PurpleDragon wrote:I alwsy feel so damn guilty when any of my animals get sick.
No point in feeling guilty about it unless you're to blame - and the sort of people who don't take care of their animals, don't feel guilty anyway.
I talked to the vet about handling them more - I rarely handle my birds. They are free range and I don't really want them getting too friendly with people - don't want them nicked. They go into their coop themselves at night without any prompting. He just kinda shrugged and said "that is how hens should live".
Where does one draw the line between pets and livestock, you know? I don't even coddle the cats - they are friendly enough at feeding time, but aren't lap cats by any stretch. They are here for the vermin. That is their job.
I'd disagree to a certain extent. I make sure I handle all the livestock so I know what they feel like when they're healthy, to make sure they're neither too fat nor too lean, to have them used to a certain amount of handling should they need to be seen by a vet, and to just establish a link.
Take Graeme, our new boar. He's in the quarantine pen, but I make sure I'm the only one to feed him for the first week. I go in the pen, talk to him, let him sniff me, give him a rub behind the ear, then a back rub, then a walk around at my direction and then a feed. Then I give him another rub while he eats so he knows I'm there and has to accept it.
Once he's used to me, he's introduced to the OH in the same way and in a lesser way to the boys. We're the bosses, we give him food and nice things, and we're not a threat. Once he's used to that and done his quarantine, he joins the other pigs.
It's the same when I feed the other pigs. They get a talk, an ear rub or back scratch, and a feed. I stand next to them while they eat, but give them a firm nudge away with my knee if they try to chew my boots or clothes, or if they get too pushy (which they rarely do).
Chickens are the same. They get picked up, stroked in a calming way, talked to, and tucked under the arm for a carry around. All this allows me to check how they're doing and prepare them for any emergency situation - they're used to me picking them up, they know it's safe and most of them take it calmly.
None of the animals are pets, but they do get handled, they do get occasional treats (apples are a big favourite with pigs and chickens) and they do get rubs and scratches. It's all with the intention of reinforcing that we are not only the bosses, but the deliverer of good things.
Ho hum. Sometimes I feel like quitting you know?
No!
The animals are the best part, in good times or bad.
