Animals

In the process of training, he's a puppy though. My wife was supposed to be watching him but something came up.

Wow, it got published! Wasn't expecting that. For starters, let me just announce NO BROKEN BONES! HALLELUJAH! Seriously is a miracle. Just a super bruised foot. Second, just to give you an idea, this particular mate is the head honcho if my barn. She thinks she is just queen of the world lol. She hates getting her girth out on, and she knows when it's out. When you hook it up on one side (so it isn't even on yet) she gets PISSED. So that day she decided to just step on me and not move, no matter what I did. I didn't clarify that I did punch her in the shoulder, but this mare, dear lord, she just does not care. That's when she shifted ALL of her weight onto that foot. I wasn't wearing my (much more protective) barn boots because I was late for my lesson and needed to hurry. So instead of grooming and tacking in my barn boots I had my tall boots on. I've actually been bitten by the same mare, for the same reason (girth), and that was probably an even more awful bruise than my foot! I seriously don't know how I get away with just bruises. And I know what you're thinking, "Why do you keep working with her when she injures you 24/7?!" Well, she's an amazing horse, just very sassy lol. Also, to whoever said they had no sympathy for me because I owned a lot of horses so hospital bills would not be a problem, you're just dumb. I could've been forever crippled, and you said you have no sympathy? I could've been forced to never compete again. And you have no sympathy? Wow. I'm not on here looking for everyone's sympathy, don't get me wrong, I actually found the whole incident hilarious. But that was EXTREMELY inconsiderate of you to say that. Thanks for all the good wishes!!!! Smushed Sophie out! :) -OP

I'm the OP. I'm the one with the Fabulous Fingerbiters. These chickens aren't food: they're overindulged pets. Each one has a name, so chicken stew isn't an option. I've named them after various vaudeville stars or actresses because they're a lot of feathery drama queens. Actually, biting the hand that feeds them is right in line with the entertainment-industry theme I chose when naming them. A chicken bite from a baby bird isn't really painful at all because their little beaks are so soft. Even an adult bird's peck isn't painful in the same way a dog or cat bite is painful. They can't break the skin, although if they get you in the face it can leave a scratch or welt. A parrot, by contrast, can take your finger off. Chickens just aren't strong enough. These are going to be lovely laying hens. They're just a bit cheeky. I think I can break them of the habit by switching for a while to grass instead of mealworms, by *not* dropping the goodies no matter what, and moving on to the second phase of training, where I train them to hop onto my lap and sit there to be fed and petted. When training a chicken, it's important to use food as a reward. They're not like dogs and they don't consider attention a reward. They don't even consider petting a reward until they're conditioned to do so, because it's not a normal behavior or sensation for them. But it's straight-up operant conditioning, right out of B.F. Skinner

Hey OP here, thanks for all the support guys. Luckily I didn't get into an accident. I was able to come out of the whole incident without a scratch but a massive itchy red welt. The doctor said I'll be fine in a few days time. :)