Who here on /an/ owns chickens?
My little brother wants to get a chicken, but I wanted to hear some anecdotal stories from /an/ to see if it's worth getting one for him. Also, we are not sure which breed we should get him, if we do confirm we are getting him one.
Please post pictures of your chickens and what breed they are!
>>2131341
Where do you live? Country/state/city
How big is your backyard?
Can you only have /one/ chicken or are you ready to get two+? [spoiler]You cant have just one, they need friends[/spoiler]
How much are your ready to pay to have chickens?
Full grown or chicks?
>>2131341
Get a buff orpington and a speckled sussex. The two friendliest and tamest breeds, IMHO.
>>2131341
I live inner city and had 4 chickens with my family growing up. They regularly escaped and I was often late to school because I had to recapture them. They were infamous amongst our neighbours and eventually all surrounding houses were fed up and demanded we do something. We decided that the only way to keep them would be to let them out in the afternoon when everyone was home to keep an eye on them but then they were only able to roam for 4/5 hours a day.
They seemed happy enough though and fresh eggs are awesome. Unfortunately, they died pretty horrifically. They caught lice/fleas from somewhere that we tried treating with a couple of different chemicals to know avail. Eventually they started doing that thing where they pick at each others anus's until the guts are hanging out, incur a massive infection and die.
I held them down while dad cut off their heads early in the morning before my mum or little brother woke up. We did the first two separately but after a while decided 3/4 were suffering too much and did the last two in the same morning. I don't think they knew it was coming. and they had a good few years before that.
We named the white and black ones after my Aunties Nell and Kell and the two brown ones were Dorris and Bertha interchangeably.
Was a good experience overall but killing them was hard. I'd recommend, but there is a bit of work in looking after them
So what's the deal with this guy?
>>2129918
...i just counted the ducks to see if there is actually 50.
>>2129924
...Are there?
>>2130855
Not even close.
>Queen builds colony by digging a hole and starts birthing subjects
>Said subjects care for the colony and the queen in specific yet absurdly complex ways
>The queen dies, possibly usurped by one of her daughters
>All the ants carry in a functional manner
Yet apparently none of these are capable of even one coherent thought, and instead are all directed by instincts and pheromones.
I cannot for the life of me fathom how this works. It makes sense if the queen was controlling everyone, but in reality she's just an egg-laying machine and ultimately interchangeable. No, THE COLONY, a dirtpit in the sand is the real super-organism.
>>2129623
its not about control its about survival. they care for her because its a successful strategy to pass on their own genes through her. sounds like nonsense until you consider ants are haplodiploid which means workers are more genetically related to their sisters than their own parents and subsequently their children. you give 50% of your DNA to your child and your partner gives their 50%. well in ants the Dad who is haploid gives 100% and the mom gives 50% so if you are a worker ant the sister of such a union would have 75% commonality with you so it would be fortuitous to protect and serve her so she can make millions of babies some of which will be fertile queens some day.
Its a hell of a system but the success of ants and bees and wasps is a testament to the power of eusociality.
that being said to say they don't think is a bit of a stretch. they do think. they may even have feelings though much simpler than what we have. not pain or love or hate but contentment, pleasure, something similar to anger...all are possible. an injured ant even "screams" for help from its sisters even if the threat is distant from the colony which is disadvantageous to the group but advantageous to the individual.
also you are directed by instincts and chemicals. your happiness is serotonin, your fear adrenaline, your love oxytocin. being aware of it doesn't make you less of a biological machine. nothing personnel, kid.
>ants have been vastly more successful at colonizing earth than humans have
I don't like thinking about ants period, rule your stupid underground kingdom if you want just stay out of my house
Ants are so underappreciated.
Post your cats!!!
>>2127934
The sky is blue
There isn't one up right now so here's a thread for ferrets, weasels, otters, etc. Skunks, though not technically mustelids, are welcome too.
Pics, questions, discussions, everything mustelid!
>>2120446
How do I get my chubby ferret to lose weight?
I keep hearing that they need a constant supply of food but how the fuck does he lose weight then if his chubbyness makes him less inclined to play?
>>2120452
Hmm, none of my ferrets have ever had a problem with overeating (I free feed them.)
My first suggestion would of course be exercise, but if he's lazy and doesn't want to play, I'm not sure what you can do. Is there anything he just goes super nuts excited for?
You could also try feeding him smaller meals throughout the day, if you're available to feed him every few hours, to limit his food intake. I realize this might not be realistic if you have work or school, though.
What kind of food do you give him?
Other than that, perhaps talk to your vet about it. They might have some suggestions.
All right, so. Recently Yo-yo's developed some hair loss on her back end right above the base of her tail. We all know what that means--she probably has adrenal disease.
She's going to the vet tomorrow afternoon to get checked out, but I don't have high hopes that her hair loss is being caused by something else. If she does have adrenal, she probably will need surgery.
I love her and I'm very scared for her. Please wish her luck, guys.
so my fucking cat wont stop pissing all over the place and I need some advice
we just moved three weeks ago and whenever i'm not around she pisses everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
the walls
the hamper basket
my fucking 50's car portrait
the stove
the goddamn microwave for christ sakes
its not a marking territory thing, we used to live in shitty conditions where she never had a clean litterbox and she's just kinda used to this. mind you, she knows what a litterbox is. and always uses it for shitting and OCCASIONALLY pissing. I used Tidy Cats Lightweight Scented, and I hear scented litter is bad so I might stop doing that if it'll help, but i'm just wondering if anybody can help me out because I work all the time and coming home to this drives me up the fucking wall.
