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the-funny-farm · 4 days

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Because folks liked my latest pigeon comic so much, here's another pigeon piece!

I made this a couple years ago for a sadly now defunct publication called Pipe Wrench. I hope this piece helps spread more pigeon love.

#pigeons #fowl

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the-funny-farm · 3 months

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OP of the original post turned off reblogs but as of 3 hours ago 3/3/24 Deux Face is still alive and doing well!! According to the farm's Facebook she is starting to try to stand and getting better at holding up her head. The farm has been very clear that they're going to care for her and do their best to meet her needs, they are not planning to sell her or show her off to the media. They also haven't mentioned any other noticeable deformities inside or out and have noted that both heads connect at the same throat, and she's lived for about 5.5 days at this point which is shockingly long for an animal with this level of deformities. Go Deux Face!

#i wonder if theyve had a vet look at her #you cant really see internal deformities w/o imaging

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the-funny-farm · 3 months

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As per their facebook they have vets involved and are not allowing visitors or plan on selling her

OP of the original post turned off reblogs but as of 3 hours ago 3/3/24 Deux Face is still alive and doing well!! According to the farm's Facebook she is starting to try to stand and getting better at holding up her head. The farm has been very clear that they're going to care for her and do their best to meet her needs, they are not planning to sell her or show her off to the media. They also haven't mentioned any other noticeable deformities inside or out and have noted that both heads connect at the same throat, and she's lived for about 5.5 days at this point which is shockingly long for an animal with this level of deformities. Go Deux Face!

#deux face

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the-funny-farm · 3 months

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They should really put warnings on plants that are toxic/deadly to animals like it’s pretty insidious that there are plants that could potentially kill your dog being marketed as convenient low effort plants for beginners that have no knowledge I don’t think it would even occur to the average traitor joes shopper that they’d need to even look it up for safety reasons

#plants #safety #toxic plants

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the-funny-farm · 4 months

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technically not dog content but i mean. look at this

#sheep #vid

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the-funny-farm · 4 months

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"I've decided not to vaccinate my animals. Think about it, how often do you see a rabid dog?"

Yes Heather think about it. Think about how few rabid dogs you see in your comfortable western country with easy access to vet care. Think about why it might be that you've never seen a rabid dog. Really dig deep here you absolute fucking fool.

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the-funny-farm · 4 months

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oh BTW here's my teeny tiny list of my favourite pigeon species

White breasted ground dove

Nicobar pigeon

Cinnamon headed green pigeon

Yellow footed green pigeon

Pheasant pigeon

Yellow breasted fruit dove

Many coloured fruit dove

Crowned pigeon

#birds #pigeons

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the-funny-farm · 7 months

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Scottish Fold cats are a genetic abomination and no, I will not apologise.

Yeah, these cats are cute, and they themselves do not deserve hate (after all, it's us humans who intentionally breed and sell them and label their genetic defects 'adorable') but as you can probably tell, I hate the breeding and selling of these cats. It is cruel.

The Scottish Fold is a cat bred to have ears folded over and laying flat against their skull. You can see the difference between a Scottish Fold and a typical cat below.

Left: Scottish Fold. Right: Typical cat.

As you can see, the Scottish Fold's ears are very different to a typical cat's. They are smaller and folded over. How is this a problem?

Well, let's investigate the cause of these folded ears.

The Scottish Fold's folded ears are a direct result of a disorder known as Scottish Fold osteochondrodysplasia (SFOCD). This disorder is degenerative, causing abnormal growth of bone and cartilage as the cat ages.

As a Scottish Fold ages, bony growths develop, especially around the tarsal, metatarsal, and phalangeal bones of the paws, and the bones making up the tail. This disorder also causes the cartilage in the ears to curl, causing the ears to fold over the head.

Left: The hind legs of a severely affected Scottish Fold cat. Right: The hind legs of a mildly affected Scottish Fold cat.

Above: The hind legs and tail of a severely affected Scottish Fold cat.

There have been attempts to breed this trait out of the Scottish Fold, however, developing a breed without bone and cartilage abnormalities throughout the body would involve developing a breed without folded ears. The genetic trait associated with folded ears also causes other abnormalities. It is impossible to separate the two conditions.

Chronic pain is observed in all cats affected b this condition, even those mildly affected. Shortened, stiff tails and legs, swollen joints, and an abnormal gait are exhibited by the vast majority, if not all, Scottish Fold cats to some degree.

In moderate to severe cases, SFOCD can result in complete immobility.

Above: A moderately to severely affected Scottish Fold cat exhibiting a shortened, stiff tail as well as shortened, malformed limbs.

