“He’s taking out his anger on us”
November 28, 2018 8:42 PM Subscribe
For The New York Times, director Rishi Chandna brings us a documentary about a man, his rooster, and his family: “Meet Tungrus and His Pet Chicken From Hell” [n.b. chicken violence]
Yes - I must confess to having been sold by minute eight. That was four minutes too soon.
posted by Going To Maine at 8:51 PM on November 28, 2018
posted by Going To Maine at 8:51 PM on November 28, 2018
My mother sent me this link out of the blue a couple days ago, with no warnings about the ending. I was horrified, not in the least because she knows how much I love my dear chickens and she had to have known how much this would upset me.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:53 PM on November 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:53 PM on November 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Aw man, that’s terrible.
posted by Going To Maine at 9:33 PM on November 28, 2018
posted by Going To Maine at 9:33 PM on November 28, 2018
Reactions in order of occurence: "Oh my god, those poor cats." "Oh my god, that poor woman." "Oh my god, those poor neighbors." [big reveal] "Eh, he had it coming."
posted by codacorolla at 9:58 PM on November 28, 2018
posted by codacorolla at 9:58 PM on November 28, 2018
Toxic phasianid masculinity at its finest. Down with the roosterarchy!
posted by zaixfeep at 11:07 PM on November 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by zaixfeep at 11:07 PM on November 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Like all pets, be prepared for your life to become hell." Well, speak for your own roostery self! SOME of us have puppers...
I have hens. They are not kind to each other, pecking order is a real thing no matter how much space they have. They don't allopreen like parrots do, they want to be with the flock but they don't treat each other with fellow feeling as far as I can tell. I'd never have a chicken as a house pet personally, they are a specifically stinky-poop bird. VERY stinky. When I watch them they certainly remind me of raptors (of the Jurassic Park variety).
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 2:29 AM on November 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have hens. They are not kind to each other, pecking order is a real thing no matter how much space they have. They don't allopreen like parrots do, they want to be with the flock but they don't treat each other with fellow feeling as far as I can tell. I'd never have a chicken as a house pet personally, they are a specifically stinky-poop bird. VERY stinky. When I watch them they certainly remind me of raptors (of the Jurassic Park variety).
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 2:29 AM on November 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
What's with the drama WalkerWestridge? Here in The Netherlands they made complete sets available to understand the whole cycle, from incubator to killing equipment. You know, for kids. The (translated) url pretty much explains it diychicken: doehetzelfkip.nl (logline: from egg to filet in 9 weeks!)
posted by ouke at 3:52 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ouke at 3:52 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
He was an awesome pet rooster. I knew people with an apartment rooster - I felt very sorry for their neighbours, but he was a happy rooster. The cleaning is annoying, but you can work around that, and I've certainly had more difficult pets and the sheer terror on those cats' faces as the rooster charged at them - oh I so wish we were still allowed domestic poultry pets here! My cats would meet their feathery dinosaur nemesis soon.
Interesting range of opinions from the family at the end. One of my family keeps chickens as pets and when one has to go, won't eat it personally but makes sure that the meat goes to someone who does appreciate organic free-range chicken.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:58 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Interesting range of opinions from the family at the end. One of my family keeps chickens as pets and when one has to go, won't eat it personally but makes sure that the meat goes to someone who does appreciate organic free-range chicken.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:58 AM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Who on earth would think a rooster would make a good pet? I'd lived next door to them a few times, and can confirm that the crowing-at-dawn thing is a myth. Or rather, sometimes they crow at dawn, but they also crow at 2 am and 4 pm and any other damn time they feel like it.
Chickens are fantastic for eating bugs in the yard and producing eggs, but in my experience they are always unpleasantly stupid and mean.
It is an interesting video to watch, but also kind of puzzling.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:28 AM on November 29, 2018
Chickens are fantastic for eating bugs in the yard and producing eggs, but in my experience they are always unpleasantly stupid and mean.
It is an interesting video to watch, but also kind of puzzling.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:28 AM on November 29, 2018
Wait, wait. He bought a baby chick as a toy for his cats? Did I read that right? In that case, fuck him.
posted by Splunge at 8:11 AM on November 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 8:11 AM on November 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
I loved this. It reminds me of the classic children's book Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm which, if you have a child under 6, you should go out and buy right away. It is a hypnotically peaceful book that talks about all the different animals on the farm, their names, their personalities and behaviors, and their "nature." Anyway, one of the chickens is a rooster named Big Shot and he's always terrorizing the hens and fighting the other roosters and hoarding food and then suddenly in this otherwise soothingly sweet book is the frame "A fox is carrying Big Shot away."
