#access to veterinary care

[petspeopletogether]

There’s a bipartisan bill in Congress that would include veterinary care and pet insurance as eligible expenses under HSAs and FSAs, as well as improve access to veterinary care for people with disabilities and veterans who have service animals.

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

i think the most annoying part of dog food discourse is how many people will act as though proplan/hill’s/Royal canin diets aren’t extremely and prohibitively expensive and that THAT is the reason so many people look into healthy alternatives.

People complain about corn being in the first five ingredients on most of those feeds because, regardless of other factors here, that is not an expensive ingredient. But it makes up a large chunk of the dry food. So the dry food should be fairly affordable, right?

Oh… with tax you’re spending about $100 for one 45lb bag of food where the third ingredient is wheat and the fourth and fifth ingredients are corn.

Oh… well! It’s slightly cheaper! But the second ingredient is rice, third is wheat, fourth is corn, and then fifth is poultry byproduct. None of those are very expensive so this just must be the low end cost of dog food unfortunately. The vets recommend it so surely that means prices aren’t inflated, right?

Oh? This one has similar ingredients with the only real difference being no corn? And it’s half the price?? Well surely that’s just a fluke.

Oh. Oh no.

This one even has CORN in it and it’s $20 cheaper?? Wow!

Like listen at some point I don’t care if your dog food has the ichor of the gods in it, I’m not spending $100 every five days if there are cheaper options with just as many “good” ingredients in it. If you think I’m a dog abuser because I can’t afford this overpriced garbage, that’s too bad. I don’t care. My dogs are perfectly healthy with the food I give them. Great weight and great coat. People giving dog food recommendations that aren’t those top three hyper-expensive dog foods aren’t trying to epic own those dastardly vets half the time, but I really don’t blame the ones who do lose trust in vets when the only heartworm protection they recommend lately are expensive triple-action brands like Simparica Trio that costs $120+ as opposed to the other heartworm protections that are only about $40-$60 on average, which is still cheaper even if you add on a $20-$40 flea and tick protection separately, and only recommend dog food that costs $85+ a bag even if your dog doesn’t have specialized dietary needs.

Those top three foods are GREAT at making competent prescription diets, I don’t deny that. I do still have to criticize the pricing of those prescription diets though because I have spoken to DOZENS of people who had to pull their pets off of a prescription diet and struggle to find something comparable because they couldn’t afford the food, and that’s terrible! These are not poor companies! Purina, Royal Canin, and Hill’s can ABSOLUTELY afford to lower their prices to make their food accessible to people who need it for their animals but they don’t. They probably never will. Because at the core they are run by greedy corporations. It doesn’t matter how many good nutritionists are on board if the company is run by people who put profits over customers and make the food impossible for people to afford.

[foundfootageromcom]

Had to put this sweet old lady to sleep this afternoon... gonna miss her a whole lot :(

Those who've been following since ye olden tumblr days might remember these pics of us as lil tiny babies I took on digicam back in 2010 (a real pull from the archives)

If you've got a kitty cat please give it an extra big squeeze for me!!! If u need me I will be on the porch, chainsmoking and crying <3

[crepezinhos]

Out of Reach

POV: You’d never think a few small talks every now and then and effortless circus perfomances would spark such a passionate fan like him, especially when your differences segregated you two so much.

⚠️ WARNINGS:

— This is an angsty SFW Oneshot (not proofread)

— Reader is FEMALE and uses SHE/HER pronouns

— AU is: 1910s

— Vet!Character x Performer!Reader

— This is a multifandom work. Characters/Fandoms included are clarified down below and in tags too.

Imagine you and him, who work together in circus, the kind that resides in a train and perform from city to city. You’re a ballerina, a professional dancer, who performs with an elephant as a partner, and him, who’s been recently recruited as a vet to take care of it.

He isn’t even professional. He’s a poor man who attempted veterinary school but couldn’t handle the expenses, so he gave up and ran way from his urban life, but he still does a professional job just for you.