These abnormalities are frequently observed not just in older Scottish Folds, but kittens. The average age in which these cats develop chronic pain and may begin to exhibit deformities such as a stiff tail, is between 2 and 5 months of age.

It was once believed only homozygous cats in terms of the folded ear gene would develop such problems. It has since been found heterozygous cats do, in fact, suffer these problems, though they may develop at a slower rate.

Above: A 9 year old Scottish Fold cat brought to the veterinarian exhibiting difficulty standing and walking, difficult urinating and defecating, hyperflexion of joints and a stiff tail.

Unfortunately, as a result of these bone and cartilage abnormalities, chronic pain and mobility issues, the Scottish Fold cat's average life expectancy is drastically shorter than that of a typical cat.

While the average life expectancy of an indoor Domestic Shorthair (cat of no breed) is 15-20 years, the average life expectancy of an indoor Scottish Fold is 11-15 years, approximately 5-9 years shorter than that of a typical cat.

The Scottish Fold cat's bone and cartilage abnormalities, chronic pain and high incidence of physical deformity and immobility has led to legal restrictions being put in place in some places to prevent the further suffering of these cats.

The Netherlands was the first to ban the breeding of these cats in 2014, followed by Austria in 2020, Flanders (Belgium) in 2021, and Victoria (Australia) and Norway in 2023. Now, even Scotland, the country of origin of these cats, has banned the breeding of these cats.

Furthermore, many major cat registries do not recognise this breed, nor allow the registery of these cats, due to health concerns.

For the health and welfare of cats, we need to ban the intentional breeding of Scottish Folds worldwide.

Please, do not purchase a Scottish Fold from a breeder or pet store as this encourages the breeding of these cats. If you really want a Scottish Fold and you're prepared for the issues the cat will likely face, search for one at local animal rescues.

Sources

https://thelittlecarnivore.com/en/blog/scottish-fold-cats-its-time-to-stop-the-breeding

https://www.walkervillevet.com.au/blog/scottish-fold-health-problems/

https://icatcare.org/advice/scottish-fold-disease-osteochondrodysplasia/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvim.13614

https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-are-the-animal-welfare-problems-associated-with-scottish-fold-cats/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337467759_Osteochondrodysplasia_in_a_9-Year-Old_Scottish_Fold_Cat

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Fold#:~:text=Special%20Victims%20Unit).-,Breeding%20ban,birthplace%20of%20the%20breed%2C%20Scotland.

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the-funny-farm · 7 months

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I have THE biggest, BEST news EVER--

I GOT A BOOK CONTRACT!!!!!!!!

I am exceptionally pleased to announce that I have just signed a contract with Ten Speed Press (a division of Penguin Random House) to publish...

The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go!

It is slated for publication in early Summer 2025, and will be written for anyone who wants to be able to identify the living beings around them regardless of educational level or experience. A HUGE thank you to my literary agent Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC, and my editor at Ten Speed Press, Julie Bennett!

This isn't just another field guide--it's a how-to book on nature identification that helps you go from "I have no idea what this animal/plant/fungus is and I don't know where to start" to "Aha! I know how to figure out what species I'm looking at/hearing!" Those familiar with my nature ID classes know that I emphasize skills and tools accessible to everyday people. Whether you're birdwatching, foraging, or just enjoying the nature around you, my goal is to help you be more confident in figuring out what living beings you encounter wherever you go--and not just in the Pacific Northwest.

The Everyday Naturalist will not only explain what traits you need to pay attention to like color, size, shape, location, etc. and how to use them to differentiate among similar species, but will also detail how and when to use tools like apps, field guides, and more. (And given the current kerfuffle about A I generated foraging books, I will of course include information on how to determine the veracity of a given book or other resource.) And my editor and I have already been discussing some great additions to the book that will make it even more user-friendly!

Are you excited about this? I certainly am! I wanted to wait until the pixels were dry on the contract before going public with this (though my newsletter subscribers got to hear about it last month, lucky them!) It still doesn't feel real, but I'm already working on the manuscript so it'll sink in soon enough.

I will, of course, keep you all apprised of my progress because this project is going to be a big part of my life over the next several months as I write and edit and write and edit and wash, rinse, repeat. So keep your eyes on this space for updates (and feel free to add yourself to my monthly email newsletter here, too!)

#books

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the-funny-farm · 8 months

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With all the talk about telling people to start planting and growing crops to feed themselves and their communities during this time of crisis, I’m surprised I haven’t seen much about HOW MUCH to plant to feed people. Here’s a good article to serve as a jumping-off point, to give people an idea of when to plant and how much to plant to keep people fed. Keep in mind that unless you live on a fairly sizeable plot of land that has ideal growing conditions, you probably won’t be able to completely feed a family of four, at least with traditional gardening methods. However, you can still heavily supplement your diet with homegrown food if you plot your garden carefully.