I've read this book snuggled up with both of my sons and two of my nieces and in each case the kids' reaction is along the lines of "Good. That asshole chicken had it coming."
not advocating chicken violence, just pointing out that the natural order of the world is that some animals dominate other animals and some animals eat other animals and that's the natural order and notions like fairness, kindness, and karma are totally artificial constructions specific to humans and when confronted with this fact, most of the time it's healthier to react with tempered humor rather than sadness or anger. But yeah, if you don't want to see chickens die, don't watch this video and don't read Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:58 AM on November 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
I've read this book snuggled up with both of my sons and two of my nieces and in each case the kids' reaction is along the lines of "Good. That asshole chicken had it coming."
not advocating chicken violence, just pointing out that the natural order of the world is that some animals dominate other animals and some animals eat other animals and that's the natural order and notions like fairness, kindness, and karma are totally artificial constructions specific to humans and when confronted with this fact, most of the time it's healthier to react with tempered humor rather than sadness or anger. But yeah, if you don't want to see chickens die, don't watch this video and don't read Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:58 AM on November 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wait, wait. He bought a baby chick as a toy for his cats? Did I read that right? In that case, fuck him.
Well, cats are natural predators and are perhaps more self aware than baby chicks. Who’s to say it isn’t more cruel for me to keep my cat indoors with only the occasional moth to pounce on?
Plus, 10 rupees is a great deal for a baby chick. That’s like 25 cents.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:18 AM on November 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, cats are natural predators and are perhaps more self aware than baby chicks. Who’s to say it isn’t more cruel for me to keep my cat indoors with only the occasional moth to pounce on?
Plus, 10 rupees is a great deal for a baby chick. That’s like 25 cents.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 10:18 AM on November 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
"A fox is carrying Big Shot away."
That's the smallholding purpose of flashy aggro roosters, and possibly the evolutionary explanation -- when the flock gets attacked, the rooster is there fighting, although the roosters just about always lose. They make enough noise for the farmer to get out and yell at the predator and mayybe find the hole under the fences. Then they die. Roosters are an ablative defense.
posted by clew at 12:03 PM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
That's the smallholding purpose of flashy aggro roosters, and possibly the evolutionary explanation -- when the flock gets attacked, the rooster is there fighting, although the roosters just about always lose. They make enough noise for the farmer to get out and yell at the predator and mayybe find the hole under the fences. Then they die. Roosters are an ablative defense.
posted by clew at 12:03 PM on November 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Well, cats are natural predators and are perhaps more self aware than baby chicks.
I am an apex predator and perhaps more self aware than a baby chimpanzee. Shall I purchase one to hunt in my basement?
Who’s to say it isn’t more cruel for me to keep my cat indoors with only the occasional moth to pounce on?
Perhaps, if you worry about the cruelty of keeping cats, you might not keep cats and spare the chicks?
posted by Splunge at 1:17 PM on November 29, 2018
I am an apex predator and perhaps more self aware than a baby chimpanzee. Shall I purchase one to hunt in my basement?
Who’s to say it isn’t more cruel for me to keep my cat indoors with only the occasional moth to pounce on?
Perhaps, if you worry about the cruelty of keeping cats, you might not keep cats and spare the chicks?
posted by Splunge at 1:17 PM on November 29, 2018
My kitty was born to a feral cat who somehow got into our garage and then abandoned her litter there so we had to bottle feed them until they were old enough to find homes for. It wasn't me but the animal kingdom itself that willed this creature into our lives.
I am an apex predator and perhaps more self aware than a baby chimpanzee. Shall I purchase one to hunt in my basement?
I wouldn't recommend it. Baby chimps cost like thousands of dollars. But I won't judge you if you really have a strong hard wired instinct to hunt primates. Have you tried satisfying your urge to kill by chasing a laser pointer?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:13 PM on November 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
I am an apex predator and perhaps more self aware than a baby chimpanzee. Shall I purchase one to hunt in my basement?
I wouldn't recommend it. Baby chimps cost like thousands of dollars. But I won't judge you if you really have a strong hard wired instinct to hunt primates. Have you tried satisfying your urge to kill by chasing a laser pointer?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 3:13 PM on November 29, 2018 [3 favorites]
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posted by WalkerWestridge at 8:49 PM on November 28, 2018