In most of the US you have raccoons, which means you need more than just fencing, you need a pretty solid, enclosed chicken house, because raccoons will absolutely slaughter chickens and fencing alone won’t stop them. (Also, because of the bird flu epidemic, you want to minimize exposure of chickens to wild birds, which means completely enclosing and covering all areas where chickens have access.) Even if you have the room, you’ll be making a multi-year commitment before you break even (so for most renters, even with yards, not so much).
The suggestion really is out-of-touch, including being out-of-touch with the requirements for backyard chicken farming…
I’ve been expecting that for months, though I don’t know what happens when a bunch of people buy chickens and then realize they aren’t set up to actually raise them (though I suppose the main way they figure that out is the chickens die, so…)
I won’t be listening to the speech tonight. I’m going to have to get summaries the next day (from good sources, and I have some streamers I trust for that.) My nerves cannot handle listening to that man’s voice for more than a few minutes max, and considering all the lies and hatred he’s bound to spew…
I’m doing my best to stay informed, but I need to do it in a way I can handle without falling pits into rage and despair (which is all too easy lately.) For me, that means taking news breaks and filtering where I can. If I let this break me (and it easily could), I won’t be much good to anyone, even myself. Unfortunately, this likely to be more of a marathon than a sprint, and I’m trying to pace myself accordingly.
That’s really important: people who are complaining that the price of eggs is high enough that they’re having to make “eggs or …” choices are being told to just spend a few hundred to get the backyard chicken thing going. It feels like financial advice that says “If you’re having trouble paying for your car repairs, just use your second car, and maybe give the chauffeur Thursdays off.”
Apparently Trudeau met King Charles today (you know, Canada’s head of state) and analysts are saying this was a coded message to Trump that threatening to make Canada the 51st state means Trump is threatening King Charles by trying to replace him as Canada’s head of state, and it may be mentioned privately when (if?) that UK State visit ever happens and the two of them meet. Imagine Charles asking, disarmingly “what’s that all about Mr President?”
Given how much Trump fawns over royalty, will he decide to double down and make an enemy of Charles, or suck it up and stop such shenanigans.
Personally, I doubt the UK will cancel the visit despite the huge protests (many petitions going around) here, and the actual, physical protests on the day will see some of the worst police repression for a while. Streets anywhere near it will be empty and cordoned off. Trump will think the UK has been depopulated. Then again, they say he will visit Balmoral, which is in the middle of nowhere, so perhaps that will be the ploy to keep him away from the great British public.
I would love if Charles casually mentioned his military career as part of support for Ukraine:
“You know, I find Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to be quite brave. Reminds me when I was flying Royal marines on missions aboard the Hermes. I say, have you ever made a close ground combat jump with a regiment of marines armed to the teeth and carrying 60 pounds of gear and explosives strapped to your body? That’s the stuff that separates the men from the boys, by Jove!”
There is one particular local park where there’s a (presumably constantly renewed) population of chickens dumped by locals, some of which have survived (for a bit, anyways) by roosting in trees… in between dogs, cars, raccoons and foxes, chickens on the street don’t last long.
Weirdly, chickens that got lightly chewed by raccoons (or killed by illness, neglect, etc) aren’t exactly edible, but especially when they’ve sat around for half a day before they’re found. Killing chickens to eat them is quite a bit of work and requires some serious preparation. After failing to raise chickens for eggs, people are going to be burying those chickens, not eating them. (And probably failing at that, too - their neighborhoods will be strewn with chicken bits after animals dig the carcasses up out of too-shallow graves.)
And if you’re deliberately raising chickens for eggs, then eating… well, there’s a reason (or two) why commercial chicken farms kill chickens for eating before they reach the age where they’d start laying eggs.
Especially since, under normal circumstances, home chickens aren’t really cheaper than buying (regular) eggs. Raising chicken is useful for producing ethical, organic eggs, but the economies of scale mean commercial eggs will be cheaper, usually. It’s very much a “let them eat cake” moment.
The whole Trump administration does. Given the levels of wealth and privilege, almost every single one of them is completely out of touch with basic human living.
JD Vance was today facing furious demands to apologise after he appeared to dismiss Britain as a ‘random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years’. The US Vice President was accused of ‘disrespecting’ the sacrifice of British troops who fought alongside American servicemen in Afghanistan and Iraq. He sparked widespread anger among veterans and MPs from across the House of Commons with his apparent dig at Britain’s miltary history. It came as he rubbished Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 's offer of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine with British and French boots on the ground. Mr Vance used a Fox News interview to instead heap pressure on Ukraine to sign a minerals deal with US President Donald Trump . He said this was ‘a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years’.
isn’t there a “booting” or some-such official act of humility they could make contingent on the King going through with the meeting with the orange-mayhem? (“eh, just lock him up in the tower for a couple of days. but in the cell without a sofa.”)
My city had street chickens for years, maybe even a couple decades, so in certain areas it can work out for them.
ETA: Talked about it with my brother, and he agrees, at least a couple decades. They lived in/near a park in a basically urban area, so no major predators. I don’t think anyone was replenishing them during this time, and I do remember seeing them shepherding little chicks. I wonder if the city decided to get rid of them, or if inbreeding finally did the trick.
See also: auto dealers’ service departments; tire stores; medical waiting rooms; break rooms… for whom (do they believe they) are doing a favor? A lot of these places still have magazines or newspapers, for those who don’t have a smart device (& don’t bring their own reading material)
If I let this break me (and it easily could), I won’t be much good to anyone, even myself. Unfortunately, this likely to be more of a marathon than a sprint, and I’m trying to pace myself accordingly.