Another Rabbit Seizure

[tailwagging]

And even if they are (bee hives) you are using them.

 

[Pepperoni]

When the idea of exploitation came up I had to think of my oldest rooster, Sam. He walks every morning from the barn to the back of the house, jumps up on our air conditioning unit that's right below our master bedroom window, and crows at me literally less than a foot from where I'm sleeping. This is usually when my husband pushes me out of bed saying "feed that bird so he shuts up"

Who's exploiting who here? Lol!

 

[Cottie]

When the idea of exploitation came up I had to think of my oldest rooster, Sam. He walks every morning from the barn to the back of the house, jumps up on our air conditioning unit that's right below our master bedroom window, and crows at me literally less than a foot from where I'm sleeping. This is usually when my husband pushes me out of bed saying "feed that bird so he shuts up"

Who's exploiting who here? Lol!

My chickens come get me off the porch.

My lops shove as much of their nose through their colony fence as they can and make puppy dog eyes.

Even my two newbies have caught on - if they hear me, they binky loudly in their hutch to get my attention.

Animals are really really good at training humans.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I guess it's because I tuned into the backyard chickens argument before I tuned into meat rabbits...but I agree with Zab.

The cages were too small, in my opinion. He was running the equivalent of a bunny CAFO in his backyard.

He says he lost his job in December. I think there's more to the story than what's being publicized. It truly strikes me as animal hoarding, not breeding. I'd like to see photos of the inside of his house. AC can move faster than the Health Department, because it's an animal welfare issue.

(src)Those cages are filthy. I pulled a cleaner cage out of a pile of rubbish in my barn. Then the video here...the conditions, to me, are scary. Yes, sometimes cages get dirty quickly, but many of them looked as if they had been dirty for a while and not cleaned. Way more than a few rabbits molting and exploding fur,

I really really dislike the precedent this sets. I dislike the way it portrays rabbit breeding even more, though. If you want to run a large-scale breeding operation, you have to make sure you have all your bases covered. That holds true for all livestock, not just rabbits. I'm sure he is a good man, who is very knowledgeable, but the pictures look, to me, as if his situation got out of control.

This picture is actually the cages removed from his garage and loaded into a truck. The crusted fur is on the back where the cages were against the wall and the sides where they were attached to each other....yeah, it doesn't look great, but you likely couldn't see it from the front. Like most breeders, he probably took down the cages and powercleaned those spots once or twice a year.

 

[Miss M]

Our chickens peck at my mom's shoes, and she knows they're out of food.

They gather around her, and she knows their favorite water bottle is out (not that they are out of water, just that their favorite bottle is empty).

She says things like, "I'm taking this rice out... I promised the chickens I would a while ago I would..."

Yeah... they've trained at least her pretty well! :lol:<br /><br />__________ Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:57 am __________<br /><br />

This picture is actually the cages removed from his garage and loaded into a truck. The crusted fur is on the back where the cages were against the wall and the sides where they were attached to each other....yeah, it doesn't look great, but you likely couldn't see it from the front. Like most breeders, he probably took down the cages and powercleaned those spots once or twice a year.

That makes complete sense. They do look stuffed into a truck, and this explains why some of the cages look cleaner than others. You're seeing fronts, sides, backs of cages, because they're all jumbled.

 

[Frecs]

The muscovies stand guard at the back door for Mother to come out and give them bread. The chickens follow me around and get under foot because I might drop something they want...or, to fuss when I find their eggs and take them... (And, yes, I talk to the animals and promise treats and such...) The rabbits stand at their feed bowls and look pathetic...but the worst moocher of all?

The DOGS! They know if "Grandma" gets peanut butter or ice cream out...they sit nicely around her chair so she will give them each some... When it is precisely 7pm, Trixie, the basenji/chihuahua mix, gets up on my lap so she can look me in the eye and let me know -- MOM! GET OFF THE COMPUTER...ITS DINNER TIME!!

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

My pets are all pampered. My dad reminds me often about how well trained I am, LOL.

The AR people have such a terrible sense of right and wrong...they can't see the forest for the trees as it were. They don't look at the quality care and quality of life an animal has, they just see what they WANT to see and go from there.

Frankly so long as an animal is happy and healthy, I don't see using that animal or that animal performing a function as "exploitation." My critters all have to "earn their keep" as it were. My dog and my cats? They are my little cheering squad...when I feel like the world hates me, they are always there to cheer me up. The rabbits? They are there as pets, as show animals and as food. I make no distinction in the care of the rabbits based on end results, btw...my meat rabbits enjoy the same care and treats and attention as the pets and show bunnies. I think the ONLY difference is that I do brush my show bunnies more.

