On Fri, Mar 09, 2007 at 02:05:39PM -0700, Kathryn Rosenthal [[log in to unmask]] wrote (in part):
| You are right.  I had breakfast this a.m. w/ a friend who grew up in the
| SE United States.  He said that his neighbors had a cow that ate baby
| chicks whenever it could get them.

I raise flock protection dogs, so I am occasionally the recipient of stories
about livestock. It's really not that unusual that when cattle get out on
the road, that they sometimes browse on roadkill and fast food discards,
including the half eaten hamburger that is tossed out on the shoulder of the
road. 

Kids have shared bologna and tuna sandwiches with their pet calves and
equines (I was one of these kids, long ago) which critters seem to enjoy and
look forward to the treats. Horses generally react with a flehmen (google
images if you don't know what that is) -- particularly if mom put sweet
pickle relish into the tuna paste <g> -- but they still enjoy the
sandwiches, nickering and nosing pockets for more. As an adult, I've seen
that my horses have sometimes eaten dead birds - feathers and crunchy bits
included, as well as mice that were caught and accidently baled into their
hay. My horses have also stolen eggs from my hens, eating shell and all.

I think herbivores are much more opportunistic than people give them credit
for. 

Increasingly (not speaking of this group) the average person seems generally
to have an urbanized, Disney-fied and somewhat PeTA-fied concept of the
animal world. "Stepford Wives" moves over to Stepford Pets, where invasive
surgery (neutering) is broadly (and wrongly) advertised by pet advocates as
an easy solution (or a preventative measure) for working with "undesireable"
animal behavior.

This actually ties in with the subject of paleofood at many levels. We all
bring specific and relatively "New Age" baggage with us when we adapt paleo
concepts.
-- 
Janice 
Semavi Anatolians <in California> http://cobankopegi.com
  http://www.cobankopegi.com/blog/ (pictures, fun, a little dis'n'dat)
The tree in which the sap is stagnant remains fruitless.
		-- Hosea Ballou