Horses: Refuse to come in for dinner and sneak by me in the dark pasture and blowing rain, just in case my sneakers hadn't soaked completely through
Me: Close off the far pasture
Horses: Break into the barn, knock things over, tear up hay, and poop everywhere
Why do people keep these creatures, again?
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
What is actually cruel?
I wandered over to the ASPCA's website the other day. I realized that "animal cruelty" just isn't cut and dried. What is cruel can depend not just on the species, but on the individual animal. In my opinion, ASPCA spends a bit too much attention on gray areas. There are plenty of clearly abused animals who need help. And they really over-simplify some things on the website.
Take spent hens, for example. What on earth is wrong with slaughtering a 2-year-old hen to eat? Plenty of non-factory farms do this, where measures are not taken to increase egg laying during the winter months or to schedule and minimize molting. Hens naturally lay more during their first two years of life. Even if you're an all-natural or organic farm charging $4/doz for eggs, you're unlikely to make a profit on hens older than 2 years. How is this cruel?
I don't care for factory farming, and that's one of the reasons we have our farm. Even the organic, all natural, "cage free" farms do things I don't care for. Is it cruel? I define cruel as "animal needs to be removed and person possibly prosecuted". In my experience farmers are doing their best in a very unprofitable business, and it just doesn't rise to that level. Until we're ready to pay a great deal more for our food (or raise and grow some of it ourselves in our manicured suburban yards) we're going to have factory farms.
I did think ASPCA presented some good information on dog fighting. See http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/dog-fighting/history-of-dog-fighting.html. However, they don't ask what is to me the obvious question: if the animal desperately wants to do it, is it cruel? Does the fact that we bred for that desire in the animal make it cruel? After all, we just selected for something that was already there. What makes breeding dogs for dog aggression cruel, while breeding them to chase and tree bear or to race (or horses to race for that matter) is not? I'm sure they get hurt at all these activities. We often get hurt during activities we enjoy. Is there a threshold of injury beyond which the activity is cruel? Or is the animal's choice to engage in or avoid the activity a factor? How much will does the animal have? How much of our influence is "cruel"?
And this brings me to animal sacrifice, which I did not see addressed on ASPCA's website. I don't like it, but my husband asked me a very good question one day; What is the difference between killing an animal for food or for religious purposes? Does it make a difference to the animal at the end of the day? Probably not, and I would be engaging in hypocrisy and bigotry if I declared that some people shouldn't practice their religion because I don't like it, while munching on my steak.
I didn't know what to make of the elephants in the circus videos. I just don't know enough about elephant handling. I'm sure people would watch me with my horses, and some non-horse-people might say I do cruel things. Maybe even some horse people. But I've seen what can become of a horse that isn't taught that humans are in charge. Trust me, that horse is not happy, and neither are the humans around it. And my earlier point about individuals? I have two horses who are polar opposites in personality. One is my rescued racehorse, who doesn't miss a trick and really likes to have his own way. The other is my hunter jumper TB, who is gentle, sensitive, and a true babysitter. If I behaved with him the way I behave with the racehorse, it would be cruel. But if I'm not firm with my racehorse, he won't respect me, and then I won't be able to look after him safely. That's bad for both of us.
-Pam
Take spent hens, for example. What on earth is wrong with slaughtering a 2-year-old hen to eat? Plenty of non-factory farms do this, where measures are not taken to increase egg laying during the winter months or to schedule and minimize molting. Hens naturally lay more during their first two years of life. Even if you're an all-natural or organic farm charging $4/doz for eggs, you're unlikely to make a profit on hens older than 2 years. How is this cruel?
I don't care for factory farming, and that's one of the reasons we have our farm. Even the organic, all natural, "cage free" farms do things I don't care for. Is it cruel? I define cruel as "animal needs to be removed and person possibly prosecuted". In my experience farmers are doing their best in a very unprofitable business, and it just doesn't rise to that level. Until we're ready to pay a great deal more for our food (or raise and grow some of it ourselves in our manicured suburban yards) we're going to have factory farms.
