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Aug 2017
2:31pm, 18 Aug 2017
11,633 posts
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Chrisull
I agree with peeps on the palate thing, tastes change. And yes most things can be altered... the last thing is family...
So with 3 kids, all eating different things (one meat, two veggie for starters - although they do eat fish!), so we find somewhere to eat, and quite often in France, it's like "ah I can't eat here" because no veggie option, or it's just an omelette. They are quite tolerant of this, and often we miss out. If I was to go vegan, I would be putting severe strain - we wouldn't be eating out at all (which would not be popular for starters), but where my limited French could probably cope, I suspect the menus couldn't. We tend to prefer the countryside, it's not like there's a veggie cafe down the road in these places (East Cornwall is also like this  ). Also visiting family, etc I am quite flexible I only really hate baked beans and marzipan (and cow's milk on its own), but I am putting pressure to cater for me, specifically for me. Vegetarian is easy generally , veganism is quite a bit more difficult. I like to keep quiet on being veggie and not evangelise or proselytise, not cause difficulty and you win some friends by people asking you this, that and revealing they've tried x amount days/weeks/months veggie. Whereas with being vegan, it would be in some ways a provocation (lets be honest some people take being veggie as a provocation, but screw them), I want to convert other people, I don't want to create a Trump style backlash... I've endured the odd "why do we have to cater for veggies" at bbqs etc "when they wouldn't cater for us" but the truth is an entire meat/fish feast would make even them blanche. I suspect a vegan stance would have attracted a lot more ire (I know it would), and I'm not ready for that confrontation, sorry.
Also there is what I define as the "red-line syndrome". It's the point at which you say "ah screw it" if I was vegan I suspect I would have crossed it, at some point. I tend to be all or nothing, I have my own borders - it's why my running is so unbroken over the last 9 years. I suspect if I stopped, I would really stop, that would be it. Same with food if I went vegan and broke it, I suspect I'd then completely flop out, well if I'm going to fail here on eggs, why not fail there on fish... etc.
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Aug 2017
10:28am, 19 Aug 2017
31,594 posts
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Nellers
Set my first vegetarian course PB today at Hockley Woods parkrun.
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Aug 2017
9:47am, 21 Aug 2017
27,206 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Lol Nellers. Love the idea of my "veggie PBs" G
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Aug 2017
9:52am, 21 Aug 2017
69,158 posts
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Hanneke
I eat lots of eggs, but I have my own chickens. They have a very happy life, so they are ethically correct eggs, and very healthy, full of stuff you need to keep your musculoskeletal system strong and functioning
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Aug 2017
9:55am, 21 Aug 2017
27,207 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Hann, we're moving to a farm soon and we're thinking about keeping chickens. Then we can have known-ethical eggs too. Any tips? G
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Aug 2017
10:08am, 21 Aug 2017
69,159 posts
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Hanneke
Yes: a whopping great big six foot fence with an electric wire at fox/dog nose height around it to keep them safe! Other than that, they are wonderful! I had two killed by a neighbour's terrier two weeks ago though and still reeling! I now have to keep the remaining hens in in a small fox/terrier proof run, as I fear otherwise the others go, until I have saved enough ££ for a fence
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Aug 2017
10:20am, 21 Aug 2017
69,160 posts
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Hanneke
I also eat cheese, but not as much as I used to, and milk only goes in one cup of morning latte. I get my milk raw from a loacl organic farm, so I know it is 'proper' milk in more ways than one, I have even met the happy cows I use almond or rice milk everywhere else where such a fuid is required
I became a fishtarian about 30 years ago, when I realised, by chance, the meat was making my ankylosing spondilitis worse. Then I went to India 20 years ago, to train as a yoga teacher, where I found the Hindu vegetarian doiet most excellent, but when back home I added eggs and cheese back in.
4 years ago I was recovering from lyme disease and my body started to scream for fish, so I ate some. It obviously needed the oil in it. So now I follow the bodies signs, if it craves fish, I will eat it, but this hasn't happened in a LONG time! I also haven't needed any supplements or herbal medicine since this year
I started keeping chickens because eggs are my only source of vitamin B12, which I got seriously deficient of because of the Lyme. I didn't want to buy eggs, because I don't want to contribute to the way the poor animals are kept. I got my hens from a local, ethical, breeder.
Oh and before Lyme I used to race bikes and before that ran. I was really quite successful on a bike, in the endurance disciplines (12 hour/24 hour/multi day stage races) and not a grain of protein powder or other such cr@p involved!
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Aug 2017
11:08am, 21 Aug 2017
27,208 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Cool Hanneke, thanks. You were quite a good runner too (I have a pic of you and me running side by side in the BIG MILE down in Manchester early 2009 - you in your bare feet!)
I'll remind MrsS(rrr) that we will need VERY strong fox and terrier proof fences for the chickens. Do you have to bury them down into the ground because dogs can burrow, obviously (presumably foxes too?) We have a Parson Russell terrier, so we'll be able to test how dog proof the fences are before risking any chickens.
Have you tried ducks, geese or such? Are they harder to keep? And presumably you can't fence them in completely? G
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Aug 2017
11:24am, 21 Aug 2017
6,107 posts
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Ceratonia
In my experience, a group of chickens are more than a match for the average dog - quite funny to see them chase away a great dane!
I've never lost any hens to foxes (so far), but you do have to be quite careful to make sure they're safely locked up at night, check the run with a fox's eye - is there any way they could dig their way in, anything they could climb up onto etc. As you say, the fencing has to be buried a few inches for that reason (I just put some paving slabs round the edge of the run, to prevent digging.)
You need to have friends/neighbours who can open/close their coop if you're away for the day, or on holiday etc. Also need to think about what you will do if they get ill (which sooner or later they will.)
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Aug 2017
12:21pm, 21 Aug 2017
3,094 posts
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Cyclops
My sister's friend has an electric door to her chicken coop which opens and closes automatically so she could go away overnight once the chickens got used to the timings (which they did very quickly - they all rush home before the door shuts). So far it is costing £120 per egg!
My school chickens had a metal grid base to their run to keep them safe from foxes as they were only in overnight and had huge school grounds to run around in during the day. We knew we had foxes as we had seen them mating on the wildlife cameras!
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