I hate to have to say this.....

[illegal avian]

Quote:
used to be... but that don't apply to grown up consenting trolls no mo!

 

[calista]

Quote:
This is an excellent analysis of a disturbingly frequent occurrence, judging by the number of repetitive threads posted about AVOIDABLE poultry losses.

While I, too, can sympathize with the emotional distress and financial loss caused by all the chicken injuries and deaths I read about on BYC, I'm pretty old-fashioned with thinking, "You reap what you sow."

Please, if you are not able to assume FULL responsibility for the care of your flock, DON'T become a poultry owner. That means a secure coop and run, nutritious feed, and a hard-headed assessment and protection plan against all the four-legged, winged, and two-legged predators specific to YOUR area -- including your own cats and dogs.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Some good points raised here, but this topic has been brought up time and time again.

The key is understanding how internet communication works, and also understanding that people will not always agree. Unfortunately, the internet makes it hard to always convey exactly what we mean; there are no voice inflections to hear and there is an absence of body language. If you're going to talk to others online, you need to be a little thick-skinned and take what people say with a grain of salt.

When trying to help others, we need to balance sympathy with advice. We need to realize that people ("newbies") asking questions or seeking advice are often doing the best they can at the moment with the tools they have; they may have good intentions, but need coaching due to a lack of knowledge. Some people won't accept help or advice and will unfortunately continue to have the same problems. Although it can be frustrating for the "coaches," at that point, it's best just to "walk away," admitting to yourself that you tried, and realize that people won't always do what we suggest.

On the receiving end, we need to welcome sympathy but also be open to advice from those with experience. If advice seems harsh or unfeeling, glean what factual information you can from it and apply it to your situation. Some people are not skilled with internet communication and can seem very direct; combine that with worldwide regional/cultural differences in manners and communication and it's surprising that most of us get along as well as we do!

If someone gives us advice we don't like, we can choose to ignore it. With freedom of choice, however, comes responsibility for the consequences -- good or bad. We need to be able to live with the consequences of our choices, and understand that it's lunacy to do the same thing twice and expect different results.

Just a few thoughts based on observation of how things sometimes go fowl, er, foul out in Interwebs-Land.