I’ve shared with you lucky folks my dogs’ disgusting penchant for eating chicken poop. We allow our flock to free-range each evening, keeping the dogs in the house or on the other side of a fence to prevent them from harassing / eating the chickens.
But as soon as the chickens tuck themselves in for the night and we latch up the coop and allow the dogs to roam that portion of the yard again, the hounds search for chicken droppings and hoover them up as if each turd were the finest beluga caviar. Weird.
The eggs pictured above were fresh from the hen-chute (i.e., unwashed) and must carry a faint whiff of chicken-butt detectable by the pictured dog’s highly developed olfactory system. This inspired her to stand on her hind legs to identify the source of the heavenly scent. Gross.
Please feel free to discuss more pleasant topics.
PhoenixRising
Speaking of ‘Can’t tell chicken shit from chicken salad’: DOJ’s report on Albuquerque police dept’s excessive uses of force include:
-APD officer shot a dude who may have stolen a car. For throwing some side eye. (WTF is a ‘warrior glare’?)
-Took 5 cops to listen to 75 year old man complain about the bus schedule for an hour, then electrocute him when he used his cane to rise from the bus stop bench & walk off. (Sent out on a welfare check.)
-Called to remove unwanted man from kitchen, where he was ‘hidden’ in plain sight in his shorts, electrocuted him and dragged him downstairs. For trespassing.
Chicken shit, all of ’em.
Lynn Dee
We had a dog who regarded the cat’s litter box as her personal buffet. She quit dining out of it when anyone was around, but of course didn’t know enough to wipe the kitty litter off her muzzle. What a sight. Finally had to go with a covered litter box — which the cat promptly quit using.
Fortunately we leave the door open anyway.
Comrade Scrutinizer
@PhoenixRising: Cops. Gun thugs with badges.
schrodinger's cat
How can you say no to those big sad eyes?
srv
I need adblock for this post
schrodinger's cat
Open thread needs kitteh, resistance is futile.
NotMax
@srv
Toenail fungus. Toenail fungus. Toenail fungus.
Better?
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
I wish I knew why toenail fungus grosses you all out so much. I’ve seen it before; it’s not pretty, sure, but it’s no big deal.
Trollhattan
@schrodinger’s cat:
Sad? More like crazy “nom-nom-nom” eyes.
My first dog was tall enough for counter-surfing and could somehow unhinge his neck and reach across impossible distances to snag food. Always with that bug-eyed look above. If that didn’t work, I’d catch him reaching waaaay back with his paw while hopping. New ktichen with taller, deeper couinters slowed him down but never qite curtailed his life ‘o food crime.
Schlemizel
Living up to my nym.
I woke up this morning thinking I had pink eye so I went to urgent care. Get your googling ready – I have iritis. Never heard of it before but it is an inflammation of the eye the OD said was sort of like arthritis of the eyeball. o I have these prenesone drops & I may be able to open my eye again later tonight.
I’d write a book but nobody would believe it
schrodinger's cat
@Amir Khalid: What toe-nail fungus?
satby
I have good news! The envelope with donations that was taken from my sister’s bedside table in the hospital was recovered!! It seems in her confused state, she had been rifling in the drawer looking for [something] and dropped the envelope, and her purse, out of the drawer and onto the floor. The nurse’s aid had assumed the envelope fell out of her purse and put it back, the person picking up the envelope had no reason to look there and so it wasn’t found til this morning. I sent mental apologies to her former roommate (who had been discharged yesterday) and my faith in humanity has been restored.
Thanks to all of you for the support yesterday, I was devastated, partly because my sister’s situation has become so dire and so those donations mattered. Her house is in foreclosure and the benefit is to try to get funds so she can go into a bit better situation, whether that’s assisted living in an apartment or a slightly less awful nursing home.
Mike in NC
On the subject of turds, to nobody’s surprise the House passed Ryan’s insane budget today.
Mandalay
Note to BJ’s wingnut division – get ready to hold your breath and stamp your feet tomorrow:
And once your rage subsides, be sure to post clever comments using the terms “traitor”, “Griftwald” and “fanbois”.
ranchandsyrup
the glibertarians are appropriating May Day to free markets and free people. so sayeth the ad that I see on this post.
schrodinger's cat
@Trollhattan: On second thoughts, I guess you are right. Both my kittehs are not interested in human food, especially if it is cooked. They are fond of raw shrimp and raw beef, though.
Schlemizel
@satby:
Glad to hear that. Hopefully everything else will start looking up for her now too.
Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader
@Mike in NC: I thought I read somewhere that it wasn’t likely to pass even the House.
Betty Cracker
@satby: That’s great news! I was disgusted to think some ass would steal the donations. Not that there aren’t creeps in the world who would do just that, but I’m glad it wasn’t the case this time, at least.
