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

[GimmeCake]

I had a funny conversation today with an elderly relative. She didn't understand how I could have eggs from my hens even though I have no rooster...

Some people like to think all animals reproduce the same.

 

[vehve]

I just saw a documentary on how reproduction of different animals works, and I have to say, slugs are about the weirdest reproducers out there.

 

[GimmeCake]

I just saw a documentary on how reproduction of different animals works, and I have to say, slugs are about the weirdest reproducers out there.

Why do you think they're weird (I'm not going to be watching that documentary myself..)?

 

[vehve]

@GimmeCake

At first, one starts secreting some sort of pheromone, and the other one starts to follow it. Then the first one finds an overhang, like the bottom of an branch, and the other one follows it there, where they start to intertwine in an circle. That lasts for about an hour, and they secrete a sort of goo during that. After about an hour, they will release their hold of the branch, and hang below it, supported by the slime. They still continue to intertwine, and after a while, they start producing their penises, located on their side, right behind the head. They grow and grow, and start to intertwine as well, forming a flower resembling orb, and then they start swapping sperm. After a while, they start pulling in their penises again, and drop down from the branch, both slugs being fertilized at this point.

 

[GimmeCake]

@GimmeCake

At first, one starts secreting some sort of pheromone, and the other one starts to follow it. Then the first one finds an overhang, like the bottom of an branch, and the other one follows it there, where they start to intertwine in an circle. That lasts for about an hour, and they secrete a sort of goo during that. After about an hour, they will release their hold of the branch, and hang below it, supported by the slime. They still continue to intertwine, and after a while, they start producing their penises, located on their side, right behind the head. They grow and grow, and start to intertwine as well, forming a flower resembling orb, and then they start swapping sperm. After a while, they start pulling in their penises again, and drop down from the branch, both slugs being fertilized at this point.

 

[7 Biddies]

Some people like to think all animals reproduce the same.

I don't know that they "like" to think it, I think they never took the time to ponder it at all, so when faced with the issue, just assume all creatures are the same. There are a lot of intellectually lazy people out there who assume most of what they "think" they know. What annoys me is when they treat it as fact.

 

[7 Biddies]

Next time someone is asked how they mate, I would love for one of us to answer, "Well, first he buys her a drink and puts his wing around her shoulder, inviting her back to his place ... ".

 

[Double Kindness]

I love converting ppl to my chicken mania. This week new friends came over to help me harvest my garden and oh you have a farm in your backyard?!
I went to go gather eggs and I handed them warm to my friend who was shocked and excited, having never held a warm egg before. They live a few blocks from here and want me to set them up with chickens and quail in the spring, top it off, it's one of my city counsel members. I don’t think anyone is going to be getting far with complaints about rooster crowing or egg songs noises coming from my yard in my near future

 

[Blooie]

Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that.

I'm on the town council here, and I recently sat through the reading of a complaint letter about my chickens in a council meeting. Awkward! But to give the mayor and my fellow council members credit they pulled up the animal ordinance and scoured it for cause. That didn't take long, because this council is the one who put the first animal control ordinances on the books in the first place. The consensus was that poultry was specifically left out of the ordinance - it covers sheep, cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, goats and swine, but there are no restrictions on poultry. The only requirements are that, like all of the listed animals, housing must be located within set back parameters and must be kept in a manner which does not constitute a nuisance. Facilities were required to be kept clean, measures taken to deter pests, and the animals properly cared for. Well, I had to concede that my 3 roos were, indeed, a nuisance, but I informed the council that the roos were destined for freezer camp anyway. The complainer, who was in attendance that night to be sure her letter was read and acted upon, then wanted us to immediately amend the ordinances to put restrictions on chickens specifically. We had to remind her that in order to do that we had to have 3 public readings of the amendment before it could be adopted, so she was looking at a minimum of 4 months before anything would change. By then my roosters would be in the freezer. She was perilously close to accusing the council of leaving poultry out of the ordinance just so that I could keep my chickens, until the mayor reminded her that I was elected to council 3 years before, the ordinance was written during my first year as a council member, and I didn't get chickens until this year, the last year of my current term. She was not happy when she left that meeting, and is now actively campaigning against me in my bid for re-election. I sat silently during that meeting unless asked a specific question. As a citizen she has every right - in fact, she has a responsibility - to come to her town council with complaints and concerns and if my roosters were bothering her then she did exactly what she should have done. In this town folks have kept back yard animals since the first settlers arrived here, and our ordinance allowed that tradition to continue in a way that brought peace between the owners and non-owners. It provides for an annual permit to house livestock in town. Those who own livestock in town have more incentive to keep them in a non-offensive manner and those who have issues with a neighbor's animals now have recourse and know that there are ordinances and rules for enforcement on the books to protect their rights.

The bottom line is that folks like me who serve on the councils are not supposed to get any kind of special treatment, nor extend that special treatment to others. Does it help that a council member has seen your animals and is in your corner? Absolutely! Does it mean you might not face a complaint if someone gets a burr under their saddle? Nope. But you do now have an ally, and that can only be a good thing!

 

[vehve]

I'd say that in that kind of a situation there can be both bad and good things. The bad would be that in order to not seem partial, people can often react more strongly to something than they would need to. The good is that the person is gaining experience in the matter, and could better form an informed decision in such a matter.