm since he was a teen. "It's the Hydrogen sulfide," Bones tells Booth. "High concentrations deform the sinuses." Hence, the man's nose elongated into beak-like proportions. B&B say they suggest foul play (get it?). Mrs. Rabin angrily suggests looking into the animal-rights protestors at the gate.

So they do. The security guard points out protestor Josh Parsons (Andrew J. West), who apparently snuck into the factory a few months back and shot video. "As of now, you are our number one suspect," Booth tells the defiant young protestor. In response, Parsons calls for a "code yellow." Suddenly, the protesters dump corn syrup on B&B and then feather them. "You know that you're all under arrest, don't you?" Booth asks. Back at HQ, Booth and Sweets (John Francis Daley) interrogate Josh. Booth threatens the ideologue with prison time -- and the protestor quickly folds. Josh hands over a USB drive containing the original footage from his break in.

Wendell, meanwhile, has determined the chicken man was killed by having its neck wrung (ironic). Angela (Michaela Conlin) seems more upset by the treatment of the chickens at the farm -- and gets upset when Bones confesses she isn't. Angela examines the video anyway and determines it was none other than Mrs. Rabin who owned the camera used to take clandestine footage of the factory. Sweets theorizes the victim used his wife's camera to strike back at the company who disfigured him. Booth isn't buying it.

Sweets then meets with Angela, who is now soliciting donations to save a piglet from being slaughtered. The doc suggests Angela give up her celibacy pledge a bit early as her libido is being "re-routed" -- resulting in a loss of perspective. Angela isn't buying it. She hands Sweets the picture of the piglet before storming out. Booth, in the meantime, interrogates Mrs. Rabin. He asks about her husband's missing finger tips, which were recently found (they had been severed) in the company's nugget supply (gross). Mrs. Rabin admits to taking the video and giving it to protestor Josh. But why? "I wanted my husband to get his real face back," she says. So she gave the video to the protestors in hopes it would get the factory shut down. She then gives Booth the name of the main "clean-air nut" who has also been protesting the factory: Roy Meyers (Steven M. Porter).

Back at the office, Angela hits Wendell up for piglet cash and he forks over $45 despite being an avowed "meat eater." Angela is so thankful she lays a huge kiss on the intern, who kisses right back. They make out, which we can only assume leads to other, non-celibate activities. B&B, in the meantime, visit Roy Meyers, a baker, angry because of the smell coming from the chicken factory. The man also owns a cigar cutter -- perfect for clipping the tips of fingers. Interesting, or maybe just another red herring.

Back at the Jeffersonian, Angela and Wendell have discovered strange identical marks on the victim's skull. A machine, perhaps? Camille (Tamara Taylor) suggests a cauterizing instrument cutting beaks off baby chicks. B&B then interrogate the professional beak clipper, Gina McNamara (Sufe Bradshaw). "Your machine was used to remove Nick's thumbs and big toes," Gina says. The woman denies any knowledge of the murder, but professes no love for her former boss or her job. So many suspects, but not so much time.

With the clock ticking, an experiment on Wendell (involving paint and a spinning chair) reveals nothing to no one -- except plenty to Bones, of course. "I know which piece of equipment made these bruises and wrung the victim's neck at the same time!" she exclaims. Moments later, Booth wheels in the factory's chicken plucker machine. Indeed, its spinning device could have made the marks on the skull and wrung Rabin's neck in the process. Only the marks indicate the victim's face was pushed into the machine, which would have been rough on the killer. "We should see if an employee of Cluckston Farms was treated for a broken hand," Bones says.

And guess who recently visited the doctor for just such an injury?

It's the security guard -- a tertiary character thus far (at best). "Eight years I worked at that hell hole," the guard explains to B&B under questioning. Turns out the security guard's wife got sick from working at the factory and the couple was forced to move 70 miles away so she could get well in clean air. The guard demanded restitution -- and Nick Rabin denied it. The two argued, and then fought. They ended up getting entangled in the chicken plucker. "All I wanted was a gas allowance, so my wife can stay healthy!" the guard screams. It's as good as a confession. The guard killed the chicken man.

Case closed, but not the episode. The team meets at the bar for drinks. Bones asks Booth's advice on the whole Angela-piglet thing. "I think you should let her have this one," he tells her. So Bones goes immediately to Angela, giving her a big check to save the pig. Booth, meanwhile, notices Angela and Wendell have become quite close.

He grins. When will B&B get as friendly? Maybe next week.