What gets me is that performing their functions, they are happy and healthy. Is that truly exploitation? Or is that just a really sweet deal? I'm sure this is how my Breezy sees it: "Hey, all I have to do is act cute and occasionally smoosh myself into a show-pose, and my human provides everything I want. SWEET!!!"

Cats have it even better...lollygag around, sleep all day, eat whenever they want, do whatever they feel like, and do absolutely no work whatsoever!!!! Talk about a good deal there, eh?

Here's my thing...they don't want people keeping/breeding animals...well what the heck happens to animals when they make it illegal to so much as own a dog? Imagine the life of a dog without a cherished human owner. Now THAT is a sad dog.

 

[Cottie]

What gets me is that performing their functions, they are happy and healthy. Is that truly exploitation? Or is that just a really sweet deal? I'm sure this is how my Breezy sees it: "Hey, all I have to do is act cute and occasionally smoosh myself into a show-pose, and my human provides everything I want. SWEET!!!"

Cats have it even better...lollygag around, sleep all day, eat whenever they want, do whatever they feel like, and do absolutely no work whatsoever!!!! Talk about a good deal there, eh?

Here's my thing...they don't want people keeping/breeding animals...well what the heck happens to animals when they make it illegal to so much as own a dog? Imagine the life of a dog without a cherished human owner. Now THAT is a sad dog.

That's the problem I have with it. They say animals should be free to live naturally.

It takes a cat a generation to go feral...but we all know that you never "own" a cat, it just puts up with you at its leisure. :lol:

what about a dog? I know people talk about "feral dogs", but they are so far removed from their wolfness that I doubt they would truly abandon their domestic tendencies in less than 3 or 4 generations.

 

[Bad Habit]

How long would it take a 15lb dog to starve to death? That's how long my dog would last... He honestly has no idea what to do with a whole timbit!

 

[tailwagging]

depending on the breed. an Italian greyhound 3 days a fat chihuahua maybe a week or more :dogkiss:

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Likewise, my pets are so domesticated it isn't even funny. My Persian's former owner admitted to me that he tried to get rid of her and her brother by putting them outside and not feeding them...they shivered on his porch for a few weeks before the neighbors complained. She was HALF her normal body weight when I got her. HALF. No way does that sweet baby survive without dinner served on a silver platter.

And my Munchkin kitty...she's almost totally deaf, has degenerative spinal arthritis...she would never make it.

My little dog is like a caricature of a dog...she would last all of a day before becoming lunch for a larger predator. As is I worry about birds of prey...a three-pound dog with a limp might look like a snack to a hawk or eagle!!!

Without their human slave, they would suffer and die. Is that really "better" than being "exploited," and having their every need met and exceeded? I cannot imagine betraying them by making them try to be "wild and free"...IMO, turning them loose would be far more cruel.

 

[phillinley]

How long would it take a 15lb dog to starve to death? That's how long my dog would last... He honestly has no idea what to do with a whole timbit!

That's the biggest thing you Canucks have that makes me jealous is timbits. The few that I've found in the US suck in comparison to the Canadian stores.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

What in the world is a timbit? I thought it was a typo. :lol:

 

[phillinley]

What in the world is a timbit? I thought it was a typo. :lol:

The best donut holes from a chain restaurant in the world.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Timbits are awesome.

I bought a giant 40-timbit box once, stuffed it in some luggage, and flew to Texas to spend time with one of my ex boyfriends. I forgot about the timbits for a few days.

They got severely smooshed from being in soft luggage bags on a plane from my Canadian home to San Antonio, too.

I offered them up anyways. EVERYONE DECLARED THEM AMAZING. They are delicious even stale and smooshed.

There's a Timmy Ho's in my town here in Michigan, now...the timbits are great, but their coffee sucks. It's gross. I was so disappointed.

 

[Bad Habit]

Chuck isn't fat, but he is very sturdy, lol. It's the shih tzu in him that gives him his size. The vet actually said about 15lbs is his ideal. He wouldn't last very long, as his underbite makes him a very picky eater. I cook "smoothies" for him, made of blenderized meat and broth. But he's exploited, LOL!

I forgot that timbits are a regional thing. I think it has been thoroughly explained... Only I must put my 2 cents in and say they may have been overhyped...

 

[Dood]

! Blasphemy !

 

[Bad Habit]

Sorry Dood, not really a doughnut fan

 

[Miss M]

<--- Really a doughnut fan

 

[trinityoaks]

That's the problem I have with it. They say animals should be free to live naturally.

This is EXACTLY it! They TOTALLY believe that the animals would be much happier and better off if they were allowed to go completely feral, and no amount of "my animals exploit ME" silliness will convince them otherwise.