Mandalay
@Schlemizel:
This is not what you want learn about iritis: In a large number of cases, no cause for iritis is found.
Betty Cracker
@Mandalay: I’m neither a fan nor a hater, but I’m glad Greenwald’s at least no longer darkly hinting that he’s in danger of being clapped in irons and disappeared by the US government.
Mike E
@satby: Yay! It’s sort of Occam’s Razor-luck.
After nearly 17 years as an unaffiliated voter, I’ll be visiting my local Mayberry b.o.e. and putting a proper letter next to the ‘Party’ category. Yep, I’m registering as a Republican.
I’m doing it for Stephen!!
Schlemizel
@schrodinger’s cat:
The kitty that just died last year would eat ANYTHING! She felt if humans ate it she should too. She loved popcorn & frozen peas. She also weight around 8 pounds and looked near starvation her whole life despite eating like a horse. Her house mate otoh, is not overly fond of wet cat food, preferring the dry & pretty much refuses even tasty morsels like a bit of chicken liver or fish. She is about 18 pounds & lumbering around like a fat sausage. Cats a wierd
Schlemizel
@Mandalay:
Thats what they told me. Also that it probably would not return but it does for some people
kwAwk
@Schlemizel:
Back in the day, I never remember everybody’s cats being morbidly obese. Makes you wonder what they’re putting in cat food these days.
Betty Cracker
@kwAwk: Reminds me of a New Yorker cartoon I saw years ago that pictured two witches conversing over the fence between their gingerbread houses. One witch says to the other, “Remember when we had to fatten the kids up?”
Schlemizel
@kwAwk:
I think a lot of cats used to be self-feeders. They ate birds and bunnies and mice mostly and had to work hard to get them. The odd bit of food they picked up from people was just enough to make the people a stop on the cats journeys. But a lot of cat food is corn protein so if you buy the stories about the evils of too much corn . . .
Tim F.
@Schlemizel: I’d believe it. I have had those drops in my cabinet for fifteen years. The first time it happened I almost lost the eye; the ophthalmo had to inject the steroids straight in. Fun day.
Your hip joints will start hurting. Advil and stretching will make it go away.
peach flavored shampoo
I’ve eaten chicken poop myself. At McDonald’s, packaged in something called “McNuggets”.
gogol's wife
I love the doggeh’s face in that picture. As I recall from my semi-rural (or at least Midwestern) childhood, chicken feces are really not fragrant.
Schlemizel
@Tim F.:
MY HIP JOINT?!?! WTF? AS if the screws & plates are not enough of a problem as it is.
Thanks for the heads up though
Scout211
Betty, I love your dog and chicken stories. So you keep them separate?
Our chickens free range all day and march into the coop when the sun goes down and the automatic door closes.
We have been trying to figure out what breed of dog we can adopt, now that the 5 acres are overrun with chickens (10) and wild turkeys. Our former dog was a black lab and we would really like another retriever but that would ask the poor doggie to go against it’s natural instinct. Retrievers usually don’t let chickens live. Sad, but true.
We are still researching, but the information and personal stories we read all end with . . . and then the dog killed the chickens. . .
What to do?
Mandalay
@Betty Cracker:
We can’t know what was in his head and heart, but I don’t find it difficult to believe that he genuinely thought that was a possibility for a while, however absurd it may seem to those of us who are not actively confronting the US government.
I suspect that he and Poitras have both attempted to find out in advance whether they would be detained when they set foot on US soil.
Paul in KY
@schrodinger’s cat: That is unusual, as several studies have shown that cats show a ‘marked preference’ for cooked meat.
Schlemizel
Betty – does your part of the South use the term “egg suckin dog”? Apparently some dogs get such a hankering for eggs they will depopulate the hens stashes to eat them all. Back in the day a farmer couldn’t afford those losses so it didn’t end well for an egg suckin dog.
Tim F.
@Schlemizel: It depends on where the iritis comes from. If a rheumatoid thing then yeah, congrats on your new hip pain. It comes and goes.
Then again maybe your cyborg bits moot that problem. Or make it worse. Hard to say.
rikyrah
Betty,
you have hilarious stories. I still think it’s great that you were ok with the chickens. I don’t get it, but the stories are hilarious.
Trollhattan
@Tim F.:
<blockquoteThe first time it happened I almost lost the eye; the ophthalmo had to inject the steroids straight in.
Please tell me how I can erase this image from my brain. Please?
StringOnAStick
@Schlemizel: We took our cat off a premium but typical corn- and wheat-filled cat food, to one without grains. She went from too pudgy and the vet being very concerned about it to a healthy weight within about 8 months. She became more playful too, maybe due to the weight loss but also maybe because she feels better on a diet more aligned with how cats are designed (cats are obligate carnivores, so grains aren’t what they should be eating).
