User:Kennedy/Archive/9-6-08

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[edit] Manchester

WOO I am off to Manchester to cheer on Rangers as they play in the UEFA Cup Final against Zenit St. Peterburg!

Wish them luck! ← κεηηε∂γ (shout at me) 14:03, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Crap! Rangers got beaten! ← κεηηε∂γ (shout at me) 14:32, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] re:Chickens

I keep three hens, and I think of them as pets whose job is to lay eggs. I would love to keep more if I had the space, possibly including breeding. Portland, Oregon city code allows three hens, ducks, pigeons, rabbits or pygmy goats (in total) to be kept without a permit. If you have more than three of any of these, or you get noise/nuisance complaints from your neighbors, the city can require an inspection and that you meet some basic requirements of cleanliness and such (as well as a min. distance of 15 feet from neighbor's residences). To answer your questions...

  • Are they noisy?
    • Only roosters crow (and at all times of the day), but almost all cities ban roosters. Hens are generally very quiet animals; the barking and howling dogs my neighbors have are far noisier than my three little hens. However, some breeds are more rambunctious than others. A Mediterranean class chicken like a Leghorn or Minorca will be more excitable than a quiet heavy breed such as Plymouth Rocks, Orpingtons or Rhode Island Reds.
  • Expensive?
    • In a word, no. Baby chicks are only a few dollars each at most, and a good adult laying hen can be as little as ten dollars. So long as you keep good basic hygiene practices and buy healthy chickens to begin with, medical expenses are little to nothing. The two main costs with chickens are food and shelter. Shelter is a start up cost, and is cheaper if you build it yourself. Chickens are not destructive to their shelter, so repairs are a small time affair. A 25 pound bag of high-quality organic layer feed is around $25 USD, cheaper if you buy non-organic. They eat around five ounces of layer pellets (buy pellets, not mash or crumble, for adult hens) each, so I give them around 2 cups everyday. So a bad will last at least a month. In short, it costs much, much more to keep my parent's dog or my two guinea pigs than it does the chickens.
  • Do they take up a lot of room?
    • Depends on how much you want to give them, but people are often surprised at how little room chickens really need. Large hens need at the very minimum 2 square feet of space each in an outdoor run and 1 or so inside the coop. Some breeds, such as the Mediterraneans, that have a tendency to be a little aggressive with each other should have more room to prevent bad habits. Overcrowding can lead to feather picking and worse. Bantams of course need less room. I keep my three hens in an A-frame that is six feet wide, eight feet long, and four feet high. There is some mild bullying, but nothing to bad. In short, chickens don't need a lot of space, and less if you let them free range in a fenced yard during the day and only shut them in the coop at night. But the more space, the happier they'll be.
  • Do they destroy grass they are put on?
    • Yes. Chickens are voracious scratchers and foragers, and, depending on the size of their run, will destroy the grass they are on in a week or two. They can also do damage to garden plants, especially young ones. If you want to site a coop permanently, then forget about maintaining the grass there. You'll have to put down bedding, wood shavings and chopped straw work best. If you let your hens free range in the day, they'll do less damage over a wider area. You can also do what I do, which is move the coop every week to let the grass recover (it just depends on how much room you have and how fast the grass is growing then). The flip side of the garden issue is that chicken manure is a nitrogen rich fertilizer that makes awesome compost. There's a reason they sell chicken shit in garden stores.
  • What about predators?
    • The truth is, almost all long term chicken keepers have some encounter with pests and predators. But reasonable steps towards securing the coop can greatly reduce the likelihood this will occur. Keeping food inside or in secure containers and collecting eggs promptly can reduce the likelihood that rats will come. But rats won't kill the birds. What predators you have to worry about depends on your region and your set up. Keeping wire overhead will easily deal with birds of prey, but free range birds will be vulnerable. Laying down wire securely can prevent digging under by foxes and such. Cats and dogs are only a problem if you let your birds run loose. In my area, the biggest threats are raccoons and possums, but I've yet to have an incident.

Hope this helps! I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have. VanTucky Vote in my weird poll! 19:19, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

You're welcome! However, I'd keep chickens even if the States had bird flu. It's important to remember that Chinese workers only got infected with the virus because they were keeping chickens in the "three tier" system, whereby chickens were kept on wire cages directly above pigs who were kept above fish. Unsanitary, multi-species keeping of a large number of chickens is what causes dangerous conditions, not a handful of backyard chickens. Technically speaking, urban or suburban chickens in developed countries are among the most isolated domestic animals on earth, most never will come in contact with another flock (and thus can't reasonably come in contact with avian flu). VanTucky Vote in my weird poll! 07:50, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re Featured Pictures

Rather a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

On the current nom I validly pointed out that your Oppose - the only one on the nomination - was not a valid reason. I even quoted the Wikipedia:Featured picture criteria that you had clearly not understood. If you don't understand criteria, or don't understand the topic you are voting on (which you clearly don't here), then I'd suggest you stay away from that nomination. For crying out loud, how am I singling you out to be attacked when you are the only one that has opposed???

On the other nomination that you refer to I pointed out that your vote was not valid as it referred to an image that did not exist. Do you want your votes counted or not? I often close FPCs, and your vote simply would be discarded on that nom as it did not refer to a valid option.

In fact I'd suggest you watch the Wikipedia:No personal attacks business yourself, as it is you that called me a fool, and you that has now attacked me on my userpage. Any of my comments have simply addressed your votes and pointed out that they are possibly not valid. If you don't wish people to comment on your votes, then don't make them. If you do make them, then make sure they're valid. --jjron (talk) 14:04, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I've replied to your latest comments on the current nomination and referred it back to the nominator for clarification. And yes I've said what I mean (sigh). I've commented on two of your statements because there's been a reason to. I don't care if it's you that's made them, or someone else, if there's errors I'll point them out. In fact I didn't even realise it was the same person when I commented on the Wallaby. And please refrain from the puerile name-calling and meaningless references to policy for some imaginary grievances that haven't happened. I have better things to do. --jjron (talk) 14:42, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks!

Thanks for the tip about my signiture, I edited as you said/ i'm still fairly new to wiki, as you can see. Katana Geldar 09:36, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Rollback

I've granted your request. Please visit Wikipedia:New admin school/Rollback to practice, and ask me on my talk page if you need help. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 10:15, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

No probs, glad you like it! Keep up the good work. Best, PeterSymonds (talk) 11:15, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Birmingham

Hi. McFadden's fine; if he stays, and if he stays fit, he'll find next season very easy. I think McLeish had a bit of a culture shock when he first came. The club was a mess on and off the field, McLeish had never worked in the Premier League, the team wasn't good enough and they (mostly) weren't his players. Now he can start afresh, knowing what he's got and what he needs, and signing Carsley is certainly a positive move. cheers, Struway2 (talk) 14:27, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Cheater Barnstar

The Original Barnstar
For falling for my fake secret page. Barkjon  19:56, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Your Wikihaggis

It looks good. There are no problems I see, and you can most certainly put it at General Awards. --SharkfaceT/C 04:19, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Radio WP

Just wondering why you removed your name? StewieGriffin! • Talk 16:37, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re: HA HA!

I knew It will get some attention, Thanks! hehehehe!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Monzonda (talk • contribs) 04:05, 3 June 2008 (UTC)