He doesn’t double check before you straddle the elephant, he triple-checks, quadruple-checks, and even more if it means you’ll be ok and that the elephant won’t ever have a panick attack. That’s also why he refuses to use physical punishment with it. He not only has a tremendous empathy for animals in the first place, but he also views that elephant as a sacred relic blessed by your talent and beauty. He will wake up in the middle of the night to make sure the elephant is sleeping well, he will brush every little corner of the elephant’s enormous body with multiple layers of soap, he’ll assure its little accessories and makeup are perfectly done… everything in the name of you.

How could those amused faces in the crowd not make a line for your autograph after your performances? He’d proudly be the first one on it.

He’s your secret biggest fan.

He watches every show of yours.

No matter if he has duties to do.

He’ll always find a way to sneak out or have a colleague cover for him, and watch you from a far, isolated corner in the crowd, hidden in the shadows. Even if he’s anxious and afraid you might fall or embarrassingly trip and twist an ankle when you’re standing on the elephant’s back, his eyes cannot stop admiring you.

The thrill… the beauty… the music… the costume… the dance… the art.

No matter how many times he’s watched that repeated set of actions, for him, you somehow always make something ‘new’ that make hai actions widen.

How could all the other performers only shower you with shallow compliments?

“You did really well!”

“Nice job!”

“Great performance today!”

You deserve more than just those words. You deserve someone kissing your feet, you deserve a group of maids massaging your back, you deserve a man waiting for you to get home so he can take care of your every need.

And that’s why he finally broke his own limits.

That’s why his feet were moving so quickly in your direction, breathing almost uncontrolled, for some reason fearing that you’d somehow disappear if he didn’t reach you in time, fearing that someone would say what he had to say to you first and make his words lose meaning.

You looked hypnotizing even when you were just sitting on top of a random crate. The moonlight making your jewelry and glossy eyes sparkle like a diamond and your dress accentuating your fine curves… he desperately desired to watch you from a close distance, but he knew that’d reasonably creep you out.

“Y/N.” His whole body shivered as he pronounced your name after so many days without saying it to you.

Your zoned-out face finally seemed to be brought back to reality with his figure standing some inches away from you, but as soon as you paid attention to him, your nose couldn’t help but detect the smell.

He works with your dear elephant, and that means he needs to clean the kilograms of rotting shit it eliminates of its body and carry it out of the train. The lack of access to showers makes the smell stick to his every cell of his body like a parasite, a fucking leech that always made your expressions of him be low for any situation that wasn’t veterinary. Especially considering his constant timid behavior, he looked like nothing but a random loser to you.

And he obviously couldn’t help but remember all the others reasons why you’d feel disgusted to him when he looked at a mirror. His calloused hands due to manual labour, the dirt under the tip of his nails, his oily and unwashed hair, the dust, feces and dirt spread around his body and his clothes, which probably had already became permanent stains at this point, his yellowish teeth, his tired eyes, and that stupid fly that has been annoyingly following him and hanging around his space for these last minutes.

No matter if he had a cute face behind all those layers of grubbiness and unsanitary life conditions.

That’s why you flinched away, and your hand immediately moved to pinch your nose and stop your nasals to absorb and taste his smell.

Oh.

How could he forget?

How could he forget that he has no chance with you? How could he allow himself to walk so confidently to you as if he was your closest friend? Or as if you cared about what he had to say?

Perhaps… was your performance tonight what made him feel this way? This delusional? Was that how much you inspired him? Well, he should just disappear now, shouldn’t he? He’s a bother, isn’t he?

You immediately gasped and put your hand on top of your mouth as soon as you realized your wrong and saw his excited face die in a blink and become embarrassed due to that.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” You stood up, trying to make your apology seem more genuine and respectful, but he immediately fought you back.

“No, no. It’s ok.” No matter how genuine his smile looked, he couldn’t make eye contact with you anymore, and that made your heart ache in regret. “I understand.” He reached a hand to the back of his neck and begun scratching it as a way to control himself as he prepared to organize his confession.

He bit his inferior lip for a few seconds, and you made sure to wait if that meant he’d forgive your attitude.

“I just wanted to say that…” He had to pause again if he didn’t want to pass out. “Your performance was absolutely mesmerizing tonight.” The gentle tone and sway of his voice towards your ears made your heart ache even more for him.

