Livestock/Pets?

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AdamFencepost

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I am mostly just reminiscing about farm life but they say that a farmer tends his crops thru the summer and cares for his livestock thru the winter . . .

This old farm boy cannot quite get past it. (If a flock of laying hens in the backyard indicates anything :) .)

And, yes. I like pets and have enjoyed everything from Bettas to Budgies. My wife has only a very limited tolerance, however. But pets do compare, a little, to the cows I used to take care of. But I'd better stick with the laying hens or, maybe, pigeons for awhile ;) .
 
:wave:Your post reminds me of when my mom and her good friend - who brought along her two pre-teen sons - and I all went on a road trip to visit the friend's aunt who lived on a working dairy farm in Iowa. I was 12 and was born and raised in a very urban, multicultural to a degree, environment. I had ridden and been around horses but had never seen any other typical farm animals up close. So it was sure different for me! We got pictures of me <attempting> to hold a piglet, holding a chicken, bottle-feeding calves, running around in the pasture in the mud etc. I watched the uncle innoculate pigs, work with a sow and her little ones, gather stock, watched the dogs work, played with the barn cats and got sneezed on by a cow who left a slobber trail on my jacket. We had a farm meal where pretty much everything but the coffee was made on/from the farm, and the milk was raw. It was quite a learning experience for me. Growing up I had "pocket pets "- hamsters, gerbils- and budgies but not dogs. I always knew I would live with dogs and my husband and I bought our first house with that planning in mind.
Currently have two dogs; we lost my boy a couple of years ago.

A good dog training friend of mine has stock dogs, horses, sheep and chickens and one time she gave me some eggs from her chickens, multi-colored. Very fresh!
 
Well, it pretty much all seems like fun from this far down the road, DogMom!

You sure that was "mud" you were running around in? It was always somewhat surprising to clean out the corrals every spring and the "ground level" would drop where the fence tops were way up there whereas we were nearly able to just step over them before . . .

It got so we were reluctant to take "city kids" out in the pastures because they always found something to step in first thing. Of course, if we were going to have a baseball game, we'd have to go out a ways. Finding and sliding into 2nd & 3rd base added something to the game!
 
Actually, in the eyes of the law, livestock is much more protected than pets. You could kill someones dog, but don't go killing anyone's cow.
 
VacationGuy234 said:
Actually, in the eyes of the law, livestock is much more protected than pets. You could kill someones dog, but don't go killing anyone's cow.
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because livestocks are considered as property. a very expensive one.

and no you cannot just kill someone's dog. you can go to jail for that.
 
AdamFencepost said:
I am mostly just reminiscing about farm life but they say that a farmer tends his crops thru the summer and cares for his livestock thru the winter . . .

This old farm boy cannot quite get past it. (If a flock of laying hens in the backyard indicates anything :) .)

And, yes. I like pets and have enjoyed everything from Bettas to Budgies. My wife has only a very limited tolerance, however. But pets do compare, a little, to the cows I used to take care of. But I'd better stick with the laying hens or, maybe, pigeons for awhile ;) .
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same here. there are plenty of farms in west NJ - just over 30 min away from NYC but unfortunately.... very very expensive to own. it's popular for wealthy city slickers wanting a nice quiet area away from busy work life in city.

I'd want a farm but not with crops and livestocks because it's simply not practical for me to maintain. I'd have a couple of goats... a few chickens... and maybe llamas. they're easy to maintain and they "mow" grass for me :giggle:

llamas are typically sheered once a year and you can easily make clothes out of it. goats are just simply great for garbage disposal purpose :giggle:

their cacas are earth-friendly and you do not necessarily have to scoop'em out.
 
Not the government according to breed-specific legislation. Your pit bull is as good as dead in Denver.
 
VacationGuy234 said:
Not the government according to breed-specific legislation. Your pit bull is as good as dead in Denver.
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that's not what we're talking about in here. we're talking about killing an animal... not banning a specific breed.

killing a dog is a crime. killing a livestock is a crime too.
 
I've had Goats, Chickens, Rabbits, Dog, Cats, Birds, Fish....Vegetable and flower gardens....lots of work, but enjoyable....Sold my Goat "Gretchen" who loved to eat cigarettes and parched peanuts....kept a bowl full of 'em on the table just for her....and she actually thought she was a Dog....she ran with the 6 Dogs that I had and played "head butt" with 'em....:giggle:
 
Jiro said:
that's not what we're talking about in here. we're talking about killing an animal... not banning a specific breed.

killing a dog is a crime. killing a livestock is a crime too.
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The post tittle is Livestock/Pets and the OP is comparing the two. If you have issue with it, go find a moderator.

I've posted the distinction between the two.

Again, OP, there are laws which protect livestock and exclude pets. On balance, it's better to own livestock.
 
I had Roller pigeons for about 12 years and they were fun.

The problem was that I would lose the young ones. Yeah, literally lose them. I really think that I just needed to find out what was necessary to keep them around. An old neighbor had dozens of birds but they were in a much larger building than my "bird house" and that is probably some of the problem.

I'd let the young birds go outdoors when they were old enough to follow their parents. They would probably need help getting back in during the evenings a few times - need to hold the big door open for them since they couldn't find the pigeon door. Then, they wouldn't show up . . . I really don't think the parents wanted them around, anyway.

With the pigeons I had Coturnix quail some of the time. The are real easy to keep but won't set so you have to replace the birds often. They also don't live very long.

These days, I just have laying hens but I'd be very happy to let them out to run around. Problem is, they will just tear up the backyard if I do.
 
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VacationGuy234 said:
The post tittle is Livestock/Pets and the OP is comparing the two. If you have issue with it, go find a moderator.

I've posted the distinction between the two.

Again, OP, there are laws which protect livestock and exclude pets. On balance, it's better to own livestock.
Click to expand...

what? *shrug*

moving on.
 
:wave:AdamFencePost - hehe...yup, I'm sure -some- of it was mud, and some was cow turds and some was pig manure....:giggle:

I know some people who raised alpacas.
 
more and more urban areas are allowing small chicken-raising arrangements, according to very specific guidelines which may include details as to number of hens allowed, no rooster etc. Interesting...
 
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