[Kev]

Couldn't resist popin gback in and seeing what childish comments were posted.

Francis Bacon you rule the roost as it were with your "lets be the all powerful bully and post a pathetic comment now that they've left" school boy/girl ignroance.

"Miserable" - absolutely not at all. Oh not another opinion form an individual, surely not - yet this is acceptable but my opinion isn't. Hyprocite is perhaps a word you all need to look up. I only offer what are my opinions, the difficulty you all have is that they do not fit with your nicely defined views. The typicality of your responses support MY (capitals folks, take notice) opinon that there are those who have the means to keep and look after animals as a sideline (especially chickens) who really shouldn't. Do chickens want to be molly coddled like a baby? I won't voice my thoughts for fear of Francis declaring war on my opinion.

I end this as my final post (given the volume of playground mass-opinion from those who cleary demonstrate their darwinian "herd" response) by wishing you all the best of luck in your endeavours.

Except for those sad little individuals that can't keep their pathetic jibs to themselves, presumably beacuse their public lives don't allow them to voice their opinion freely - Francis Bacon, Carole & ahem Garden Cottage. Here's wishing that I never have the misfortune of ever coming across you. Unfortunately none of you have the humility to accept, appreciate, understand (oh and fail to post sad little comments) other peoples opinion. Perhaps you'll all come back as chickens and realise your place in the world.

See ya children, I'd say its been a blast but then I didn't realise the extent of man's ignorance until I found this forum.

I can't resist this as my basic tendancies come to the for here given your utterly pathetic responses. I expected disagreeing views but not the childish reponses demonstrated. I can therefore only end this at your level:

f*** YOU ALL

[sandy]

Well Kev, sad t see you go, I mean it, although we do all have our own opinions I do understand others due to years and years of working in Social services, I came across some people there with very odd views on things. I actualy found you very amusing and had a laugh at what you have been saying even though I like chatting to my hens and dogs. I only add one thing, I am a very alid back person and wouldn't mnd comming back as a chicken, certainly one belonging to anyone on this forum.  Buy Sandra

[pigsatlesrues]

Wow! Chill a bit Kev!

Kate 

[Tweedle]

Notice he gave no response to anyone offering an argument to his view just.... "I'm taking my ball and going home!"

peace out Kev.

p.s. I think I was a chicken before 

[Francis Bacon]

Oh Kev, you've made my day!! I could of given you a answer to all that you've written but it takes a lot for me to lose my cool as you have & retaliate, especially to someone who has clearly lost it....I'm now going to have a very chilled glass of my favourite wine.

P.S. Thought you said you weren't not rude & offensive, I think you are alone on that one.  Now BOGOF (in capitals)

[garden cottage]

Hi kev, think you need to look at whats really making you so angry i dont believe its this forum, your initial post was to provoke a reaction which is just what you were after.

[carole]

This has to be joke !!!! oh Sandy, by the way I worked for Social Services for 23 years in Bristol before coming to France............................Sorry Kev are you still there??

Carole

[jacyjones]

It is so hard to work up a response to this.................so I won't. All I will say is if life is so hard then find another way, Kev.

[Tweedle]

Oh Kev, you've made my day!! I could of given you a answer to all that you've written but it takes a lot for me to lose my cool as you have & retaliate, especially to someone who has clearly lost it....I'm now going to have a very chilled glass of my favourite wine.

P.S. Thought you said you weren't not rude & offensive, I think you are alone on that one.  Now BOGOF (in capitals)

now at the risk of sounding silly, I can't for the life of me figure out what "BOGOF" means..... Maybe im just slow...     (and I'm usually pretty good at insults)  lol

[rustyme]

B uy O ne G et O ne F ree .....hehehe......well it can mean that ......over here it has become a saying when shops are giving two items for the price of one. However....BOGOFF , is a slightly more polite way of saying sodoff , buggeroff or ...er well the list goes on and gets more offensive as it goes....Nowdays , due to the advertising slogan B.O.G.O.F.( buy one get one free ), the second f, at the end ,bogoff, is very often just left off. Just another one of those quirky English sayings that makes no sense at all really ...yet loads of us use them every day ....... So in context it just meant 'go away' but in the way you would say it when you are really cheesed off with someone .

cheers

Russ

[Malc]

Kev is a man with "issues", obviously. The sad thing (apart from the fact he is clearly so unhappy that he has to try to pick fights with the mostly good-hearted people on this site) is that it could have been a half-decent debate, had he not become so offensive. A sensible discussion on how close we should/can get to our animals would be interesting.

