LGBTQ+ Poultry Keepers

[Teneniel]

I think my husband is. I'm not into Lovecraft (never really read any of it, may love it if I did) so I'm not really interested. I'm really more into fantasy with dark elements and dystopian stuff than I am more horror stuff. I absolutely HATE Poe and I'm not even that much of a fan of Anne Rice, with Anne Rice it's more that she's a good author but I can't stand 90% of the characters in her books so I want to strangle something or someone the entire time I'm reading and that's just not good for the blood pressure.

Oh man the characters are just incredible in this show, and it’s definitely gory, but the scariest parts have nothing to do with magic or supernatural.

 

[aart]

stabilizing ones life by catching up on undone tasks

Oh, this is so true!!
Those undone tasks can mess your whole world.

 

[Kusanar]

Oh man the characters are just incredible in this show, and it’s definitely gory, but the scariest parts have nothing to do with magic or supernatural.

I don't have a problem with gore, I like Game of Thrones (the books not show) but there is just something I can't stand about some authors while I can still say that they are good writers.

Mercedes Lacky is probably my favorite author. I'm currently re-reading her Obsidian Trilogy (don't google that it goes to a different series), the first one is The Outstretched Shadow.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I'm doing okay. Things could be better for me though.
I recently applied to a job for "Kennel Assistant" and knew that due to my volunteer work experience for the Humane Society, I'd possibly at least get an interview. Next day after applying, they emailed me to tell me they were looking for more qualified people.

Our 2yr female dog is currently in heat and I've been losing a lot of sleep lately due to our 8 yr male howling all night in his kennel. My earbuds do nothing to help even if I have the music volume up. Might go on longer if I'm right about our 1 yr female possibly getting close to going into heat.

My parents have been trying to get me to shower more due to the fact that I sometimes go without showering for 4-5 days a week. Gross, I know.
I've explained to them why and it's like they think I'll get over my fear if I keep forcing myself to get in there. I've tried many times before, it hasn't worked.
For those wondering, I have a fear of being in the shower. Half of it is my claustrophobia and the other half is because I start getting a panic attack from thinking of too many things. And I can't use the tub in the other bathroom because it doesn't have a lock on the door so I'm scared of people walking in even if they know I'm in there.

 

[Tre3hugger]

@ChocolateMouse Thank you, dear heart, for your kindness and the friendship you extend to us all. I, personally, am doing ok. Unapologetically living my truth and trying to mentally and practically prepare for winter. I truly appreciate you checking in and hope that both the full moons this month find you well.

Happy spooky season everyone. Let those freak flags fly!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I'm really glad to see most of you doing well.

I'm doing okay. Things could be better for me though.
I recently applied to a job for "Kennel Assistant" and knew that due to my volunteer work experience for the Humane Society, I'd possibly at least get an interview. Next day after applying, they emailed me to tell me they were looking for more qualified people.

Our 2yr female dog is currently in heat and I've been losing a lot of sleep lately due to our 8 yr male howling all night in his kennel. My earbuds do nothing to help even if I have the music volume up. Might go on longer if I'm right about our 1 yr female possibly getting close to going into heat.

My parents have been trying to get me to shower more due to the fact that I sometimes go without showering for 4-5 days a week. Gross, I know.
I've explained to them why and it's like they think I'll get over my fear if I keep forcing myself to get in there. I've tried many times before, it hasn't worked.
For those wondering, I have a fear of being in the shower. Half of it is my claustrophobia and the other half is because I start getting a panic attack from thinking of too many things. And I can't use the tub in the other bathroom because it doesn't have a lock on the door so I'm scared of people walking in even if they know I'm in there.

That really sucks to hear - it sounds a little like things are just piling on and that can be really hard and make it even harder to do those unpleasant tasks. It's unfortunate you can't just get the dogs fixed but sometimes that's life. :T It sounds like you already listen to music at night so that's not helpful either. I feel for you and I hope it passes quickly. Not sleeping is the worst. And here's hoping you get the next job that rolls around that you're interested in!

But! I've have a similar experience with showers and find them to be completely exhausting. I find moving from one task to the next in a shower to be extremely challenging as I kind of just zone out and disassociate hard, so my mom used to yell at me FOR taking showers because I was always in there for 40+ minutes. These days it's a good week if I get 2 showers in. (Luckily I have very clean skin and unoily hair so I don't look awful.) So you're not alone and this is a shockingly common problem with the people I know who deal with mental health issues.

