Filed under: Animal fun
A child holding the rabbit to his heart
Here at Cathy’s Critters, there is no shortage of cute, cuddly rabbits. Rabbits and bunnies are one of the most popular animals that children get to interact with at our petting zoos. Rabbits, for the most part, are gentle creatures and children tend to gravitate toward them because they are cute and small. However just like all animals, rabbits have defenses to help them stay safe. Among those features are their large back feet and large front teeth. A rabbit can use its big back feet to run from danger, changing directions on a dime to get away from a predator, or to scratch hard if it happens to get caught. Their front feet are used for digging to find food or to build a den. The teeth are obviously used to get food. They have two large front teeth called incisors to cut grass and other plants to eat. A child should never put a finger directly in front of a rabbit’s mouth. It will “taste” it to see if the child is edible. When a rabbit is picked up we often encounter a bunny that wiggles trying to “get away” from what it thinks is a dangerous situation. A child, however, may interpret this behavior to mean that the rabbit doesn’t “like” her, so we must be teach her how to hold the rabbit so that it feels safe and the child doesn’t get hurt.
One of the things that we have learned at Cathy’s Critters is that having gentle animals is a must. We begin taking young rabbits out to petting zoos at about 4-5 weeks of age, usually with the mama for the first few times. By going out at a young age, the rabbits get a lot of handling and attention which makes them into good petting zoo companions by
the time they are a few months old. Even with a lot of handling though, most rabbits will still kick and scratch if they are held incorrectly. The easiest, safest way for anyone to hold rabbits is to have the rabbit sitting against the chest with one hand on its bottom for support and the other on its back for petting. For older kids, we use the phrase “hold him to your heart.” For the younger children who can’t hold a rabbit by themselves, we encourage our petting zoo wranglers or parents to hold a rabbit close to the child and tell him to give the rabbit a hug. That way, the young ones won’t get scratched but they can still feel the soft rabbit and have a cute photo opportunity.
Our attendants are trained to help the children, but for optimum safety and enjoyment, we encourage parents and teachers to learn these techniques and help the children. Interaction with animals is an exciting opportunity that can be enhanced by kids’ seeing their parents and teachers as helpful role models as well. Even with all of the techniques that we show to our wranglers and kids, the occasional scratch is unavoidable. Unlike scratches from cats, which can spread dangerous bacteria, rabbit scratches can be treated
easily with a little wound dressing and common sense. Our “zoo crew” always has a first aid kit with antibiotic ointment and band-aids on hand. We want the visit to the petting zo
o to be a positive experience for every child and parent and strive to make it as fun and safe as possible. So remember, when you visit the bunnies, show your kids how much you love them by “holding them to your heart”!
With the heat hovering between 90-115 degrees during the summer, staying hydrated and cool is just as important for the animals as it is for us. When a team heads to a birthday party or festival, we are sure to include a tent for shade and lots of water for the animals and crew. Even so, there is one animal that we cannot send out during the July heat.
An adorable Guinea Pig getting loved on at the farm.
Guinea pigs, also known as Cavies, are native to the Andes Mountains in South America so they are accustomed to cool temperatures. In the mountains, guinea pigs were wild until the Natives of modern day Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador domesticated them for food. Spanish Sailers in the 1600s were the first to bring guinea pigs to Europe to be used as pets. They quickly became popular due to their calm temperament. Guinea pigs are one of the larger members of the rodent family and can grow to be as large as 12 inches long and 2.5 lbs! They also have a longer lifespan than mice and gerbils, typically living between 4-6 years and can even live up to 8 years. In captivity, guinea pigs need to stay in temperatures ranging from 60-75 degrees. As you’re no doubt aware, temperatures in Texas definitely get above 75 degrees! If guinea pigs are left without protection in extreme heat, they can suffer from heat stroke, which can be quickly fatal, so we take precautionary measures here at the farm to keep them cool and healthy. Our guinea pigs live in a private condominium with air conditioning and an automatic watering system.
The building is kept below 75 degrees during the summer months. In the winter, their living space is heated to keep their climate similar to their native Peru. Our guinea pig cages are thoroughly cleaned 3 times a week, which consists of cleaning out the old shavings, wiping the tray down and giving the guinea pigs fresh shavings. We also clean the area around the watering system to keep it clear of hair and shavings so the water can run smoothly. The watering system was a great step forward for efficiency on the far, as we used to have to clean and fill 18 water bottles per day. This time-consuming task was replaced with a gravity-fed system of PVC piping and stainless steel lab-quality “lick valves”.
In general, if it’s uncomfortably hot or cold out for you, then it’s potentially dangerous for the guinea pigs. They will be going out to petting zoos again once the temperatures cool off around mid-late August/ September. The health, comfort and safety of our animals is our main concern so we will be sure that the guinea pigs can handle the weather before sending them out again. Since we mostly work outside, we are sensitive to the effect of the weather on our employees and animals.
Cathy & Kevin
Cathy’s Critters
972-562-0583
reservations@cathys-critters.com
Cathy's Critters - stuff we do out here 