Which Animals & Insects Most Likely To Kill . . . .

[Callender Girl]

I always KNEW cows were evil! Thanks for giving me a good laugh!

 

[Isadora]

I always KNEW cows were evil! Thanks for giving me a good laugh!

That's probably one of my favorite memes. Of all time. I actually laugh out loud every time I see it.

 

[GranderTheGander]

Okay, not totally irrational. But, seriously, my fear is based on their EYES?!? I've never milked a cow (although I have milked goats) and have not been contained with any in small, enclosed spaces (like chutes) that would get me close enough to get seriously hurt. It's just those eyes!

Since I was managing editor of the regional paper and news editor of the radio station, I can assure you there was no policy against reporting animal deaths at those outlets. In fact, the regional paper published a weekly farm newspaper and no animal deaths in that either.

I do believe wild hogs could and might have killed a woman. Sometimes, nature sometimes just behaves naturally. I may have to look up the Houston article.

Many people asked me what happened to the donkey that fractured my pelvis. Some seemed to think I should have had him put down. That didn't happen. He went to a rescue group and is now living a good life.

The accident was entirely MY fault. He was trying to tell me not to feed another donkey in the pen. If I had listened the first or second time he nudged my back, nothing bad would have happened. Instead, I -- without looking -- pushed him back twice with my elbow. Clearly, in his mind, I wasn't paying attention, so he did what he had to do to get me to stop doing something that was annoying him.

BTW, the second donkey "yelled" at Jerry, who took off after him and let me crawl to safety.

That must have been a VERY painful crawl. Good for your second donkey, and I'm glad you didn't get revenge on the first. It's funny . . . most of the time I read how people think cow eyes are so pretty and that's why they like them so much. I'm hearing the flip side here on this frum!

Okay, were there ever any reports of children being harmed by farm equipment? I read a newspaper article a few years ago on that and it was shocking. I think most of us who know nothing about farm life don't realize children are allowed to use heavy farm equipment. Especially in this day and age when children no longer walk to parks by themselves to play, without their parents being accused of negligence.

 

[Callender Girl]

Yes, that was a crawl I would NEVER want to repeat. I had to use my "good" leg to kick open a gate into the miniature goats' pen. They, at least, all liked me.

I can't recall any specific articles about children, but we certainly had stories about accidents involving farm equipment.

It doesn't even have to be a LARGE object; something called a power take off, or PTO, is a mechanical gearbox that has the potential for doing incredible damage if it catches a hand, an arm or a sleeve. Even people with years of experience have been mangled or killed while going about their daily routines.

But that might be the key -- daily routine. One of the big tractors or combines might look frighteningly huge to someone who has never sat inside one. But, if you grew up riding on your dad's knee, exposure makes it seems much less dangerous -- like some kind of supersized SUV.

I lived in the country but was not a farm kid. Many of my peers were driving tractors long before I was driving a car.

On the one hand, you need to expose kids to the realities of farm life. There's big machines, big structures (getting trapped in a grain bin can be fatal; the stored corn acts like quicksand and can pull someone under and suffocate them in minutes) and big animals. Learning to exist safely with all of those potential dangers is essential. But that has to be balanced with consideration of the actual physical abilities of the child as well as the level of intellectual understanding of danger.

I see little kids riding on ATVs out here that I would barely trust to ride safely on a bicycle.

Many farm folks take a lot of pride in their kids' abilities to do things around the farm on their own, to demonstrate their independence and work ethic. To paraphrase one of my favorite celebrities, sanding off all the sharp edges doesn't prepare your child to live in a world with a lot of corners. Those kids are certainly learning some valuable lessons.

But common sense has to be involved, and sometimes, that seems to be a resource that can be in short supply.

 

[GranderTheGander]

Yes, that was a crawl I would NEVER want to repeat. I had to use my "good" leg to kick open a gate into the miniature goats' pen. They, at least, all liked me.

I can't recall any specific articles about children, but we certainly had stories about accidents involving farm equipment.

It doesn't even have to be a LARGE object; something called a power take off, or PTO, is a mechanical gearbox that has the potential for doing incredible damage if it catches a hand, an arm or a sleeve. Even people with years of experience have been mangled or killed while going about their daily routines.

But that might be the key -- daily routine. One of the big tractors or combines might look frighteningly huge to someone who has never sat inside one. But, if you grew up riding on your dad's knee, exposure makes it seems much less dangerous -- like some kind of supersized SUV.

I lived in the country but was not a farm kid. Many of my peers were driving tractors long before I was driving a car.

On the one hand, you need to expose kids to the realities of farm life. There's big machines, big structures (getting trapped in a grain bin can be fatal; the stored corn acts like quicksand and can pull someone under and suffocate them in minutes) and big animals. Learning to exist safely with all of those potential dangers is essential. But that has to be balanced with consideration of the actual physical abilities of the child as well as the level of intellectual understanding of danger.

I see little kids riding on ATVs out here that I would barely trust to ride safely on a bicycle.

Many farm folks take a lot of pride in their kids' abilities to do things around the farm on their own, to demonstrate their independence and work ethic. To paraphrase one of my favorite celebrities, sanding off all the sharp edges doesn't prepare your child to live in a world with a lot of corners. Those kids are certainly learning some valuable lessons.

