Why are people so cruel

[emvickrey]

Thanks for the condolences. I'm sure we've nearly all had an animal ran over before. I know sometimes it just can't be helped. As slow as these guinea cross the road they could have been seen in plenty of time to slow down so it could have made it across. From where it looks like it was hit, it was about 2 feet away from making it across. It was even facing towards that other side of the road. I know that doesn't mean that was the actual direction it was going but if you saw the trail I saw you would probably have came to the same conclusion as I did.

They where going to fast and just didn't slow down so it could cross. They just kept going and didn't hit their breaks till after they hit it and had to slam on their breaks just to stop at the sign.

I would like to put up a sign that says slow down there may be children or pets ahead. My grandsons are always wanting to ride their bikes down to the church down the road and i'm so afraid to let them because there are no houses between here and there and the people drive like crasy people. They could get hit or taken and we wouldn't even know it. We have to go with them and I prefer not on bikes.

 

[Wisher1000]

Oh, Em, I'm so sorry.

My guineas like to play in the road, too. I have only lost one but it was awful. There were feathers all up and down the road. They will not run from a car. I have seen two cars stopped in the middle of the road, one each direction, while my flock stood screaming at them. The drivers wouldn't chance running over them and were afraid to get out of the car!

I have never shipped eggs before but would be willing to share some of mine with you if you have a way to hatch them. I have just started getting eggs and will have to locate the nest of the day, but I will start saving them for you if you want. Just let me know...

 

[twentynine]

wow!

your birds go back and forth across the street and this is the first one hit?

seems that after watching the puppy get hit ---------- oh well nevermind

 

[SillyChicken]

Maybe the driver didn't see it. The bird could have been at the edge of the road, and spooked and ran infront of the car at the last second. You weren't there.

I am sorry that you lost pets, I really am.

But if your animals are allowed in the road.. then you are just as much to blame for them being run over. Invest in a fence, trim some wings, and don't let them in the road. It's your responsibility to make sure your animals are safe.

 

[Thomas423]

I used to deliver papers in the middle of the night, and I can tell you that even though I tried my best to avoid hitting animals, it was still sometimes unavoidable. I had 3 ducks (mating season) fly right down in front of my van. I cried, but there was nothing I could do. I had 2 different dogs run into the side of my van. Neither was hurt. The first one was large and he just stood there shaking his head, but the smaller one ran off crying loudly. I felt bad, but had no idea whose house it belonged to and besides, at 4am it's hard to go knocking on people's doors. The momma oppossum upset me because her babies went scattering off her back.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
I was waiting for someone to highlight the real reason for the accident, and that is just what it was an accident. Me personaly I do not swerve to avoid hitting small animals and run the risk of causing a larger accident and human injury or property damage. Although it's too bad your bird got hit it is ultimately your responsibility to keep them safe, if you cannot pen up your guineas and I agree it would defeat the purpose to do so. Then you must accept the possibility that looses will accure, it's just like if your chickens free range and constantly get ate up by preditors, but refuse to pen them or keep them safe......... same deal, it's your responsibility. I hope you can find a way to protect your birds and perhaps other drivers who might not be so lucky next time.

AL

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I was waiting for someone to highlight the real reason for the accident, and that is just what it was an accident. Me personaly I do not swerve to avoid hitting small animals and run the risk of causing a larger accident and human injury or property damage. Although it's too bad your bird got hit it is ultimately your responsibility to keep them safe, if you cannot pen up your guineas and I agree it would defeat the purpose to do so. Then you must accept the possibility that looses will accure, it's just like if your chickens free range and constantly get ate up by preditors, but refuse to pen them or keep them safe......... same deal, it's your responsibility. I hope you can find a way to protect your birds and perhaps other drivers who might not be so lucky next time.

AL

X3

 

[WingingIt]

I'm sorry you lost one.

It hurts even when we know it was an accident.

I'm going to give the drive the benefit of the doubt, though. If it was early morning and dark, I can see why they wouldn't stop. It's not exactly safe to stop in front of someone's house in the dark in the middle of the road on a bad corner when you know there's nothing you can do for the animal. Someone is likely to come out with a shotgun to see what you are up to and you risk being hit yourself. They may not have slammed on their brakes because maybe there was another vehicle behind them.

One last thing to throw out there, there are tons of people who have no idea what a guinea even is. It's quite possible that they hit it on accident but didn't stop because they assumed it was a wild animal and thus it never crossed their mind that it might belong to you and that they should notify you. I agree with you that penning them defeats the purpose of having them, but, the end result will sometimes be death by vehicle if they aren't penned. It's a bit of a catch 22 situation.

As for those folks driving in your yard and the end of your driveway, I'd get some BIG rocks and put them at the property line like a decorative 'fence'. That ought to make them reconsider where they drive.

 

[Paintedhorsegirl]

Im so sorry this happened to you. I had a chicken get hit by a car this past fall, I wasnt home when it happened. My husband got home before me and found one of our chickens dead up beside the house...We were confused, then one of our neighbors called and said he saw it happen, someone hit the chicken and kept going. He came down and got her out of the road and put her up by a bush near the house. He didnt want my kids to see one of their chickens mangeled in the road. I was really upset we lost a chicken but grateful my neighbor helped to spare my kids from seeing it.

 

[Rozzie]

I'm sorry you lost your bird. I have to agree with some others here, though. No matter HOW close to the stop sign it was, it may have jumped/ran/flew in front of the car. The driver may have had NO control over it. We hit a goat that way once. It wasn't visible, at all. Then, it leaped from out of sight SMACK in front of our car. No, it didn't make it. We knew who it belonged to, and honestly, I'm surprised he didn't lose goats every week that way. They were always getting out of their pen. They weren't USUALLY on the road, but they crossed frequently. It was a flat stretch of road and all, but...

Honestly, if you don't want this type of thing happening, you have to take the responsibility to keep your animals out of the road. If you let them roam and you have a nearby road, they will get hit. If they don't get hit, they will get eaten by a predator, eventually. Their death frmo that predator may be a lot more painful and gruesome than the quick death that bird probably had from a car.

By the way, if your loose pets or livestock cause someone to get into a wreck, you can be held liable. I've known people that had this happen. I'm sure there are variations in different areas since this would be a matter of state law, but you have responsibility to keep your animals out of the road. You can thank your lucky stars it didn't spook the driver so bad that they wrecked their car, especially if you are the only one in the area with guineas. (Since then, it would be pretty easy to find out who it belonged to...)