Am I Practical or Mean?

[moxies_chickennuggets]

Thanks to ya'll for all the responses and for not calling me mean. I have read them to DH and we have both enjoyed what everybody had to say. I just shake my head at the excessive way people treat their animals, sometimes better than their children. On another forum someone posted about their duck, a house pet. It became egg bound and the duck was scheduled for sugery to remove the ovaries for $2500. She asked for prayers for her duck. I thought to my self......OK, a diapered house duck..........hmmmmmm.......NOT in my house..........$2500 for SUGERY????? Just go on and take me to the funny farm if I ever do something that dumb. I could buy LOTS of ducks for $2500 haha

You're not mean!!! You're just listening to your common sense and a voice of reason. People didn't always have the option of vets for livestock, or vets for family pets either. It wasn't that long ago that women died in the hospital from childbed fever.....from male Doctors refusing to wash their hands after an autopsy/dissection. Makes you wonder really.

 

[Team Chaos]

I agree with all that has been posted here.. my personal experience with more involved treatments of animals is that, most of the time, we're asking for the animal to endure too much because we cannot bear to feel powerless to nature's course. I think we do it with humans too. I'm not saying that something that takes time is too much to give- my jersey giant hen looked like she had split open and everyone said cull her- but I figured I'd try as long as she would and she's back out in the hen house today. I researched, kept the wound clean etc. and it took two/three months- under $20 of supplies. As long as she wasn't suffering, I was willing to give it a go and I'm glad I did. But there was no way I was taking that chicken in for "exploratory surgery"- it wouldn't have been fair to her to have her body sustain more damage nor would it have been fair to us (and the rest of the critters) who certainly would have had to go without the basics in order to afford something like that. Nope. I do not think for one minute that I am a "bad chicken owner" for drawing that line.
I think the slippery part of the slope, which I haven't heard any of you here start down but I run into plenty in my daily life is that "animals are animals for a reason" as an excuse for being lazy or providing substandard care. When I came on to the family farm, there was a horse there. I asked what she ate and where she drank and I was told there was plenty of pasture and a creek to drink from- great. As she has aged and the land has changed, she can't get these resources as easily as before, especially in winter. Her owners simply don't want to put the time in to helping provide for her, nor do they want to put her down or rehome her. "Animals are animals for a reason" is what I am told- but they seem to forget that she is not a wild horse that happened onto the land, she is a domestic animal who was brought there and, in my opinion, if you have the power to make choices like that for a living being, you're on the hook to see them through. Why have an animal barely survive when you can give it a quality life? That "hard work" is the human end of the deal, in my book.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I suppose some would call me "mean", because I do not name my livestock, give them heat in the winter, etc. But, I have 7 healthy chickens. They live in a chicken tractor. I keep it cleaned out...but not sterile. They get laying pellets/feed. They get fresh water and protection from the elements. I give them fresh greens from the garden, and any fresh kitchen scraps. They will get meat scraps from the kitchen, for protein. Just not daily. I just treat them like birds. Now, because we keep them in a coop....albeit it a chicken tractor...we are fully responsible for getting them fresh food and water. If they free ranged, they would have more access.

Now, I am totally new to this venture. I was born and raised a city girl. I know Macy's, taxis, public transportation, asphalt, concrete, skyscrapers. These chickens were my DH's idea last winter. He brought them home in June. He is the country of us 2. Think ..."Green Acres".
He built and designed the chicken tractors, got the chicks (free), brought them and the feed home, and basically calls them "my" chickens. I have to remind them that this was totally his idea. When I was a yungin'....eggs and milk came from the store...and cows and chickens were at the zoo.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I've only had pet animals so far but am pretty practical about it. If they can be made healthy again- I will try, but I'll give treatments or bargain shop for vet fees, etc. If Death is knocking on the door- I hate losing them but just prolonging their lives is not fair. (That applies to humans too.)

I would value a hen that lays in the winter at more than 20.00. Walmart was charging over $ 2.00 per dozen for their regular eggs, last week. I might take one sick hen to the vet for diagnosis- in case the others catch it.

Livestock still have to earn their keep. I'm a vegetarian, but hubby is Not. Animals will have to help us somehow or he'd cook it.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

You aren't mean. What people need to do is consider the difference between livestock and pets. Even pets, I will try to treat whatever I can myself.....I mean I just ordered some flea med today, online at double savings. I use ivemectin meant for cows and horses in extremely small amts for my dogs to prevent heartworms. Huge savings. Its good to have a friend who used to work for a vet......good to have all kinds of friends.
Regarding livestock....I feel an ounce of prevention is worth 2 LBs of cure. Sometimes I just figure its time to worm my birds. When its been a few years, I go ahead and order a bunch of vaccines and all my replacement flock gets shot or medicated against whatever I can afford. Last time, I spent about 160 bucks on vaccines, but if I'd lose my whole flock, it would cost me in the thousands, in losses.
The thing to do when you find something sick is remove it from the other animals, treat with common sense and kill if necessary, as kindly as possible. Then properly dispose of the animal. I have bought goats for 15 dollars.....Some 25 dollars. You not going to spend a few hundred on an animal that easy to replace. I saw a friend spend 250ish dollars on a goat that died anyway. He could have started a small herd with that money. Its sad, but if you want a successful farm project, you have to be hard and run your farm at some kind of a plus. You start paying out all your profits (and then some) to a vet all the time and you can forget about being successful.