He felt afraid of course, but every syllable pronounced was vital. How could he be 100% honest to you when that’s how you reacted to his presence? But he still somehow dearly hoped his determination would mean something to you. That your artistic mind could interpret his choice of words and perhaps remember that moment for the next years.

How could you treat your own vet like that?! After all the work he does for your elephant, that’s how you treat him as? After all those small talks you two shared throughout those months? And considering those small talks were centered around you, it made you even worse for him.

He’s not even ugly in the first place. His facial features and manly and sharp, his eyes are catchy, his hands and fingers are long, and his body is slim and healthily worked-out.

“I…” You couldn’t even react to it. You were truly taken aback and felt with those words. “Thank you… I-I’m sorry for—” He immediately started nodding his head side-to-side.

“No need to apologize.” He shrugged his shoulders and began to turn back, but those damn words in the tip of his tongue that were begging to come out couldn’t be held back anymore. “Have a good night, Ms. Y/N. I’ll make sure Ella is prepared for tomorrow.” No matter if his heart was too overwhelmed with anxiety and his stomach with butterflies, he was disappointed at himself for even bothering you in the first, so he immediately started walking away from you before you could say anything else.

And you pathetically decided to let him go, regretting that decision more and more with every step of his, but only silence could be heard between you two.

At least he was glad that you seemed touched by him.

He was glad he said the things he needed to say, even if you’d never look at him the same way he looks at you, according to his thoughts.

So he walked home with blood running roughly on his cheeks, and a smile that couldn’t find rest.

Diluc, Kazuha, Zhongli, Itto, Gorou, Xiao, AlHaitham, Kinich, Neuvillette, Kabukimono, Ororon, Cyno

Luocha, Kakavasha, Dan Heng, Blade, Gepard, Sunday

Jiyan, Calcharo, Xiangli Yao

Taglist: @amoyanderes @shyentsfoundherink @kindofshyent @the-stinky-winky @goofy-ego @bigmantiddys @alatusorrow @luminieee

[bedrock-to-buildheight]

Battleworkers United - a massive labor union of gym trainers, battle facility staff, elite fours, ect. If your job involves pokemon battling, your ass can join up

MythicalMap - online community of rare and mythical pokemon spotters, complete with a scoreboard and local groups drama. They have opinions about this kid named Ash

Smogon's Inferno - a chain of restaurants with built in league-grade battling arenas for live entertainment

Sommei Electricity and Public Transport Association (SEPTA) - labor union that runs the Sommei region's bus, metro, and public electricity system (don't ask why those three in particular). Runs an Electric-type Gym as promo for its bus service

Showdown - impressively realistic FPS battling game with a playerbase of 95% people who can't raise the actual pokemon they want and 5% career battle analysts with poor work-life balance

Joy Hae-Sook Foundation - charitable foundation focused on accessible pokemon veterinary care. They're why you have Pokecenters damn near everywhere. Wildly successful

The Indigo League - you know what this is

[sivavakkiyar]

Under India’s current policies, pastoralists, many of whom are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, cannot legally register livestock. Unlike their counterparts on settled land, they cannot access insurance, vaccines, veterinary care and compensation when animals are injured or killed.

“No government or institution is ready to believe that you own these cattle, and this is your livelihood,” Hamza said.

But a historic step may mark a major change in the rights and recognitions afforded to nomadic and migratory herders.

India announced earlier this month that its 2024 livestock census will, for the first time, also enumerate pastoral livestock. Officials say this addition to the count is crucial for recognising pastoralism as a widespread practice and could pave the way toward introducing new resources and programmes for the community. Its advocates hope this shift will help create a policy framework that will eventually allow livestock to be legally registered

[12percentspider]

Do you or someone you know need insulin?

Is there someone in your inbox asking for money because clearly they don't know there's help out there? *winkwinknudgenudge say no more say no more* Well, if it's you or anyone else, here's some links to resources for almost anything you could need that relates in some way to being diabetic.

^Long, is a huge list for pretty much ANY complication you could have with diabetes in general. It does explain different kind of insurance plans, would be good for long-term needs. Seems very US based, but there may be equivalent resources in specific other countries that you could probably find with a quick search using these options as search terms. [I did link a couple of worldwide (give or take) sites below]

^US-based list of resources that cover so many different complications that can arise from being diabetic as well as some veterinary resources if your animals need care (if someone in your inbox needs it, point them in that direction?).