Obviously you can't just jump in and expect it to be better. Instead I have some practical solutions I use to manage it. Sink showers are a big one where I wash my hair in a sink mostly clothed. I know a lot of people use dry shampoo. Sitting on a toilet is a great place to wash your privates and thigh folds with some soap and water that just flushes away when you're done. If you're changing clothes in the bathroom you can use the sink to help wash your armpits and other folds (like bra line or tummy folds). And you can of course wash your face and neck any time you use the bathroom. My theory is, if I can't get myself totally clean, getting even a little clean is better than not. It doesn't have to be 100% or nothing, you can break it down into steps, and how often do you REALLY need to wash your knees anyhow? If a shower is out of the equation for me and I wash up a little in the sink I am now infinitely cleaner that I would have been if I tried to shower and failed.

Also this is one of the few times I think bubble baths are appropriate self-care. If you can turn a bath/shower from a miserable experience into a less miserable one it can help. So playing music, running a nice bath with epsom salts, using fancy soaps, lighting a couple candles, anything that makes you feel better can slowly start to help build those neural pathways that take you from "showers are awful" to "I can shower and not hate myself after". It's not a quick fix but it's a little like CBT and it helps.

Maybe some of my solutions can help you with it, since it seems like you also wish it could be better. I really hope things start to get better and if you need someone to vent to, I'm here. <3

 

[KikiDeAnime]

But! I've have a similar experience with showers and find them to be completely exhausting. I find moving from one task to the next in a shower to be extremely challenging as I kind of just zone out and disassociate hard, so my mom used to yell at me FOR taking showers because I was always in there for 40+ minutes. These days it's a good week if I get 2 showers in. (Luckily I have very clean skin and unoily hair so I don't look awful.) So you're not alone and this is a shockingly common problem with the people I know who deal with mental health issues.

Obviously you can't just jump in and expect it to be better. Instead I have some practical solutions I use to manage it. Sink showers are a big one where I wash my hair in a sink mostly clothed. I know a lot of people use dry shampoo. Sitting on a toilet is a great place to wash your privates and thigh folds with some soap and water that just flushes away when you're done. If you're changing clothes in the bathroom you can use the sink to help wash your armpits and other folds (like bra line or tummy folds). And you can of course wash your face and neck any time you use the bathroom. My theory is, if I can't get myself totally clean, getting even a little clean is better than not. It doesn't have to be 100% or nothing, you can break it down into steps, and how often do you REALLY need to wash your knees anyhow? If a shower is out of the equation for me and I wash up a little in the sink I am now infinitely cleaner that I would have been if I tried to shower and failed.

Also this is one of the few times I think bubble baths are appropriate self-care. If you can turn a bath/shower from a miserable experience into a less miserable one it can help. So playing music, running a nice bath with epsom salts, using fancy soaps, lighting a couple candles, anything that makes you feel better can slowly start to help build those neural pathways that take you from "showers are awful" to "I can shower and not hate myself after". It's not a quick fix but it's a little like CBT and it helps.

Maybe some of my solutions can help you with it, since it seems like you also wish it could be better. I really hope things start to get better and if you need someone to vent to, I'm here. <3

I do wash my hair in the kitchen sink but I usually do it when my parents are at work because they get annoyed when I do it.

And my parents have never spayed/neutered any of the dogs we've ever owned. They use to breed Rottweilers to help improve the breed but after we lost them to poisoned dog food, they stopped breeding. Now we just lock our male dog up in his kennel whenever we need to put the females outside to pee. Then we lock up whichever female is in heat to put our male outside. Works every time for us. The only neutered animal in our house, is our 10 yr male cat named Moses and that's only because he use to spray the walls before we fixed him, now he uses the litter boxes and goes outside.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Yeah, I feel it. I live in my own house so it's easier. You could look into dry shampoo. I know a lot of folks prefer it.

I feel like if you're not breeding you should spay/neuter your animals. Obviously you have a working system, but it's not working for your sleep. But since they're your parents dogs, not yours, it's not like you can make big changes there. Hopefully it passes quickly and you get some good sleep again!

Things definitely get a little easier when you finally have your own space. So the suck won't be forever. <3 As long as you're keeping yourself healthy, that's way more important than not being gross to your parents.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Yeah, the only pets I own are my 2 cats(mother & daughter). My family own the rest.
However if we're counting the poultry & waterfowl, I own everyone except for 3 of the hens that my parents bought.
It's going to be hard when I eventually move out someday because I won't be able to take them with me, only my cats.

 

[boskelli1571]

Are there any other LGBT folks on this site? I tried to make a thread a few years ago but it got removed. I think it would be cool to have a little community on here!

That would be cool! Yes! My wife and I live in NY state. She's not wild about chickens but I am
We have had chickens for around 8-9 years now.