>we just moved three weeks ago
she's unhappy about the major change in her life.
>its not a marking territory thing
why would you think that? everywhere smells differently to her, she's probably just trying to make it smell like home.
you should probably lock her in the bathroom or some other room that's easy to clean or won't get ruined if she pees all over it.
>>2132634
>why would you think that?
did you not read the entire post? last place we lived in for 5 years she still did this. and I don't want to lock her up in the bathroom, she'd be miserable.
1. Is she fixed?
2. Have you been to a vet to rule out clinical issues? Improper box usage among cats is often a sign of distress in cats.
3. After ruling out medical conditions, look for Litter Attractant products and try that.
Hey /an/ can any of you recommend a cheap puppy (similar to corgis) that doesn't shed alot?
my thread is gonna die...
thanks alot /an/
huhuhuhuh stayin alive stayin alive
>>2132532
your thread was stupid and it deserves to die
youre welcome, anon
What the fuck kind of fly is this?
For a while I thought I had fruit flies in my apartment but since these fuckers don't have red eyes I thought they'd be something else. I'd really like to know so I can do something about them. There's no fucking food in my apartment and yet they keep coming in
>>2132489
Tsetse fly, they are dangerous anon
>>2132491
Thanks for reminding me. This is in Southeastern US
It's probably a mutated fruit fly but I'd like to hear opinions
>>2132494
Definitely a fruit fly.
What does it mean when my dog licks my face a lot? or my hand?
It means he's tasting you to see if you're ready to eat yet.
Also, that's disgusting don't let your dog do that.
They want to clean you from all stupidity and see if there's some intelligence to be found
My dog doesn't lick people often so I know if she ever tries to lick my face that she must be hungry. Sometimes when she's tired and relaxed she'll lick my hand and I take that as a sign of affection.
I fucking love fluff things. Fluff animals are pretty nice, but the fluff from plants is the finest and the softest.
Post some nice fluffy plants and their names, or fluffy animals if you want to disprove me.
Bunny Tail grass is pretty nice fluff
Pussy willow is pretty well known for its fluff as well
thistles are amazing fluff just when they're opening up before fully opening for the seeds to spread out
Mullein is really nice.
I'm 99% sure there's a pregnant cat hiding in my barn...
Is there anything I can put out, so she don't have to hunt mice for nutrients?
>>2132363
>Is there anything I can put out, so she don't have to hunt mice for nutrients?
cat food?
>>2132390
I don't have cat food though...
I was thinking something I may have in my fridge or something
I don't know what cats eat
>>2132394
If you don't have cat food and you don't even know what cats eat then don't bother - it's not going to eat out-of-date eggs, stale cheese slices, orange juice or whatever other old shit you're trying to empty your fridge of.
do animals enjoy massages /an/?
>>2132288
my fish don't.
the anemone seems pretty ok with it.
>>2132289
anemones seem like they would be pretty okay with a lotta things
actually, speaking of fish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBf68BKFy9Q
Ok Im gonna be straight forward as fuck
I live in the ghetto in Phoenix, Arizona, and I have two roommates who have a labrabull puppy for protection from thieves. I completely disagree with the treatment of this dog. They are "nice" to him, but ill green text it
>They keep it in the backyard all day, with SOME shade and a bowl of water
>They feed it scraps of whatever they are done eating. AKA pizza crust, human meals of whatever they cook etc...
>The backyard is full of burrs and hot dirt because it's phoenix, which gets upwards of 120 degrees
>Whenever I (secretly) let it inside, it is EXTREMELY hyper, will not quit biting and jumping on me, and pees all over the entire house. and I mean pees everywhere.
>They never take it for walks
>They just keep it outside, fed it scraps, and occasionally go outside and pet him basically
My roommates are native american and Mexican and say this is how they treat dogs in their life, but it seriously bothers me. I work full time 50+ hours a week and can't take responsibility for the dog.
What do?!
>>2132263
Call animal control on them and let animal control know that they need to say a 'passerby' saw it out in the heat.
Animal control will force them to either give it adequate living conditions, or get rid of it.
IF they give it the shade and such that it needs, I would get an older dog (Not too old, just enough to be mellowed out) from the pound and give it a goddam friend at least. I would also get a huge walmart bag of cheap kibble and just leave a huge bowl of food out every morning.
This may not sound like the best course of action, but given the circumstances, you would be improving that dogs life ten fold.
Try and play with it for just a few minutes out of the day if you can. You can't stop them from owning a dog, but you can make it's life better OP.
>>2132271
will do this. I was going to buy it kibbles regardless. I also ordered feet protectors for him. But I will definitely call animal control as a passerby.
>>2132271
>free feeding a labrador
No.
https://twitter.com/vinesNvids/status/726167894678228992
Is there something wrong with this fish or does it just like being pet?
>>2132091
Fish looks healthy to me. Maybe it just likes getting pet
I had a bristle nose pleco that used to like to hang out on my hand whenever I cleaned my tank. Any time I put my hand on the tank, he'd be on me. I have no fucking clue why. Fish are weird.
reminds me of this https://youtu.be/B7GbFTXcfU8
some animals just like to be pet
Our order of baby chicks came in today, and the hatchery we got them from sends a random chick of rare breed with every order. We have no idea what breed this little guy could be.
This is the site we ordered from: https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html
The wing feathers are coming in, and they're a kind of cream color.
Does a rare chicken taste better or worse?
>>2132041
Don't know. Don't plan on eating the little thing unless it turns out to be a rooster. We already have four.