^ US-based, exactly what it says on the tin plus more.

Outside of US:

^ Global (mostly). Lists countries that have restrictions, but gives you an application to fill out. They check to see if you're eligible, but it could very well be worth a shot.

^Lists specific countries that have financial resources.

[pokemonshelterstories]

maybe a silly question to ask, but how do steel-type pokemon get x rays and mris?

not silly at all! that's a very common issue dealt with in pokemon medicine. not all steel types are going to need these types of imaging just because they are made of solid metal, but for pokemon with a mix of organic and metal bodies, it can be tricky to get imaging done.

right now, the most common way to handle imaging on pokemon with large metal portions of their bodies is to use CT scans. this is primarily done on pokemon that don't have a fully metal epidermis. metal causes some distortion on CT, but there are methods for reducing the amount of distortion caused. steel-type specialist veterinarians often have a specialized pokeball CT scanner machine designed to offset metal artifacts on CT scans- but they're typically very expensive.

in cases where a CT just isn't feasible- usually with pokemon that have a lot of external metal but largely organic internal organs- full-body ultrasound is usually the only thing you can use. by detecting differences in the density throughout a pokemon's body, ultrasound imaging can provide some insight to a steel type's internal health. but again, the specialized equipment required for this tends to be expensive. steel types tend to be the most expensive type of pokemon to get medical care for, and they're also one of the least common veterinary specialties! this is why it's super important to make sure you have access to a vet who can provide the care they need before taking one in.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

would azumarill be a good pet?

Azumarills would indeed make good pets! Just like their pre-evolution, these pokémon need access to water to play in but have exceptional ease-of-care otherwise, plus they’re super friendly!

They may be on the larger size for a house-pet, but certainly not to an unreasonable level. As I already mentioned, azumarills are big fans of water. Wild azumarills are happy wherever they can find freshwater, like rivers, ponds and lakes (Gold, Diamond). They spend most of their time in the water (Emerald), doing everything from hunting for food (Gold, Ruby), hiding from predators (Crystal), or even sunbathing (Sword). Thankfully, they don’t seem to be too picky and don’t necessarily need water to survive, so finding a way to get them some daily or almost-daily water time shouldn’t be beyond the means of too many owners. If you have a pool, private or public, or live near a natural body of fresh water, you should be covered. Now, if you live somewhere that gets really cold during part of the year, it might get a little trickier. Here’s the good news, though: many azumarills have the ability Thick Fat, which makes them resistant to cold temperatures: so long as the water doesn’t freeze solid they should be happy. I’d recommend reaching out to water-type owner communities in your area, they probably know the best places to get your azumarill some water time.

These pokémon get along well with humans and pokémon, giving them just the right temperance to be a good pet. Wild azumarills are known to pay specific attention to the safety of those around them: azumarills have been reported using their ability to make balloons out of air to rescue drowning pokémon (Sapphire) and often attach these balloons to playing marills around them just in case (Shield). If you’re a lifeguard, you might find just the right partner in an azumarill! These pokémon are highly energetic, so they would fit best in a high-energy home. Despite their goofy look, these pokémon are avid hunters, using their keen sense of hearing to track down prey in fast-moving rivers (Gold, Ruby). This means you will need to offer your azumarill with plenty of toys and high-energy activities to engage in to supplement this behavior in a home environment.

While not violent towards humans by nature, azumarills are no pushovers. Moves like Hydro Pump, Double-Edge, and Superpower pack quite a punch, and Bounce is always a move we look out for. As far as their score goes, though, the detriment of these moves are counterbalanced somewhat by moves like Aqua Ring, a self-healing move that may let you cut down on veterinary bills. While you should never underestimate how dangerous an angry azumarill could be, solid training and awareness of their move should negate much of the risk associated with adopting one. Just be careful that they don’t get too rough when you’re playing!

Overall, while there are a couple of drawbacks regarding this pokémon if you don’t have access to water for them to play in, these pokémon make a pretty good pet. I would recommend starting with a marill if possible, however, as their smaller size and weaker moves make them a better fit for most beginner water-type owners.