I did think ASPCA presented some good information on dog fighting. See http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/dog-fighting/history-of-dog-fighting.html. However, they don't ask what is to me the obvious question: if the animal desperately wants to do it, is it cruel? Does the fact that we bred for that desire in the animal make it cruel? After all, we just selected for something that was already there. What makes breeding dogs for dog aggression cruel, while breeding them to chase and tree bear or to race (or horses to race for that matter) is not? I'm sure they get hurt at all these activities. We often get hurt during activities we enjoy. Is there a threshold of injury beyond which the activity is cruel? Or is the animal's choice to engage in or avoid the activity a factor? How much will does the animal have? How much of our influence is "cruel"?
And this brings me to animal sacrifice, which I did not see addressed on ASPCA's website. I don't like it, but my husband asked me a very good question one day; What is the difference between killing an animal for food or for religious purposes? Does it make a difference to the animal at the end of the day? Probably not, and I would be engaging in hypocrisy and bigotry if I declared that some people shouldn't practice their religion because I don't like it, while munching on my steak.
I didn't know what to make of the elephants in the circus videos. I just don't know enough about elephant handling. I'm sure people would watch me with my horses, and some non-horse-people might say I do cruel things. Maybe even some horse people. But I've seen what can become of a horse that isn't taught that humans are in charge. Trust me, that horse is not happy, and neither are the humans around it. And my earlier point about individuals? I have two horses who are polar opposites in personality. One is my rescued racehorse, who doesn't miss a trick and really likes to have his own way. The other is my hunter jumper TB, who is gentle, sensitive, and a true babysitter. If I behaved with him the way I behave with the racehorse, it would be cruel. But if I'm not firm with my racehorse, he won't respect me, and then I won't be able to look after him safely. That's bad for both of us.
-Pam
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Shame on Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey!
Never mind saving the elephants. Save the childrens' hearing! The sound was at hearing-loss level. My daughter cried during the loudest part, which was unfortunately one of the best acts (the motorcycles). Patriot center staff assured me they had expressed concern to RBBB, but RBBB had not adjusted the sound.DO NOT take your children to see this show. It isn't worth permanent damage to their hearing. I found it painful, and at my age I can't hear as well as the average 8-year-old. No, your kids won't start failing hearing tests in school. However, they will lose some part of their hearing perception, probably in the very high ranges where most adults can no longer perceive sounds.I requested my complaint be conveyed to RBBB, and requested that someone contact me. Any bets on whether they actually will?
-P
-P
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Skunk!
Since our chickens range free, we can only encourage them to lay in the nests we provide. Some of them like to find their own nests. These include a horse stall, between some hay bales, and in a patch of briars behind the chicken coop. The patch of briars is the problem spot. Not because we can't get to the eggs - because the skunk gets to them first.
I haven't seen the skunk. I'm assuming skunk because I see the hen laying, then come back for an egg that isn't there, and encounter a light perfume of Eau de Skunk. Now maybe I'm maligning the poor skunk, who passed through just once some time ago and has been followed by something else. After all, Eau de Skunk tends to - linger.
Whatever it is, it's snitching eggs in broad daylight, which probably narrows the list of likely suspects. Skunks do go after eggs during the day, as my poor Aunt can testify.
My Aunt M and my mother had the job of collecting eggs as kids. Before my grandfather bought the farm they kept a hen in the garage, and she had a nest there. They would wait to hear her cackle, then race to get the egg.
One morning when my Aunt climbed on the box she used to reach the nest, she encountered a faster harvester in a nice black and white suit.
She got out without being sprayed, and called my grandfather, who dispensed the usual farm justice. She wrote about her experience in an essay for school. The teacher sent her work home with the note "Not a true story!"
My husband offered to bait a trap, but there's a little problem with that. The traps are on loan from a friend, and I'm not confident in my ability to remove Eau de Skunk from it. And I guarantee there will be lots of Eau de Skunk. Plus there is likely another skunk just waiting to move in.
What we really need to do is build a coop big enough to house the nest boxes, which would likely make them more attractive to the hens. Only that requires time and money, two things Tumble Rock Farm is fresh out of just now.
-P
I haven't seen the skunk. I'm assuming skunk because I see the hen laying, then come back for an egg that isn't there, and encounter a light perfume of Eau de Skunk. Now maybe I'm maligning the poor skunk, who passed through just once some time ago and has been followed by something else. After all, Eau de Skunk tends to - linger.
Whatever it is, it's snitching eggs in broad daylight, which probably narrows the list of likely suspects. Skunks do go after eggs during the day, as my poor Aunt can testify.