Some things you can do to save space include growing plants in stackable towers rather than flat rows. Not everything can grow this way, but growing herbs or even strawberries or some kinds of tomatoes in them can save a lot of space. Bonus points if you can get some vertical vining plants like beans or tomatoes to grow up the sides of them to maximize the space used.

Hanging planters can also be used for things like tomatoes, herbs, some berries, etc. The people who grew up watching TV in the 2000s may remember ads for the topsy-turvy tomato planter. I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of them, but it may be good inspiration for creative DIY hanging planters.

Many people don’t seem to know this (to be fair, it’s not very intuitive), but small melons and gourds can be grown vertically on a trellis. You will need pantyhose or something else that can act like a sling for when the fruit gets large enough, and you’ll also want to make sure the trellis is very sturdy. Here is an example of a watermelon growing on a trellis, with squash growing in the background:

Other good options that require a bit more DIY are hydroponics towers and walls. It’s basically just a series of pipes with holes for plants to grow out of. The only downside is they will require very regular fertilization and supplementation with other micronutrients that are essential for plant growth, because the plants are typically grown in either a non-nutritious medium like coconut coir or nothing at all.

Planter walls are the next step down, basically just building shelves with pots in them to fill with soil. Put these on a wall that gets good morning sun and some afternoon sunlight for best results. These and hydroponics both also have the advantage of being able to hook up to your gutters so that rainwater will go towards watering your plants rather than just being wasted.

If you want to get really fancy, aquaponics is the next step up. With aquaponics, you create a system that circulates water between plants and a tank full of fish. The fish waste provides fertilizer for the plants, and the plants help filter out the waste so the water stays cleaner. I’ve heard they’re a bit tricky to establish, but once you find the right balance, all you’ll need to do is feed the fish. This has the added bonus of providing a source of fish for people who can’t eat things like nuts and legumes but need protein. Here is a link to an article explaining what aquaponics is, how it works, and how it differs from hydroponics.

I also want to add that if you don’t have the space or ability to maintain a large garden, there are other options. Find or create a group with access to enough food to supplement or completely fulfill your diet, and offer another service. If you have space for a vermicompost bin or tower, that can still help contribute to the garden. Learning other skills like soap making, cooking, sewing/knitting/crocheting, electrical skills like wiring and soldering, welding, woodworking/carpentry, etc. means you will still have valuable skills to contribute towards the group, and this will set up the basis for a larger mutual aid network within your community.

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the-funny-farm · 8 months

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In addition to the treat dispensing balls made for cats, I skewer crab apples, tomatoes, pears, peppers, and other fruits and veggies on bolts to keep the birds entertained when in their pens.

Recently I also started hanging suet and they've been munching away at it. I would be careful feeding suet to production breeds or any chickens that might be prone to obesity.

#chicken enrichment #chickens #enrichment

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the-funny-farm · 9 months

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friendly advice from vetmed: I know that when your animal has an infection that is generating a lot of discharge, you want to describe that to the veterinarian, because it’s a concerning sign. that is true. I also know that the most common word for this type of discharge is “pus,” so it’s logical that that’s the word that you’ll use when describing what’s going on. and in English, we often add a “-y” when we’re using a word as a descriptor.

but. the word. the word you are looking for. is purulent.

please stop sending in messages telling the doctor that your dog has a “pussy wound.”

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the-funny-farm · 9 months

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I got to try a Black Oxford apple today, it’s an old variety dating from about 1790!

#trees #apples #fruit trees

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the-funny-farm · 9 months

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chickens see a baby animal and are like "is anyone gonna sit on those" and don't wait for an answer

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the-funny-farm · 9 months

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from Alexis Nikole’s instagram

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the-funny-farm · 9 months

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New weird horse just dropped, folks.

A spotless giraffe was recently born at Bright’s Zoo in Limestone, TN and was just announced in the media this morning. They’re starting a public naming contest for her, of course.

I’d love to know what type of mutation causes this lack of of pattern, but I don’t know if we have genetics on that for giraffes the way we do other species. As far as is known, she’s the first spotless giraffe ever documented!

#exotics #giraffes

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the-funny-farm · 9 months

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Do sharks cuddle?

THEY SURE FUCKIN DO.

many sharks are at least moderately social, and if a specific species of shark has the ability to breathe without actually swimming and tends to have a lot of sharks in a fairly small area, well.

they are just going to Pile. and there is simply nothing you can do about it.

#marine biology #sharks

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