But common sense has to be involved, and sometimes, that seems to be a resource that can be in short supply.

Yeah, good the goats liked you or they could have decided to do you in . . . or put you out of your suffering!

It's not bad kids are capable of doing all sorts of farm jobs, but according to a Farm Progress story online: "About every three days a child on a U.S. farm dies from an agriculture-related incident. Every day some 38 children are injured on a U.S. farm." But it also notes: " . . . that 80 percent of youth farm injuries occur to children who are not working on the farm but 'are in the vicinity'.”

Thanks for all the info you provided on the topic!

 

[Callender Girl]

I might have welcomed an act of mercy by the goats at that point .

Yeah, farming can easily be fatal to kids and adults alike.

Not bragging, but I WAS an award-winning editorial writer and columnist, and I totally enjoyed you giving me the opportunity to post about something besides the basic care and feeding of chickens (which I also like to do). Thanks!

BTW, don't expect perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation in any of my posts. I'm not on the clock anymore and no one edits my writing now!

 

[GranderTheGander]

I might have welcomed an act of mercy by the goats at that point .

Yeah, farming can easily be fatal to kids and adults alike.

Not bragging, but I WAS an award-winning editorial writer and columnist, and I totally enjoyed you giving me the opportunity to post about something besides the basic care and feeding of chickens (which I also like to do). Thanks!

BTW, don't expect perfect grammar, spelling and punctuation in any of my posts. I'm not on the clock anymore and no one edits my writing now!

Hey, I took three years of journalism/newspaper staff in high school. I'm very fond of the field. I would have majored in it in college except the deadlines made me a neurotic nut! Actually, I was a neurotic teenager and the deadlines just worsened my condition. I have very fond memories, though, of getting the newspaper out, especially when we had to come back to school and work at night. Also, my strict, tough-as-nails journalism teacher is one reason I refuse to accept new unacceptable grammar rules, regardless of who wants them and why. I'll never forget her or betray her.

Congratulations on your awards. There's tough competition in the field. Do you still write anything? I'm returning to writing this year after not writing anything for decades except online reviews, forum posts and e-mails. Tell me if you are interested in a good place to enter year-round writing contests for both nonfiction and fiction. The word counts are low, the prizes are high, and the entry fees are only $10-12. It would be a good way to get back into a little competitive writing. You could even write nonfiction or fiction stories about chickens, if you wanted! Topics are wide open.

 

[Callender Girl]

I also got my start in high school journalism, but my teacher was a jerk. Fortunately, the young editor of the weekly paper in town was not and hired me to write sports. He later became an editor at the Des Moines Register and had I been smart enough to accept his early professional offer, I might have retired from there, too -- as he did.

Because I eventually was the managing editor of a regional newspaper and its several specialty publications, deadlines were a never-ending fact of life. It's nice NOT to have to live with those anymore.

Thanks on the awards. Since I also judged contest entries for the Iowa Newspaper Association for a few years, I know it's an extremely subjective process. Still, it's nice to have the recognition (of course, it's journalism, so it didn't come with any money ).

Good for you, getting back into writing! These days, I post on BYC, send emails to friends and keep a daily journal. I have toyed with the idea of writing for money again and would be interested in checking out the contests. Maybe that would persuade me to actually write instead of just thinking about writing.

BTW, I am in the middle of reading Wendelin Van Draanen's book, Hope in the Mail. Since I'm not a regular reader of young adult mysteries, I was not familiar with the author, but she's written more than 30 published books. It's not really an autobiography but tells the story of how she became a writer and details some of the techniques and tools she uses. It's an interesting read, especially when she explains that it took 10 years to get her first book published -- and in the meantime, she wrote three more books with no idea if or when they would ever see publication. It's a good lesson in perseverance.

 

[GranderTheGander]

What I wish was I had kept a journal of all the years I took care of domestic waterfowl in a city park. They all had names and stories. Alas, I did not and there is no way I can go back in my mind and recreate it all. I'll read Hope In The Mail. Thanks for the suggestion.

Okay, for you or anyone else who wish to write short fiction or nonfiction, and wish to enter year-around contests, where the individuals running it seem super nice and encouraging, go to: https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php.

The next deadline for fiction is August 31st. Yes, five days but maybe you have something you've written in the past tucked away, ready to come back out into the light! Topics are anything you want. Past winners are on the website, so you can read the type of stories chosen. Sorry, guys . . . I think the contests are strictly for ladies . . . at least all the winners appear to be females, and the website is called Women n Writing.

You know, CG, if you are possibly into fantasy type fiction, I could see you doing a story about your accident where you crawl into the goat pen, go in and out of consciousness due to the pain, and start hearing the goats talking about what they should do about you and why.

You are right, too, about the subjectiveness of writing contests, but there are 12 judges to start off with and no names are on the stories. Of course, the one final judge in each contest will have her own likes and dislikes, but you can read her agency bio by following a link on the site. She likes marginalized writers . . . in my opinion, chicken people are marginalized writers.

 

[Callender Girl]

I will check out the website. Thanks!

I don't know that it's in my wheelhouse, but I LOVE the idea of the goats discussing my future and my value to them! Let me ponder that ...