My Aunt M and my mother had the job of collecting eggs as kids. Before my grandfather bought the farm they kept a hen in the garage, and she had a nest there. They would wait to hear her cackle, then race to get the egg.
One morning when my Aunt climbed on the box she used to reach the nest, she encountered a faster harvester in a nice black and white suit.
She got out without being sprayed, and called my grandfather, who dispensed the usual farm justice. She wrote about her experience in an essay for school. The teacher sent her work home with the note "Not a true story!"
My husband offered to bait a trap, but there's a little problem with that. The traps are on loan from a friend, and I'm not confident in my ability to remove Eau de Skunk from it. And I guarantee there will be lots of Eau de Skunk. Plus there is likely another skunk just waiting to move in.
What we really need to do is build a coop big enough to house the nest boxes, which would likely make them more attractive to the hens. Only that requires time and money, two things Tumble Rock Farm is fresh out of just now.
-P
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tastes Like Chicken
Grimmy likes to feed the chickens.
Well, he thinks he likes to eat his food. He has no idea why all these birds run around under his feet every time he eats. He sprays food everywhere because he's a warmblood.
One time he got excited and dumped his bucket. The chickens swarmed, and Grimmy was too intimidated to chase them off. Missing dinner seems to have cured him of bucket dumping.
The other day I heard a chicken squawk. I looked over to see if she'd been pawed. She was scuttling away, ruffled and offended. Grimmy was trying to figure out what to do with his mouthful of chicken feathers.
I guess she didn't move when he told her to, and he's finally decided the chickens fall below him in the pecking order. So to speak.
There is nothing so funny as a colt with an unexpected mouthful of chicken feathers.
-P
Well, he thinks he likes to eat his food. He has no idea why all these birds run around under his feet every time he eats. He sprays food everywhere because he's a warmblood.
One time he got excited and dumped his bucket. The chickens swarmed, and Grimmy was too intimidated to chase them off. Missing dinner seems to have cured him of bucket dumping.
The other day I heard a chicken squawk. I looked over to see if she'd been pawed. She was scuttling away, ruffled and offended. Grimmy was trying to figure out what to do with his mouthful of chicken feathers.
I guess she didn't move when he told her to, and he's finally decided the chickens fall below him in the pecking order. So to speak.
There is nothing so funny as a colt with an unexpected mouthful of chicken feathers.
-P
Thursday, March 05, 2009
The Tractor in the Tree
Yes, there really was one.
My husband must have Internet access. There's no cable where we live, so he signed up with the local wireless provider. They tell you where to place your pole and how high, and what sort of cable to run to the top of it. They don't do it for you.
My husband dug his trench (if you ever see him with a Ditch-Witch, run), laid his cable and placed his pole. Filling the trench back in proved to be too much.
He had an impulse.
Agricultural tractors with two-wheel drive are not meant to be maneuvered on steep muddy hills.
I don't know whether the tree partway down the hill was good or bad. It did stop the tractor's progress sideways down the hill, and the tractor did stay right-side up.
Others with heavier equipment retrieved my tractor. Amazingly the only souvenirs I have are a bad photograph and a bent steering wheel.
-P
p.s. I took the pic from the deck, so you really can't appreciate the slope. It's worse than it looks.
The Car You Can't Lock Your Keys In
My husband has always had problems with cars. He forgets to put gas in them, and they give up in awkward places. He forgets to take the keys out, and they don't let him back in. Sometimes I go to the rescue. Now with two children, a farm, and a career I sometimes have to refer him to roadside assistance.
He finally had to replace our much beloved Honda. The new (used) car is smart; if it has a key inside it refuses to lock. Problem solved for my husband!
Only one problem. He tends to leave keys around. Today when I arrived at work the car wouldn't lock. I had to search the car for the key he left in it before I could get to work.
Maybe it's not so convenient after all.
-P
p.s. Remind me to post the Most Interesting Places to Run Out Of Gas...
He finally had to replace our much beloved Honda. The new (used) car is smart; if it has a key inside it refuses to lock. Problem solved for my husband!
Only one problem. He tends to leave keys around. Today when I arrived at work the car wouldn't lock. I had to search the car for the key he left in it before I could get to work.
Maybe it's not so convenient after all.
-P
p.s. Remind me to post the Most Interesting Places to Run Out Of Gas...
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