Schlemizel
@Mandalay:
My understanding was that they sort of provoked the confrontation in the UK by announcing that they would be carrying classified info out of the country.
I mostly supported GG and often asked around here why his sins were unforgivable while Sully was repeatedly welcomed back with open arms. But there were some events, like the confrontation with the UK and what I saw an needlessly provocative things that made me think less of him. I still think he is fighting to end government surveillance (a fight we have already lost) so my opinion of him is on the high side of average for around here I guess.
mak
Speaking of dogs eating shit, there was a dog in my neighborhood growing up, Fella, that would eat any pile of poop he encountered, most of it presumably other dog poop. Fella, who was not the brightest pooch, was also into chasing cars, the ultimate cause of his demise.
Do dogs still chase cars?
Schlemizel
@Trollhattan:
I had that done after my cataract surgery as there was some sort of problem at the back of my eyeball. As bad as it probably looks there was no pain.
Belafon
@Mandalay: When he doesn’t get arrested, I’ll hold my breath for him to acknowledge his erroneous statements.
satby
@Betty Cracker: yeah, me too. I usually operate under the assumption that most people mean well and are kind, so thinking something was stolen from my clearly crippled and impaired sister really shook me to the core yesterday. Thankfully, it was unnecessary to be so pessimistic this time.
Betty Cracker
@Scout211: Yes, we keep them separate with a chain link fence that splits the yard into two sections. One of my dogs (the one pictured above) would probably be fine with the chickens, but the other has a strong prey drive (she’s always after lizards and squirrels). I don’t trust either one, really. Never the twain shall meet is our policy on dogs and chickens.
gwangung
@Schlemizel: Personally, I don’t think he’s very savvy on how to get things done, politically, which is both a strength and a weakness. He DOES have a limited repertoire, though.
But there’s a tendency towards expertitis that undermines some of his arguments, and not being to express his arguments without drawing eye rolls from experts.
burnspbesq
@Mandalay:
Time to unseal the indictments and arrest their asses.
Betty Cracker
@Schlemizel: I’ve never known an egg sucking dog but have heard the expression. Our dogs eat scrambled eggs sometimes. If the hens’ output exceeds our and our family and friends’ ability to consume them, we’ll scramble a batch for the dogs, and they love it.
Cacti
@Mandalay:
I suspect that he and Poitras have both attempted to find out in advance whether they would be detained when they set foot on US soil.
And when their appearance causes nary a ripple from any federal law enforcement agency, whither their claims of martyrdom?
The hardest part about nailing yourself to the cross is getting that last one pounded in.
burnspbesq
Frozen Four semifinals today. It’s a shame that the two best teams, BC and Union, are matched in one semifinal. Somebody undeserving is going to get to play for the championship, and in a one-off, anything can happen.
Yes, I am baiting JMN. Why do you ask?
Mandalay
@Belafon:
Which erroneous statements?
Paul in KY
@mak: I don’t see as many now. That could be because of stricter leash laws or maybe the propensity in certain dogs came to a darwinian end.
Mandalay
@burnspbesq:
Possibly. Their arrival tomorrow will be interesting either way.
Paul in KY
@burnspbesq: Go Union!
‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the kicking of the ass
We have trampled out the vintage and given BC a slash’
Sincere apologies to the writer of that song.
Mnemosyne
@satby:
Phew! So it was over-helpfulness that was the problem. Better that than theft, though.
catclub
@Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader: It was always going to be free of any votes from Democrats. The part that made it interesting was the GOP crazies who vote against it because it does not go far enough in cutting big gummint.
Betty Cracker
@Mandalay: As far as I’m aware, the only people who have suggested they might face charges are vacuous haircut David Gregory, some wingnut kook in the House nobody has ever heard of and various Internet blowhards. I realize the US government can and does harass people it considers troublemakers, but Greenwald is over-dramatizing his personal peril, IMO.
Schlemizel
@burnspbesq:
Actually I don’t think JMN cares that much for the mens side. The NCAA has done a pretty good job over the years of setting up the hockey playoffs to give the best chance of an East/West final. It varies from year to year which group, if either, gets short shrift. OTOH it does add to the publicity leading up to the game which probably helps the NCAA cash in.
MomSense
My friend’s lab (AKA pig dog) ended up at the veterinary hospital for eating too much calves’ poop. It is like the creamiest milk chocolate of poop. Poor dog couldn’t even walk he was so gorged out on poop.
skerry
I copied this from MARC’s (MARC – Marion Animal Resource Connection – the animal rescue folks in TN that this community has helped before) Facebook page. If you go to their page, there is a picture of this poor dog that needs help.
