Livestock Education Society

There are Pesco-Vegetarians, Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, Lacto Vegetarian, Ovo Vegetarian, Pure, Strict, or Total Vegetarian, Vegan, Low Fat Vegetarian, Raw Vegetarian or Vegan, and Fruitarian (there are probably a lot more, too).

Why do they need so many labels? Can't you just say "herbivore" and call it a day? Omnivores don't have any type of label. We don't have a label for excluding any type of meat from our diet (let's say you want to avoid turkey...there is no special label other than saying "i don't eat turkey").

I'm just confused why vegetarians/vegans created so many labels for themselves...? Can someone explain that to me, please? :)

What do you see wrong with animal agriculture?

As many know, I own a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) with 100 sows (in farrowing crates) and 150 ewes (on a drylot). Right now there are over 1000 babies on the ground.

Animal agriculture - as in raising animals for food.

Please don't say there are no pros or no cons...you will not get a best answer from me!

I think so, what about you?

I am doing this poll so I can study how online shopping for animals has an impact on the online store's potential profit.

This is a poll, please answer the questions thoughtfully and honestly.

Pets/Livestock Include: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Small Animals (Ferrets, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Mice, Rats, Rabbits, and/or Gerbils), Beef & Dairy Cattle, Sheep, Hogs, Goats, Poultry

1. How likely (scale 1-10) are you to buy something for your pet/livestock online?

2. What are the top three things that you would buy for your animal online, and the max $ you would spend on each item?

3. List the top three things you find important on an online pet store (communication, fast delivery, great service, etc)

4. Would you buy your animal's food online?

5. If you lived in a state halfway across the country (or farther) from where the item ships, would you still shop at the online store?

Thanks everyone! :)

Just because it's a "factory farm" doesn't mean that the animals are subject to abuse, hormones, and antibiotics. Anybody who has livestock intended for meat CAN abuse, implant hormones, and/or feed antibiotics to their animal--even "small family farms."

I am NOT saying every farmer abuses their animal. Any profit-minded farmer knows that it is cheaper and more economically efficient to keep their animals healthy and stress-free, and they will earn more $$/lb of animal sold. (Medicated feed costs at least 3x more than non-medicated feed, be it medicated with dewormers, vaccines, or antibiotics.) Stressed animals result in lower feed efficiency, or even loss of appetite.

I'm NOT saying every farmer puts hormone implants on their feeder animals. While it may be economical, they aren't available everywhere.

I'm NOT saying every farmer feeds or gives their animals routine antibiotic treatment. As said before, feeds with antibiotics cost at least 3x as much and you don't make too much of that money back, so it's often cheaper to feed a totally non-medicated feed OR a non-medicated feed/medicated feed mix. All drugs have a withdrawal period of 0-60 days, after that, the drug is out of the system. Antibiotics require at least a 5 day withdrawal, depending on species. If an animal is slaughtered and has drug residue in the carcass, the last owner of the animal (the one who sold it to the slaughter house) is fined, depending on how much drug residue there is.

So...what's wrong with factory farming? What makes family farming better than factory farming? Isn't it true that "family farms" can also be "factory farms" ?

One of my mom's co-workers asked my mom to take a rabbit (they're moving to an apartment and it doesn't allow pets), otherwise it would go to the shelter. My mom knows I have a lot of animals (150 sheep and their 342 nursing lambs and 50 hogs and their 672 nursing pigs), so she called me and asked me if I wanted it. I said sure - what's one more? So my mom is dropping it off at my house tonight...it comes with a cage and everything else it had (I'm not sure what the "everything" is though). I know it's a boy--if it's neutered, I'm not sure. I don't know the age, either.

Is there anything I need to know about taking care of a rabbit?