dragonlady7

via https://ift.tt/314NOYv

who else is in the “didn’t realize sheep have long tails until i was like 20″ club

Undocked unrestrained

The reason most farmers dock (cut off) the tails is to prevent fly strike, an often lethal infection of fly larvae in the rear of the sheep. Without a (VERY FLUFFY) tail for fecal matter to accumulate on, fly strike is almost completely eliminated!

there is a wide variety of similar treatments for farm animals that are entirely for the animals well being

pigs get their tail curled and tusks removed as babies so they dont accidentally nip each other while playing or stab each other just walking around- even a small tail nip might be fatal once the other pigs react to the scent of blood

goats/cows often have their horns removed as babies as well both for obvious reasons to prevent stabbings but also to prevent them from growing in weird that can cause pain and infection for the animal

chickens and other poultry, especially pet ones or hobby farms, might have their flight feathers clipped to prevent them from flying over fences, where their life expectancy is nill outside the farm/owners enclosure

Very good and valid points but please tell me what you mean by “might be fatal once the other pigs react to the scent of blood” before I lose my marbles

Pigs are omnivores and cannibals. Fun fact if you ever have need to dispose of a body, tossing it in a pigpen will get rid of it real fast.

There’s a reason why everyone went into a full blown panic when Dorothy fell into the pigpen in the Wizard of Oz. Pigs are vicious.

These things are also done as a result of domestication.

Domesticated sheep have much longer/thicker wool than wild ones. So wild sheep are less likely to get poo stuck in their fuzzy wool around their butt, and then get the fleas/infection and then die. So domestic sheep get docked tails.

Many domesticated birds get their flight feathers clipped so they don’t fly away. It’s not just common edible birds like chickens, ducks, or turkeys, either - ornamental domestic birds like swans and peacocks will often have this done. It keeps them from trying to escape and dying from being stuck in a telephone line or hit by a car.

ok this post is fine but i keep seeing it and i keep absolutely losing my shit at pigs get their tails curled

pray tell how the fuck do you curl a pig’s tail

that is a muscle that does that. they curl their tails.

i am losing my tiny goddamned mind at the thought of like. what. a curling iron? you’re gonna go in there with a fucking. a curling iron? ? ?

half the time the mom pig steps on the piglet and the tail gets snapped off anyway

yes pigs will eat each other. no having curled tails does not affect this

you cannot curl a pig’s tail i cannot even imagine

it tends to undermine the very good points of the rest of the post, the fact that someone somehow just— i don’t know!! wildly invented a vastly different substance for a pig’s tail to be made out of, other than flesh and bone!

A pig is fully capable of uncurling its own tail. when pigs are dead their tails hang loose, not curled. it is a muscle.

i cannot actually imagine what else it would be.

As for removing tusks, I mean, you also can just not do that, if you don’t have your pigs in confinement, but I’m sure they do remove them for confinement operations. Our pastured pigs keep their tusks and yes, they’re big, but no, you mostly don’t see them. Still, yes, domestic hogs do grow tusks.

i know i’ve responded to this before but i can’t stop losing my mind over the imaginary process of curling a pig’s tail. (Your picture was not posted)