Dumbest Things People Have Said About Your Chickens/Eggs/Meat

[tridentk9]

what magnificent creature. Such a shame that mankind must kill everything that is "novel" to them, in order to..."better understand them"?

My understanding is that since there was a sudden drop in population over all of Tasmania a disease probably killed them off. Most likely a disease that came with dogs from Europe.

Yes, long jaw that opens very wide. According to the Kratt Brothers the Tasmanian Tiger could use it's tail for balance while sitting up like the kangaroo. Wild Kratts, a PBS nature cartoon, was on the Tasmanian Tiger today. They even used the same movie clip! What timing

 

[The Yakima Kid]

the large quadrapeds in the United States are bison.
There are buffalo in Asia and Africa.

The settlers who came to America just called them "buffalo" because all they knew were the water buffalo or cape buffalo from the old world.

The European closely related species is known as the Wisent. Apparently "buffalo" came from the French traders/trappers of the 17th Century, who referred to them as "bouef" meaning a beeve or an ox, independent of the word for actual old world buffalo. Of course, they aren't beeves, either. The word bison wasn't used before the mid 18th century or so. Either is currently considered correct as a common term for the species by most authorities, no matter what they told us in school.

We have a bunch running around now insisting that of the 40 different English language words for the cougar, only one is allegedly proper. So "cougar" is an 'incorrect term", as is allegedly the case for "mountain lion, along with the 37 other English language words used to mean the same beast - and that we should only call them "puma."

 

[Mah1Mah1]

what magnificent creature. Such a shame that mankind must kill everything that is "novel" to them, in order to..."better understand them"?

Mankind disgusts me sometimes...

 

[Hanna8]

I know I'm contributing to one of this thread's many latest tangents, and a somewhat controversial one at that... but since we're all about education here, I want to address some of your folks' concerns on the collection of the tasmanian tiger and other animals for study. The knowledge gained by researchers from collecting specimens is well worth it. You would probably be surprised by how much research depends on these sorts of things and how much understanding is gained, which can have beneficial impacts on both the species collected and others. And collection is done in a responsible, thought-out manner. I understand that the practice looks and sounds pretty bad at first thought, but I highly recommend watching this video to hear some of the other side of the story before denouncing the practice completely:

If you are still against it, that's alright and very understandable, but it is always better to be more informed.

 

[Nuggetirl]

Speaking of ... My high school BFF just left after a weeklong visit. Our communication 2 hours later is below:


Good thing you left when you did. I was just stripping the sheets from your bed, throwing the comforter and throw on the floor and removing the top sheet and pillow cases. I took those to the laundry room and returned to your room to remove the bottom sheet. First, however, I pushed the comforter out of the way and touched something soft and black that moved away from my hand. I moved the comforter some more and saw that it was a snake!! I grabbed a 5 gallon bucket and, carefully exposing the snake, I covered it with the bucket. I then held the bucket down securely and slid it slowly all the way to the front door. I propped the screen door open, grabbed the flat shovel, then slid the bucket up to the threshold. I tipped up the side of the bucket that was nearest the door to let the snake escape towards the porch, then threw the bucket off and used the shovel to fling it outside. It scooted into the garden.

It appeared to be a black snake or a king snake about 2 feet long. <shudder> Where it came from, I have no idea.

I immediately got a call in response to my email.

Her: Are you telling me I slept with a snake last night?

Me: I have no idea. Did you?

H: Well, when I got into bed last night, I felt something move against my foot, but I thought it was Milo.

M: No. I threw Milo out last night with the rest of the cats.

H: OMG. I slept with a snake last night.

M: Well, that *would* explain where it came from when I found it. I was mystified. If it was in your bed, it came out when I threw the covers off and that’s why it was under the comforter on the floor.

H: I can feel my heart rate increasing and I'm starting to sweat.

M: Yeah, I’m glad we found out afterward. Otherwise you’d have been taken out of here on a stretcher and receiving CPR.

Of all people, this had to happen to her. She’s afraid of the chickens because they flap their wings. She’s such a city girl that she won’t even go in the backyard the entire time she’s here. She closed and locked her bedroom windows as soon as she arrived, and carries a handgun with her everywhere; she’s licensed to carry a concealed weapon. In other words, She packs heat! She has fears about her fears. Anxiety doesn’t begin to describe it. OMG.

On further thought, I finally figured out that the cat, who took a shine to my friend, brought her a gift and left it in her bed. He didn't kill it as he would normally do, because he wanted to reserve that honor for her.

There is just so much NOPE in this post. I don't fear a lot outside (spiders being the exception, but I still walk on grass with flipflops) but once something is inside, it's a whole new ballgame. this is my area, I can't just leave it, I have to deal with it, and just NOPE.

 

[Papas Chickens]

7 Biddies- is your friend ever returning to your house? Hmm, trying to figure out how difficult it would be to shoot a snake in the bed. That's assuming the shooter wouldn't want to move in case the snake was some type of flying or spitting snake.

flying snake

 

[Papas Chickens]

7 Biddies- is your friend ever returning to your house? Hmm, trying to figure out how difficult it would be to shoot a snake in the bed. That's assuming the shooter wouldn't want to move in case the snake was some type of flying or spitting snake.

flying snake

 

[Papas Chickens]

Originally Posted by SpringPeeper

Actually, Copperhead bites that result in death are just about unheard of. The current recommended treatment (except for small children, facial bites and those showing signs of an allergic reaction) is simply monitor the bite in-hospital, as most of the treatments for snake bites (like antivenin and fasciotomy) can have longer-lasting ill effects than a copperhead bite.