[afeelgoodblog]

1. New Jersey Governor Declares State a 'Safe Haven' for Gender-Affirming Care

New Jersey’s Democratic governor has a message for the LGBTQ+ community. He issued an executive order on Tuesday indicating that, unlike in some Republican-controlled states, New Jersey is open and welcoming to everybody regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, he says New Jersey is a “safe haven” for those seeking gender-affirming care.

2. Watch Ocean Cleanup remove the 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

3. Finland becomes 31st member of NATO, doubling the alliance's border with Russia

Finland has become the 31st member of the Nato security alliance, doubling the length of member states' borders with Russia.The Finnish foreign minister handed the accession document to the US secretary of state who declared Finland a member.

Then in bright sunshine in front of Nato's gleaming new headquarters, Finland's white-and-blue flag joined a circle of 30 other flags.Finland's accession is a setback for Russia's Vladimir Putin. He had repeatedly complained of Nato's expansion before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

4. Captive orca Lolita set for release into 'home waters' after 50 years at Miami Seaquarium

The killer whale known as Lolita appears one step closer to returning to its natural habitat of the Pacific Northwest, after performing at a Miami tourist attraction for decades. It was taken from the ocean in 1970. But after a long-running dispute over where Lolita belongs, officials from various parties announced Thursday a "binding agreement" to take Lolita -- also known as Tokitae or Toki -- to its "home waters."

"Lolita will receive the highest quality care as the team works to make relocation possible in the next 18 to 24 months," Miami Seaquarium said in a statement Thursday.

5. Nature prescriptions shown to reduce blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and loneliness

A new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health suggests that nature prescriptions, which recommend spending time in nature, can provide both physical and mental health benefits. Patients who followed these prescriptions had reduced blood pressure, lower depression and anxiety scores, and a higher daily step count.

Research shows that contact with nature reduces harms, including those from poor air quality, heatwaves, and chronic stress, while encouraging healthy behaviours such as socialising and physical activity. This can help to prevent issues including loneliness, depression and cardiovascular disease.

6. Library Receives Flood Of Donations For Beloved Cat

The Ashville Free Library recently began a fundraiser to help pay for the aging cat’s veterinary care. After a story on Libby was published, donations to the library poured in. Director Kristina Benson called the community response overwhelming. As of Thursday, more than $2,900 had been raised.

Benson reported that Libby, the cat — who has recently been suffering from a cold — is now doing much better now that she has her medicine. Benson expects to keep the GoFundMe up until sometime next week.

7. Mother and baby reunited in Turkey nearly two months after earthquake

A mother has been reunited with her baby in southern Turkey after a DNA test confirmed it was her daughter, almost two months after the devastating earthquake, the country's family ministry said.

The three-and-a-half-month old "miracle baby", called Vetin, was pulled out of the rubble of a building in the province of Hatay more than five days after the Feb. 6 quake with no health problems.

----

That's it for this week :)

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Also don’t forget to reblog

[petspeopletogether]

"In 2023, a man without housing was finally moving into a home along with his dog after 10 years. The dog had severe dental problems and an infected lump on its leg. The dog owner’s caseworker referred him to Community Veterinary Hospital, where the dog received the needed care at no cost thanks to a REACH grant.”

[crippled-peeper]

Re: chiropractor hate. Have you seen those "chiropractors for pets" bs? Someone's gonna get their cat killed that way

Yes I have and it enrages me to no end

They already have killed pets. It’s not even uncommon. A cursory google search revealed just how controversial and dangerous it is

Plus, people forgoing real veterinary care to take their dog to a chiropractor (animal chiropractors dont exist. they only train for humans) means ignoring symptoms that could be serious and life threatening, like a neoplasm or neurological problem

[the-angry-acrobat]

how you can help stray animals

the first thing to remember is not to take stray animals to kill shelters. if you leave an animal at a kill shelter, the animal will not be properly looked after, rehomed, or given a chance. many shelters kill the animals just because they don’t have enough room in the shelter. they decide which animals are more in need of adoption and rescuing, and they don’t consider or care for all of them individually. they euthanise animals that are old, ill, aggressive, unclaimed, or unadopted after a very short period of time. the animals are not kept in clean and safe conditions. they are not given attention, love and care, which leads to depression, anxiety, stress and many other behavioural issues. an estimated 100,000 animals are killed in council pounds and shelters every year, and most are never given the chance to find a new home.

