Benny and Bilbies

[whiteunicorn4]

Sad but interesting story:

http://www.site.missywryn.com/Benny_the_Autistic_Horse.html

And speaking of autism and animals, here's a terrifying and fascinating story from Temple Grandin's website.  (By the way if you don't know who Temple Grandin is I HIGHLY recommend her books...very interesting reads, especially if you're in to animal behavior.):
The

Comments

[bighooves]

I can't decide how to feel about the case of Benny. As a horse lover, it would pain me to see a horse go through that much physical misery all the time, along with the misery of being a herd animal that can't connect with his herd-mates.

On the other hand, they seem to have been able to manage his pain, train him, and help him connect with at least one other horse. He seems to lead a pretty good life for what he's gone/going through, although why the hell they would insist on riding a horse with such god-awful leg issues is a bit beyond me.

[raisindust]

My thought too. Just because the limp is permanent doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, and riding the thing isn't going to help it any!

[blasphemusfish]

I'm sure they trust their vet....

[ianam1983]

With you on the riding. He's a rescue animal, does he have to be ridden? Ridiculous. But everything else they're doing seems to be working out nicely.

[kohda]

The first article is heartbreaking :C

Temple Grandin is so amazing. I've only read some of her books on autism, I need to pick up some of her writings about animals.

[bleached_drama]

Animals in Translation is great. I saw her speak earlier this semester at my university and she was definitely amazing. :)

[evilstorm]

iiiiiii don't want to eat chicken any more

[champloo4u]

Non-broiler heritage breeds raised by small farmers are a good option.

[evilstorm]

How do I find'em, though?

[leeneh]

You raise them yourself, of course.

[mushroom_maiden]

Bilbies aren't wtf! They are super cute.

[champloo4u]

I've raised broiler chickens; they're exactly as she describes. They eat nonstop to the point that they'll literally lay at the feeder and stuff themselves (even sleeping there), only getting up occasionally to waddle to the drinking fountain. Their legs grew crooked, they horrific developed keel sores and breast blisters, and a lot of them simply "flipped" (died of heart failure)- some as young as three weeks old. I lost nearly half of mine to "flip," even after putting them on a restricted diet (which they hated- they'd scream nonstop). I tried to free range them, but it was useless, because all they'd do was lay in one spot at the feeder & wouldn't move. I'll be honest, I was glad to put the poor misshapen mutant things in the freezer.

The turkeys were marginally better. They tended to develop slipped tendons, which looked horrible but didn't seem to affect their walking. Unlike the chickens, though, they actually did very well on free range.

[falnfenix]

i'm just starting to research chickens for when we actually have enough land for a flock, so this is helpful info. thanks.

[champloo4u]

If you're wanting to raise meat birds, then breeds such as White Rocks, White Wyandottes, or White Cornish will probably work (better still, cross a White Cornish rooster to White Rock hens & raise the offspring for meat).
Other dual-purpose breeds will also work; a good pick might be males of the various sexlink breeds (such as Black Stars/Black Sexlinks) because they're cheap and are usually available in good supply.

Granted, they aren't as meaty as broiler hybrids, and they're nowhere near as economical performance-wise, but they aren't nearly as prone to problems.

[falnfenix]

would any of the above be decent egg layers, or should i stick with the popular egg birds?

thanks. :)