It's hard to draw the line that has farm animals on one side and family pets on the other and even harder to stick to it. I do my best, but I named all the porkers and they all like a scratch behind the ears and having their backs rubbed, not to mention the fact they are a good laugh. Such softness doesn't, however, stop me dealing with my animals with the kind of care and efficiency that more experienced farmers have passed on to me. They are correctly fed and watered, well-housed and have plenty of space outside to indulge in their natural behaviour. The result is very healthy animals which draw compliments from the aforementioned experienced farmers. If I choose to go 'ooochie-cooochie-coo' at them or 'who's a lovely pig then?', what difference does it make? I could even read them a bedtime story, the world wouldn't stop turning. (I don't, but you get my drift).

Kev would probably think I'm barking mad, but when one of our sows was depressed last week and sulking in her hut, I played hide and seek with her food to get her out and about in her paddock. She's now a happy sow and ready to go to the boar later this month. Happy animals are more efficient, productive animals - it's not rocket science. If that makes me twee - tough.

A lot of very lucky pigs, hens, sheep and many other animals have been cared for by people keeping animals as a sideline. If Kev knows of folk who are doing so and "who really shouldn't", then he should contact the RSPCA as soon as possible and I would happily applaud their prosecution.

I'm sorry Kev feels he can't come on the forum and express his opinion (he's perfectly entitled to it, even if I don't agree with him), but I can't see any reply to his original comment that would cause offence to a reasonable person. As far as I'm concerned Kev is welcome here, although I fear he lacks the maturity to take part in an adult debate.

Of course, I do not discount the possibility that the whole thing was started by Dan and Rosemary to add a little extra excitement to the forum. I think we should be told.

[sandy]

Hello Malc, my sentiments too. I am a very pratical and a  level headed person and would be able to dispatch my hens and eat them if I intended,  I again re-affirm the same sentiments, why carn't we enjoy our animals as long as it dosn't go too far (as in Jerry Springer show...horrid). It certainly gives me satisfaction to know they are well looked after and have a good life, why should we just put feed out and clean them and reap the harvest, as I said in previouse posts, my father in law and all his family were farmers and he wasn't without care for his beasts, he went to war with a few that battled with him but his life was his animal stock as was his livleyhood. For those in with backgrounds in Social Services, people who mistreat animals usualy will mistreat others....I'm off to talk to my dog's, know one else listens....

[doganjo]

know one else listens....

I do!!!   I will - anytime.   I need a shoulder sometimes too.

But I know what you mean. I can well remember as a lovesick teenager wrapping my arms round Susie my Cross Cocker/Lab (guess she'd be a Designer Dog nowadays - just DON'T let me go there!!! ) and telling her she was the only one who understood me.
Annie

[Tweedle]

I knew it was risky to ask about BOGOF.... lol In another form of American laziness, We use the same phrase, but couldn’t possibly use an acronym that long so we drop the f and go with BOGO for buy one get one.... nor are we quite as cleaver with our "tell off's" opting mostly for simple 4 letter words or the "your number one" hand gesture.

On the topic though, we treat all of our animals as if they were pets I think. They don’t all get named as that makes it a little harder to dispatch of them when the time comes (personal preference). Most of them have a collective name, like the Meat birds are called "the Boys" and the hens are "the Ladies". That by no means means that they get any different treatment than all of the other animals around our place. They all get well taken care of with good food fresh water allot of conversation and love. It never does any good to treat them like "dumb animals", or like they don’t matter as they are just a protein source. That is definitely the wrong reason to be raising animals. It makes for a miserable existence for you and the animals; it's proven time and again happy animals perform better and are easier to take care of.  
 

[hebber]

I don't think it's being a wimp to be sentimental or attached to your livestock.  I stayed with an elderly couple in Romania who had lived off their land their whole lives, and knew nothing different.  There were no shops, so all the meat they ate came from their animals.  Before the old woman killed a chicken for my sister and I she held it up and kissed it on the head and told us it was her favourite chicken.  it was obviously used to being handled and talked to because it was completely still and happy.  Then she cut its head off and put in a bucket to pluck it.    So I don't thiink it shows that you're out of touch or ridiculously sentimental to show affection for your animals.  It depends on the individual, and obviously people have always done it.