what to do instead of taking animals to shelters;

rehoming. try and find someone who will adopt and care for the animal. ask your family, extended family, friends, the friends of your friends, your friend’s families and extended families, cousins, uncles, aunts, siblings, and anyone that you know if they will take and care for the animal. if they are already looking for a pet this is an even better idea. if not, make sure you give them plenty of time, space and help with the animal as the animal settles into their home. make sure the animal is being cared for properly there, the people intend to keep it up, and regularly check in on the animal and family. find the animal a forever home.

fostering. you can foster the animal, giving it a temporary home with you, until you can find someone to adopt the animal and give it a safe place to go.

animal rescue groups. there are very good, safe, humane animal rescue groups and animal charities that specialise in caring for animals that need homes or are strays. research properly into any rescue group first, connect with people who have had experience with said group, go and have a look at the rescue first, and meet some of the animals there, talk to staff and volunteers. make sure the group is no-kill, and rehomes and adopts out animals to good homes.

adopt the animal. if you have the time, space, resources and money to care for the animal and you want to care for it, then adopt it. get the animal the right veterinary and health care, prepare to bring the animal to your home, make sure that if you don’t live alone that the people you live with are also prepared and want to help care for the animal/are cool with you bringing the animal in. care for the animal well, give it lots of attention, love, and play, and love them.

if you cannot give the animal to a rescue group and have to take it to a shelter, then research the shelter, make sure it is a humane, safe, no-kill shelter, look into the shelter properly and check the health regulations, state and condition of the animals, staff behaviour, and if there are volunteers working there. possibly interact with some of the animals there, and make sure they get attention and proper care at the shelter. then and only then take the animal to the shelter and make sure the shelter will be looking to rehome the animal to a good, safe family. other ways to help stray animals:

provide them with food and water. this can be done by setting up a food and water station in a safe and accessible area. that way you can ensure that the stray animals nearby have access to the nutrition they need.

provide them with shelter. you don’t have to adopt the animal to make sure they’re safe. you can set up a shelter in your yard, garage, or basement. you can build a shelter out of wood or other materials. this will provide the animals with a safe place to rest and/or stay warm during cold weather.

volunteering. volunteering to help stray animals is a good and safe way to help them. animal lovers can step forward to help strays in their communities get vaccinated, treat injuries and even find new homes. they can assist in the establishment of adoption centres and humane shelters.

look out for stray animals. stray animals' lives are incredibly hard, with many daily challenges. it is a struggle for them to find food, water, and shelter, and they are without medical care. they are also deprived of the love and companionship they need to survive. each day is a struggle for them. don’t let them suffer in silence. do whatever you can, even if that is not much. it’s better then nothing. spread awareness for stray animals whenever you can.

please share this and spread awareness

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

To be honest, the most complicated thing about less/non conventional pets is that it's way harder to have access to good food/veterinary care/acessories. About environment and interaction though, I'm under the impression that most people seriously underestimate the care cats and dogs need; and that makes the care of less conventional pets seeing overwhelming when, actually, it is more like taking animal well being seriously. That's very in short, of course. For instance, aquariums may be very hard to set up and keep up, parrots have high social needs, and so on, but for some lifestyles they are a very good fit, even better than conventional pets. For the other side, many people stay with more conventional pets like cats/dogs when they can't offer a good care, but just because.

Agreed 100%. Too many people just do not treat animals correctly in all directions.

For some people, dogs would be a bad pet (like me), but parrots are perfect. For others, it's the reverse. The list goes on.

Instead of acting like any choice is inherently bad, or starting a moral panic on the internet, we need to apply NUANCE. nuuuuuaaaaance.

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

As a reminder, I will be discontinuing Radio Free Monday in the new year, although I am working with someone now on possibly keeping it going, so stay tuned! Either way, the guide to fundraising will remain, and you should feel free to link to it.

