OK, here's your chance to laugh at the city girl! I've been reading "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" because I'm thinking of trying to sneak a few in the back yard next year. Anyway, I never knew that Cornish Game Hens were just little chickens!!!! I always thought that they were a different species of poultry, sort of like a pheasant. I was so amazed by this discovery that I had to run upstairs to where Keith was playing on the computer and tell him. He just gave me a look like "OK, so what's your point?" :)

Don't worry, I already know what veal is! :)

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Answers

Oh yeah? Then explain the difference between 'veal' and 'baby beef'! LOL! I've been seeing 'baby beef' references more and more lately -- I THINK it's being used because of the backlash against veal. And that's because of the cruel factory farming methods that have become well-known. But maybe someone else knows more about it?

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

sheesh. You'd think "baby beef" would be an even *worse* name!

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Okay...what's the difference between a reindeer and a caribou?? I'm serious. I'd like to know!

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Marcia, I went to www.britannica.com and entered 'caribou'. It says that a caribou is a native North American reindeer. I believe that they are just variations of the same species.

Northern Europe, including Scandinavia, has a large mammal called an elk, but it is the same thing as a moose. When the English came here, they had never seen an European elk, so they adopted the Indian term 'moose'. Our 'elk' should properly be called a wapiti (the Indian word for that critter). Are you confused yet?

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Doggone thing dumped my entire post.

I believe that the European variety of moose is actually called an 'Alg', altho that may be the Scandinavian name for it, and 'Elk' may be the English name for it!

As I understand it,Rangifer tarandus, is both Caribou and Reindeer. The primary difference seems to be that Caribou are wild herds, Reindeer are domestic herds (unless you are speaking, perhaps of Fairy Reindeer...). Like a Mustang and a Morgan/Thoroughbred/Appaloosa/Grade horse are all horses , able to interbreed fertily, but have different designations to denote history and ownership. Appaloosas would be a good analogy -- they arose out of the Mustang herds and became a domestic breed of horse. (okay, you nitpickers! So Appaloosa colouring still exists in mustang herds and in other breeds, I'm just trying to make a parallel here and I couldn't think of anything else! How about a Wolf and a Dog? Genetically, they are idential, even if one is a Timberwolf and the other a Pomeranian.)

Okay, enough of that, I fear I'm just digging myself a deeper hole.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2001

Thank you, Joy. Okay...so what does Santa Claus use---reindeer or caribou??

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2001