I'm a snake person, and the crazy stuff people consider facts about snakes is way, way worse than any of the 'dumb things' people say about my chickens.
The copperhead is a ground dwelling pitviper with generally minimal to moderate effects compared to other pitvipers in the southeast. Bites are most common to hands, due to handling of the snake, and the feet and legs due to stepping on the snake, either day or night. Bites to the feet at night are almost always due to walking without a flashlight. Deaths from copperhead bites are extraordinarily rare, and have been attributed to factors such as: facial bites or bites to the tongue or mouth area that lead to swelling of the tongue and occlusion of the airway; or a previous bite and subsequent anaphylaxis.

Bites by copperheads usually cause immediate pain, which has been described as “hitting your thumb with a hammer”, “stepping on a bare electrical wire”, or “being repeatedly stabbed with a knife”. In other words, it is very painful. If for no other reason, bite patients will go to the ER for pain management. Morphine is most commonly given for pain, but vomiting is also common for moderate to severe evenomations, and either Phenergan or Zofran are typically given. Initially, blue bruising appears around the fang marks, almost without exception. Swelling is always present in an evenomation, and soft, pliable skin around the bite without bruising is a good indicator that the patient has not been envenomated, or has possibly been bitten by a non-venomous species. If swelling and bruising are present, be prepared for the patient to deteriorate. The swelling will progress up the limb, and the patient may develop numbness and tingling in the face, mouth or scalp, nausea and vomiting, chills, abdominal cramping, and rapid heart rate (due to pain and discomfort).
Treatment: Positive identification of a copperhead bite in the pre-hospital setting is an indicator that pain management should be initiated promptly. [Morphine 2 to 10mg titrated to the patient’s pain level.] The only downside is that patients that receive analgesics pre-hospital can enter the Emergency Room in very little distress, thereby causing a delay in antivenom administration if ER personnel base their treatment on distress alone. However, with copperhead bites most often antivenom is given simply to decrease the amount of local tissue morbidity and save the limb or limb function rather than saving the life of the patient. Fortunately, the new generation of antivenoms are hypo-allergenic, [CroFab, Antivipmyn] and we are able to administer them without nearly as much concern for anaphylaxis as the first generation antivenoms [Ex: Wyeth ACP]. With CroFab, 6 vials is a good starting dose for copperhead bites with both swelling and bruising, followed by subsequent doses, up to around 12 vials. [***When mixing antivenom, be sure to swirl and NEVER shake the bottle.***]
Coagulopathy isn’t normally a concern with copperheads, but rather reversal of all systemic symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, chills and paresthesias. In my experience, although you may see a decrease in the swelling, it will persist from 1 to 5 days even with antivenom administration. And it should be noted that fasciotomies are almost unheard of in copperhead bites.
Local tissue damage however, is common, as is the loss of tissue and loss of mobility of a joint near the bite. Once again, this can be greatly limited by giving an adequate quantity of antivenom early in the treatment.
Pediatrics: If small children are bitten, the concern should be much greater, and antivenom in the same or higher quantities should be administered as soon as possible. Bites with systemic symptoms (nausea, vomiting, numbness and tingling, metallic taste in the mouth), should receive antivenom in appropriate quantities without delay. Only after the initial treatment is on board should a facility transfer the patient to a higher level of care.

EMS Instructions for Copperhead Bites:
1. Attempt to positively identify the snake. This is vital to antivenom administration. Look for the pattern of Hershey’s kisses along the side of the snakes body.
2. Never transport a live snake in an ambulance. Dead snakes should NEVER be handled, unless the head has been separated from the body and the head isolated in a puncture proof container. The head of a dead pitviper is fully capable of injecting venom for several days after death. Treat dead venomous snakes with caution!!! Consider the risk and liability when dealing with them.
3. Establish baseline vital signs.
4. The affected limb is best kept in a neutral position. Do not be overly concerned in the pre-hospital setting with elevation or dependence. It won’t change the outcome of the bite.
5. Attempt to start at least an 18g IV above the level of the bite, and on the opposite side of the body. For copperhead bites, 1000 ml of NS is sufficient. Antivenom is given through Normal Saline IV lines.
6. Provide Oxygen appropriate for your patient’s level of consciousness and level of distress. When in doubt, give high flow O2.
7. Transport your patient to the nearest hospital that has antivenom. This should be prearranged. ****And NEVER ice the bite or use tourniquets!****

 

[Blooie]

I haven't had one of these to add in a long, long time! But I just got one this morning. <sigh>

Her: How many chickens do you have?
Me: We're down to 19 now - we processed 3 roosters so all we have left is the 19 girls. (Here I waited for the usual "But how can you get eggs without a rooster" comment. Didn't come!)
Her: What in the he!! are you going to do with all those eggs? That's way too many!
Me: It is a lot, but we plan on culling some of the other chickens until we're down to 8 or 10. We feed some back to the chickens, our son's and daughter's families will get some too, plus what we'll use here. That should work fine.
Her: But if you keep 10, that's still 120 eggs a day!
Me: Huh?
Her, explaining patiently to me as if I were 5 years old: Well, a dozen a day from each hen, that's 120 eggs a day!

Oh, my....sometimes I'm left speechless!

 

[AshleyRae]

Our family loves camping, hiking, or just day trips to the creek. When we take our friends, they insist every snake on land is a copperhead and every one in the water is a cottonmouth. It drives me batty, because even when I point out pattern differences they still don't believe me. I have the same problem with spiders. My DH thinks every one is either a brown recluse or a black widow. We've got both kinds, but you'd think he would learn the difference between a yellow garden spider and a widow. Spiders don't frighten me, so I clean out the shed every spring. I've been bitten a few times too, and he thinks that just proves his point about how dangerous they are. I don't even see a doctor anymore for recluse bites; I just put some prid and a bandage on and look out for infection. I do get tired of people thinking we have to freak out about snakes and spiders, or that I'm a freak because of my relaxed attitude about them.