Before we start, I have a thank-you to share from frenchroasted; around this time last year she shared a fundraiser to buy her cousin an accessible van so that she can transport her son, who has lost mobility due to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, everywhere he needs to go. As of December 12th, they have raised the funds for the van!

Ways to Give:

Tom is a trans man raising funds for top surgery after years of wanting it; you can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Recurring Needs:

idiomagic's cat SpyBoy recently spent time in the emergency vet hospital, where they found out he has pancreatitis and diabetes; they're facing nearly $7K in veterinary bills with no income, as Idiomagic's husband lost his job at the same time and she is unable to work. You can read more and give at gofundme here or give directly via gwyndynalexander at Venmo.

Aviator Celadine is an unemployed trans woman raising funds to try and keep above water; she has found a part-time job but will not be paid until the end of the month and needs to cover some unexpected expenses now. She needs to raise $600 to pay off the expenses; you can read more and support the fundraiser here.

amour-de-tours is a multiply disabled and chronically ill queer Indigenous woman; she is in the process of applying for SSI, but has been unemployed since 2019 due to disability, and is in need of $1,500 for urgent medical care. You can read an update, reblog, and find giving information here or give directly at Paypal here.

loversdoom is raising funds for an assessment to get help with mental health so she can be treated and remain in school, where she has a safe place to live and basic psychiatric support. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here or give via paypal here.

chingaderita is raising funds to cover food and pay the electric bill to keep the power on, vital because their insulin needs to be refrigerated; the family has been struggling after having to move into an unsafe living situation after a house fire, and covering medical treatment for their mother-in-law. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form.

[a-literate-chicken]

Hey! I just turned 18, and I still live with my parents, but when I move out I would like to have a chicken; I love biology, but I only research it as a hobby, so could you give me some tips on how to take care of a chicken or information about them? That would help me a lot! And is it possible to take care of a chicken in an apartment, or do they need a yard? I love chickens, and would really like to take care of one;

Happy (late) birthday my fellow biologist and chicken lover! I personally haven’t had any indoor pet chickens nor am I friends with anybody who has, so take all of the following advice with a grain of salt. I grew up in an agricultural area where any animals that were brought into the house were sick or needed around the clock supervision (except for the time I hatched and raised chicks in my bedroom for a month but that’s another story).

I think it’s definitely possible to have a pet chicken that lives inside without access to a yard, but it is going to be a lot of work and I’m hesitant to support it. I’m going to be rather blunt here but my first concern is that birds poop frequently. With birds like parakeets or other small species, the quantity is small. With a chicken it will be much more, but, I have heard of people using chicken diapers. I also think with some research into husbandry, it won’t be that hard to find a proper diet or supplies for housing needs. Chickens aren’t like other birds in that they don’t chew on stuff and they can’t fly very well. They are still birds though, and are very social and curious and will need a lot of enrichment and social interaction. They aren’t domesticated like cats or dogs, and will do better outside with access to other chickens and things that encourage natural behaviors like dirt to roll around in.

My other concern (this is me speaking from a veterinary perspective) is that poultry carry diseases and I would be hesitant to encourage keeping birds in the house just for the heck of it.

All in all, I don’t recommend a house chicken, esp as a first time pet. Most stories you see about people having pet chickens is that they end up either one that is disabled or requires special care so they bring it inside in order to better take care of it. This is probably not the answer you wanted to hear and I’m sorry that I don’t have better news.

However, if you can find a place where you can have chickens in a yard, I absolutely recommend it! They are independent and hardy and won’t need a ton of supervision if you end up with a job that doesn’t allow you to spend much time with them. I suggest getting a few as they will do way better with friends. I can think of a couple of breeds off the top of my head that are more outgoing and have a better chance of bonding with you as their human, or if you want egg layers I can recommend breeds for that as well. Again, there is a lot of information online on chicken husbandry so it won’t be hard to find if you have questions about how much space they need or what to feed them. I also recommend choosing breeds and flock size based off whatever area you live in (small breeds if you are concerned about space or hardier breeds if you have harsh weather, if you live a city you may not be allowed to have roosters, stuff like that). If you have other specific questions or want to know more about how to get started, feel free to ask here anytime! Chicken questions and/or biology questions are always welcome ❤️