with many animals, mostly males, 'cruel to be kind' is the key; not talking about abuse but about what WE as humans think of as cruel:: for instance, we over feed our dogs because WE are hungry and we forget that dogs are carnivores and their stomachs and intenstines are built differently when it comes to digestion and feeding habits (and pooing habits also);
we make everyhting level in stalls but for goats, level is bad; they like being able to move on all terrain, it provides interest, wears donw their hooves, and keeps all their muscles in condition.
many a monster (human beast or bird) has been created by loving on (great term , to the poster who said that, my english doesnt always work appropriately any more)...it rather then loving it (him/her)... being cruel astucally should be written as 'being firm and in charge'... animals live within their own rigid social dynamics which is why it never helps to give more attention to a subordinate , it just makes it all worse; it never helps to back away from a threatening animal (if the animal isnt reacting in fear, in which case , give it room to maneouver or get away), but be assertive, firm, decisive, and most of all, know what makes the animal, breed, variety,species =what makes it tick.
and some poeple just have it better then others. i worked with monekys. i hate monkeys. they hate me. my duaghter worked with monkeys. they loved her. she worked with big, dangerous types (baboons). i worked with a vet that couldnt deal with many of the nut case dogs, that i could. i just seem to htink like a dog.
horses and chickens and goats are also not a problem. but geese?~~~ not me. had a gander that hated me and i was afraid of him, with or without broom in hand. and yet there was some young kid that could go in to the pond area no problem (same size as me in height. its just about attitude.)...
and the rule of thumb with ANY animal is : never give food before it is earned either by a special trick, or proper behavior . even ignoring u is proper behavior, rather then bullying u.
i was hit by an irate baby elephant in thailand when i made th etourist mistake of feeding it sugar cane; sugar cane , to elephants , is like drugs for many poeple. so he gots some, but wanted more, he smacked me right hard on the arm. forutnately for me he was very young, and small, or he could ahve done me more damage. and in the end, the same elephant may be labelled 'man hater' and have to be relocated or euthenized for being violent around people.
just to clarify about the treats... A few of my girls will eat out of my hand.. I do not however, feed my rooster out of my hand. I throw the treats out and he his welcome to get them, give them to the girls, whatever he likes. In my opinion, that is part of his job.. To take care of the girls. I don't treat him like a pet. I'm not ugly to him, but i don't baby him either. He knows who is boss. My other rooster, the mean one, I babied him. Raised him from a chick. He turned out to be MEAN! I honestly believe its because of the way I treated him. My current Roo, TJ, has never been babied and I've never had a single problem out of him
