h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How should a family come to agreement over whether or not to bring a pet/livestock into the house/into the garden?
Take this 'hypothetical' situation; other household members want to get chickens, but one grumpy individual says he (or she, hypothetically) really doesn't want them, because although he likes them as animals, he knows from experience all about the horrors of red mites, the fact that the feed attracts vermin, and remembers full well you get sick of all the eggs anyway (let's assume this family only eats about 6 eggs a week at present). What's more, he knows he'll be expected to look after them.

Should he relent in the face of the pleading/bullying, or should the rest of the family accept his wishes?

Mrs North found an excellent solution for this. She said she and North junior wanted a cat, and asked me whether I would too. I said no for a number of reasons - all reasonable ones considering the oet's welfare as well as ours. She then ignored me and got a cat anyway.

So, everybody voted, and the majority got its way?

Foxes are really clever. They can get through locked doors and everything.

They even have a TV network and a movie studio.

Embrace the animal loving fraternity and meet them half way. They get chickens. You get a fox.

PP.

I tried very hard not to think of the "for each fox you get a steak" cartoon.

I have failed.

Let them have some but line them up and make it very clear that if they fail in the promise to care for them they will pay a visit to town and return that day ready for the freezer.

I know of a family where the children promised to look after the pets. 17 years later the children are now adults and they still haven't started looking after the pets.

Chickens can however be recycled as Sunday lunch

Gnomon, I am sorry for you

With regard to the original post, let them have their chickens. Make it clear that you will not participate in any chicken activity such as feeding, cleaning, butchering, and stick to that policy.

After all, it is their pets, their responsibility.

It sounds so, so, easy...

but. chickens arn't pets. they're livestock, or lunch. just don't get ducks... eggs are gorgeous... but they're very noisey and messy, from what I've seen/been told Mmm. duck...

Pet asparagus.

It goes exceptionally well with pet chicken.

PP.

"How should a family come to agreement over whether or not to bring a pet/livestock into the house/into the garden?" [Quotes]

It should depend on the type of animal(s) involved.

Some people are allergic to cats, so allergies need to be taken into account if cats are the animals in question. If the neighbors are likely to complain about noise, don't get a dog with a loud voice. Chickens are tolerated better in some places than others -- Amy Pawloski is allowed to have hens but not roosters where she lives. Goldfish don't seem to have many predator enemies as long as they are kept inside in tanks, though I remember having a visiting cat jump into my fish tank one time when I was talking to my broker. (The broker was amused when I told him what had happened.)

Ducks

We have ducks, not personally, or as pets, but dozens of wild ones living within a dozen yards of our front patio.

Every spring most of the females hatch a dozen or so eggs. We see them leading a string of their off-spring, then after a few weeks they dwindle down to one or two - sometimes even none.

One of our neighbours has taken to feeding them bread each evening, The droppings between her carport and the pond are disgusting

It is almost impossible to drive through at feeding time, even in our golf-cart.

On another note, can breadcrumbs be considered as a pet?

F S

It sounds as though bread crumbs would be an unwise pet if they are predated by something as passive as a duck.

PP.

I think adults have to make such decisions and if the answer is no then said children need to wait until they are old enough to own/rent their own property and then get a pet.

What if the hypothetical situation was not that it was just the children wanting the chickens, but one adult and one child wanted them, a second child was indifferent, and one adult was opposed? If you were to resolve it democratically, then the 'ayes' would get there way; but perhaps the minority deserves to be respected?

Will the majority do all the related work and all the minority sit back and relax, and invoke the "I told you so" and the "thats your problem" clauses