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The reason that the principle "you cannot eradicate a species by shooting them...seems to only apply to certain species" is because it DOES apply only to certain species...and certain conditions. Different species reproduce at different rates. See post #90 on this thread. As far as what...

Truly beautiful set-up, but I think it's best to exclude wild birds from the coop and run, because they potentially carry diseases and parasites which affect chickens. Yes, chickens are exposed to wild birds when free ranging, but they are not usually exposed to a high concentration of...

No. Yours are the most arrogant and insulting comments I've seen on this forum. But returning to the topic of chickens: please continue to continue to care for your them as you see fit.

Funny, I read all of RaeRae's posts and did not interpret them as predicting killing sprees. I have no desire to tell people what to do. Thank you for your comments.

Why do so many people who favor lethal predator control try to imply that those of us who use nonlethal methods are just letting predators eat our chickens? Or that we keep our chickens confined in little cages? So sorry to disappoint you, but some of us use our brains and opposable thumbs to...

Tom e: We're basically in agreement. But again, I'll point out that the world is a rapidly changing place, and what is abundant today could be in sharp decline tomorrow. We've learned that often enough. You're right - you alone could not possibly exterminate the raccoon, but there has to be...

Sorry, tom e, I had lost track of who said what. You're right, I was disagreeing with you - particularly with that statement quoted above. I thought you were saying it's impossible to kill off a predator faster than the species can reproduce. And someone else was saying you can kill them...

What? Did you think I was arguing with you? I wasn't -- I hadn't even seen what you wrote until after I posted mine. I just read yours now, and actually think you had a good point: In a nutshell, our impact on these animals can be unpredictable, partly because biological systems are complex...

I think both sides of the argument are somewhat bogus here. History has shown that for some species, (e.g., the coyote), expensive, time consuming eradication campaigns did not reduce the population. Coyotes were, in fact, able to reproduce faster than people could kill them. But this is not...

Nobody's perfect. You're aware and you do your best. It's a process. It took me 15-20 years of gradual change to reach a mostly humane diet, and still it's only "mostly". Yup, it's expensive.

I liked RaeRae's story too. CAJersey, I don't think eating meat is hypocritical at all. Merely being alive means you consume resources, which often amounts to displacing other animals, whether you see them die or not. Think of the habitat that was transformed to get the raw materials for your...

It's really not rocket science. There are many threads in which prevention of predator attacks is discussed, and many people manage to give their birds a a good amount of freedom while rarely, if ever, losing one.

Important point about quality of life for chickens. But I guess I don't see it as a black and white issue: The options are not limited to small cage vs. complete free ranging. I typically keep a flock size of 10-20 chickens and they are fenced in to a 1/3 acre yard. In the shade of 4 fruit...

I agree with Trefoil's post #11. But to add to that, in reference to the OP's words quoted above, my understanding is that "survival of the fittest" refers to competition among individuals within a species, not between species. According to my research, destruction of other species degrades...