“This is Lady Bug, she was a pregnant stray who we became to love and we took her in. She had 4 puppies, and we took care of them until they were old enough to be adopted, so thanks to Marc & Sue, they were sent off and given their forever homes. This morning, mom found Lady Bug laying in the ditch, she gotten ran over and it broke her front leg terribly. Mom and dad took her to the vet, they have to put pins in it and 6 screw plate, and the cost of this is $800, we’ve got half of that. Were not people that ask for help or for donations, but were not rich and we don’t have the rest of the money, so please if anyone can help at all, she is at north jackson vet clinic is Stevenson, AL. You can reach me on here, or call my parents at 423-596-0086. We love this dog and don’t want her to lose her leg. Thank you and god bless.”
From Sue: Please donate to help this baby and her family:
They have been such good foster parents/family and took this momma in and took such good care of her babies. I hope we can get some donations for her from this posting.
The phone number for the vet is 256-437-8483 People can call and donate to her bill directly. Thanks, Sue
mak
@Paul in KY: I suspect it is the former. Still, it seems weird that I haven’t seen a chaser in decades, and it used to be fairly common, as I recall.
Roger Moore
@Scout211:
Maybe you should get something small enough to be intimidated by the chickens, like a Chihuahua.
Yatsuno
@Betty Cracker: If he gets busted for anything it will be tax evasion. But only if his RO can get to him.
burnspbesq
@Paul in KY:
Works for me, says the proud second-generation Union grad.
Roger Moore
@Schlemizel:
My basic problem with Greenwald is that I can’t trust anything he says. I don’t know if he actually lies outright, but he omits contradictory information and spins everything so hard that it’s impossible to take anything he says at face value. You have to go back and check his statements against his source material and his arguments against at least one other person who knows something about the topic. That might be tolerable in a pure opinion writer (though I prefer ones who don’t treat disagreement as a sign of bad faith) but it’s absolute poison in a factual journalist. Greenwald might have done the world a service by helping to make the Snowden NSA documents available, but I want to learn about them from somebody who cares more about the facts than the politics.
burnspbesq
If anything, Krugman’s NYRB review of Piketty’s book understates its importance.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/may/08/thomas-piketty-new-gilded-age/
PhoenixRising
Small dog kills chickens. Our Dane won’t chase a damn thing, so we’re stuck with pigeons until the kitty’s shots are completed. (At that point, pigeons better look out, based on his enthusiasm for killing the feathery wand.)
Eyeball surgery is often preloaded with eyeball injections. The needle is, IMHO, the least of your damn worries. Chemotherapy gives you official zombie eyeball, when applied directly–I’m not clear how useful this is if it’s not October, but maybe your iritis will recur.
Finally, the people who don’t believe what’s in my book leave the funniest damn reviews you ever saw. Encourage them!
ruemara
@Mandalay: fuck off. Those two are twisted and thinking so has nothing to do with being a wingnut. Asshats like you should realize, you’re as intolerant of dissent as any tea party stooge.
realbtl
@Scout211: If you’re still here.
It really depends on the individual dog. I have a Wiemaraner, supposedly a hunting breed, that pretty much ignores the wild turkeys, though she does scarf up the poop. The turkeys know her and will scurry off 20 or so feet when I let her out but that’s about it.
On the other hand I’ve had a GSP that I’m sure would have taken down one of the turkeys if she had caught one.
cckids
@satby:
That’s wonderful!! I was sad for you yesterday; my son has spent months of his life in hospitals, and there have been times when we’ve had things stolen (portable dvd players, movies, mp3’s) that pretty much HAD to be taken by someone who worked in the hospital. From a non-verbal, paralyzed child.
I have not so much faith in human nature some days.
SiubhanDuinne
@satby: Oh, that’s such good news! Always like to hear a happy ending — and the scenario is completely plausible. Thanks for sharing the update.
Trollhattan
@Roger Moore:
Whether he’s lying, prevaricating or troof-telling I can barely tell, since he takes to many dang words to say it.
LanceThruster
Others have posted this before as well but it does such a good job explaining many dog related things.
ihop
longtime lurker, very very seldom commenter here,
our beloved doggies will eat the poop of (be driven to) chickens or geese in a the same fashion that we might consume yogurt or other bacteria-rich foodstuff.
be aware to keep them from eating the feces of other meat-eaters (because of the bacteria therein) and they should be safe.
Paul in KY
@mak: Spoke to some people around office & conclusion was the leash laws.
someofparts
I’ve worked at kennels for about 15 years by now. Always with exceptions, it has been my general experience that boxers and golden retrievers are especially prone to hoovering up poop. Two of my favorite sweetie-pie breeds, but they do tend to see the yard as a buffet.