Viewing post #1323361 by Skiekitty
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You are viewing a single post made by Skiekitty in the thread called Toni's 2019 Chicken thread.
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| on just for a minute. that's all I have these days, a minute here & a minute there. so damned hot.. everything is suffering with the heat. I hate it. almost 100degs every damned day. Had to get rid of one of the bronze turkeys. Became a velociraptor. One of my little baby chickens had hopped out of her coop and he immediately went after her & tried to eat her. Did end up killing her before I was able to rescue her and I was only about 6ft away!! I was so very tempted to make a t-day dinner that night, but decided that it might have been a fluke. Then the damned turkey kept attacking me. Not viciously, no maliciously, just super hungry. And when he pecked, it HURT. So I took him to the swap on Sunday and sold him for $40. Got 3 others still.. 2 whites & the other bronze. They haven't been as bitey as this one was. Super stupid thing at the swap. Towards the very very end, around 3pm, it was clouding up horrifically and you do NOT want to get caught out there in one of those storms. It's on the eastern plains and the storms can be pretty vicious. Anyways, I had torn down my shade and had loaded up almost everyone when this foofy rich lady pushing a stroller came up to my van. Now it's OK for someone to look in vehicles at critters because some people keep their critters in their vehicles and if the doors are open, that's an invitation pretty much. Anyways, this lady, whom of which looked like she hadn't picked up a piece of critter poo in her life so I have NO idea why she was there, wanted to know if the turkey could make a good pet. I gotta take a step back & explain something else. I had the turkey in a big wire dog crate. That way he had room to turn around and lay down comfortably, plus he had food & water in there, but because it *is* a wire crate, people can easily stick their fingers in there. And I had to keep telling people do NOT stick your fingers in with the turkey, he WILL bite and it DOES hurt. Most people acknowledged my warning and backed off. Only 1 person didn't, and yes, he got bit. I then told him, I *warned* you not to do that, so don't blame me. He left. So it was acknowledged that this bird was to be dinner, he was bitey, and he wasn't a very good pet, plus his particular breed is designed for dinner and not for long-term living. They usually don't survive past 24 weeks as their breasts get so big that they *can't* walk and usually die from either broken legs & starvation or their hearts give out due to their size. These are a variety of bird that you see in the grocery store. The thanksgiving turkeys you see in the grocery store are usually the white Broadbreasted (Butterballs).. the bronze is just the other color pattern. They can top out at over 40lbs in 20 weeks. My guy was about 11 weeks and was over 15lbs already. They aren't going to be as big as birds you see in the store because mine free range while the ones you see in stores are stuck in a barn their entire lives and never get to walk.. so all they do is eat & eat & eat. Now back to richie lady. I was folding up my shade and was putting it in it's transport bag when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a boy about 8 years old come up to the back of my van and immediately started to put his hand in the crate with the turkey. I'm sorry, but I was hot, very tired, hungry as I hadn't eaten all day. I'd been out there in the wind for almost 6 hours and was just very cranky. I turned quickly and snapped at the boy a little harshly "Do NOT stick your fingers in with the turkey! He WILL bite and it WILL hurt!" He yanked his hand back and ran back to his mom... who just happened to be walking up and heard me (hell, the entire swap heard me), and his mom just HAPPENED to be this richie lady pushing her $1000 stroller. She looked at the turkey.. he *was* a very pretty bird with iridescent feathers on his back that shone green in the sunlight and you could tell that his tail was getting to be very beautiful. She then asked me about him being a good pet and I told her, no, #1, he bites. #2, he won't live very long as he's designed to be dinner and dinner only. He's not a heritage bird, meaning that he has a longer life, he's a broadbreasted, meaning he's going to die from oversize between 20 & 30 weeks of age, so that's not a good idea for a pet. She then told me that was horrible and how could people do that. Now, I'm sorry, but I was tart with her. I am getting so sick & tired of these freaking yuppie larva telling me that eating a bird (or any other animal) that you raise up strictly for food (broadbreasted turkeys, certain kinds of pigs, certain kinds of cows, certain kinds of chickens, etc) is a horrible thing. I pointed to the north, where you can see a shopping center, and told her, "You go to Safeway to get a Thanksgiving turkey. This is the same damned thing. Except mine's been humanely raised having getting to free range and stretch his wings and run around and be a turkey. Turkeys you buy at Thanksgiving are raised cramped 1 to 3 sqft of space, never get to stretch their wings, have no place to walk, get pecked on and eaten by stronger birds, and never ever EVER see the sun. You tell me that I'm horrible? My turkey GOT to be a turkey. Your dinner was a slave." Yes, I said that. I'm sorry, I wasn't going to hold my tongue back any more. I'm tired of it. A Mexican guy had then come up and was listening.. not too sure how much he understood. The lady then walked to the side of my van & saw that I had bunnies. The Mexican looked directly at me & I knew he wanted to talk business. So I discussed it with him... he asked "Que quanto?" (how much?) and I responded that I was asking $40 (which is actually a damned good price... closer to Thanksgiving home-raised turkeys can fetch $100 plus processing price!) He then just reached into his pocket & pulled out a wad of cash. Peeled off $40 and was handing it to me. I told him to hold onto it while I get the bird out of the crate. The turkey was NOT cooperating and would NOT come out of the crate! If I'd been home, I would have just laid the crate down & opened the door, but at the swap, I did NOT want him to get his wings spread out as they ARE fast and, while can't fly that well, you don't want to have to chase a damned turkey! So I got out the jar of food and the turkey then willingly (happily!) came out of the crate to eat. I put my arm around his body & gently hugged him to me, picking him up and putting him on the ground. The turkeys I raised are used to me handling their neck & head area (easiest way to direct them to which way you want them to walk when I had to guide them into their coop at night), so I put my hand along his neck & made him lay down. The Mexican guy then wanted to buy one of my crates as he didn't have one of his own, so I sold him one of my older crates for $20. So $60 for a $10 crate & a $7 turkey!! Not bad IMO, but with the time & effort I'd put into that damned turkey, I don't think I broke even. Anyways, back to richie lady. She was looking at the bunnies, petting one of them (they will come right up to the edge of their cage & stand up on their hind legs, begging for attention). She wanted to know what you needed to have a bunny. I explained that they're quiet animals, don't need much, but do need food, water, & shelter. She then asked how much are the bunnies & I told her that they're $15/ea and all I have are boys. Her husband then managed to have found her and yelled, "We need to do research before we buy ANY animal!" Didn't look like I was going to sell her a bunny, but actually, that's a good thing. I don't think they would have been a good pet for her and probably would have either died in her care early in life OR been rehomed/taken to a shelter for "being too much work." Ugh. I hate people like that. They all think that animals are disposable. No, animals are for life.. be it long term until they die from old age or illness or short term as they're designed for food. I have other adventures to talk about with swaps, but I have to get back to it. No rest for the wicked.   Never be afraid of a scar. It just means that you were stronger than something that tried to hurt you. My new Etsy shop - handmade jewelry by ME!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/OjodelGato Buy some of my photos! http://www.catsonkeyboards.com "I've seen better acting from extras in Godzilla movies!" - Calculon |
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