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
Filed under: Animal fun | Tags: birthday party, camel, cathy's critters, llama, petting zoo, spit
Magic checks out a group of boys
We get this question a lot: “Will he spit at me?” Depending on what kind of mood we’re in, we may respond “Only if you spit at him first!”. Llamas, a beautiful, somewhat fiesty pack animal native to South America, have gotten a bad rap for their temperament and habit of spitting half-digested stomach goo at people. Anyone fortunate enough to have had this experience will testify to how nasty it can be. Half-digested stomach goo is as bad as it sounds.
However, the truth is that llamas raised around people can be reasonably well-mannered. We’ve seldom met one that seeks out human attention the way a dog, or even a horse might, but all of ours (except a few of the younger ones) will stand still and be petted in exchange for a little feed.
Their most endearing habit is that of simply being curious about you. If you stand still they will approach you, sniff your face and study you, as interested in you as you are in them. Don’t be alarmed – they are not looking to see whether they think you’d be a good candidate to receive a face full of toxic bile – yet.
Male llamas will compete for the attention of a female. If two males are both attempting to court the same female, they’ll get into a shoving match, occasionally even batting (beating) each other with their wicked front feet. In this exchange, you’ll often hear the snort, gurgle, and “ptooie” of one or the other hocking up a nice hay-ball on his competition. Female llamas don’t have a typical heat cycle like many mammals. They will mate year-round, whenever they are not already bred. The gestation period is 11-1/2 months, so it’s not uncommon for a breeding female to have a cria every year at about the same time each year.
Another occasion for letting one fly is in a competitive situation for food. When a human comes into our llama pen for the nightly feeding, all the llamas crowd around to be the first head in the bucket after some feed is poured in. They get pushy. One hungry llama may attempt muscle another out of the way using its body to shove the other animal, and lobbing a little of the morning feeding he had been saving in his cheek like a wad of chewing tobacco. This is a very likely time for you to get caught in the crossfire. You have to be on your toes if you get caught in a llama feeding frenzy.
As it turns out, the more “frustrated” a llama is, the deeper from its 3 chambered stomach (the llama is a modified ruminant) it can draw for it’s projectile crud. Therefore, if you get a blast and smells like the worst kind of bad breath crossed with a porta-potty at a chili cookoff, you’ll know you really ticked him off.
My best advice if an opportunity for an encounter with one of our llamas arises is: Don’t withhold food from him. That’s the simplest way to frustrate him and perhaps get a face full. Just belly up to his fence, stand still and let him check you out. You’ll be amazed at how long his eyelashes are, and if you do feed him from your hand, how nimble is his prehensile upper lip.
These are amazing, interesting animals. Don’t let them be over-simplified by some friend who warns you “Don’t get to close — they spit!”. Enjoy the experience and keep an open mind!
—
Kevin Smith
Cathy’s Critters
February 12, 2011
Filed under: Animal fun, Stuff We Do Out Here | Tags: animal farm, animal photography, cathy's critters, llamas in snow, texas snow, white christmas
Friends,
So we’ve got relatives in from North Carolina who are used to vising us and experiencing Texas’ notoriously unpredictable weather. This time they get treated to a sight they would not have gotten back home, where it’s raining cats and dogs.
White Christmas! Cool! Ok, so once again we see that weather forecasting is the true “dismal science”, but we enjoyed waking up to a frosted farm.
http://weatherblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/12/no-white-christmas-but-its-about-to-get.html
I knew it might be a very long time before I saw such a sight again. Even on days that are not immortalized in song as being associated with snow, it’s pretty rare to see our fields and barns covered with white, so I took some pictures.
Here’s a nice sunrise over our tiny pond:
Sunrise over pond
Obviously it’s not cold enough to freeze the pond, so the snow is not going to last long.
April had already been up since about 6am to feed the livestock before the rest of us had even had our coffee. Santa doesn’t visit the animals, so we’re still on the hook for taking care of them.
This was also the first year that we decided to start weaning our teenage kids off stockings-hung-by-the-woodstove-with-care. We didn’t do it cold turkey, but by insinuating that perhaps Santa is become senile and deranged. In their stockings were apples, oranges, twizzlers, bubbles, fireworks, and cartoon character band-aids (Transformers for Casey, who will be 17 in March). Next year we’ll rachet it up a notch and perhaps put credit card offers and kitchen utensils in their stockings.
The animals really don’t care about holidays, and most are pretty ok with any weather. Here’s the zebu with her tongue in her nose as usual. Wouldn’t you, if you could reach?
This girl is one of the newer members of the team. We’d like to milk her and she has a new baby so that would probably work. It’s just a matter of finding time to add one more chore to the day.
Wilbur and friends right after feeding
We had pork chops for breakfast, but nobody who had run around the farm – strictly grocery store stuff.
Recipe:
Saute’ coarsely sliced onions and minced garlic until onions are translucent. Remove and reserve onions. Slice bones off chops and reserve for stock – they’ll make a good northern bean soup. Add more butter and fry pork chops until nicely browned on both sides, remove from pan to same plate holding onions.
Put about 1/8 cup of water into hot pan and loosen up material from cooking meat, scraping with wooden spoon. Melt 2 tbs butter, then immediately add flour, about a teaspoon at a time, mixing well to make a thick paste. When it seems that the paste will not absorb any more dry flour, add milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, over medium heat, stirring constantly. Keep adding and stirring until gravy has the perfect consistency. You should yield about 2-3 cups of gravy. Salt to taste. Add the meat and onions, cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the parents-in-law arrive for breakfast. We removed the chops from the gravy, sliced them thin and then returned to the pan to serve with scrambled eggs. It went over well, considering our audience usually snarls if the breakfast protein is anything but bacon or sausage.
After all, it has turned out pretty comfortable
It’s been a long 7 years of difficult challenges and dashed hopes of a simple, relaxed life on the farm. This has been anything but idyllic, and I understand why farmers don’t recommend the lifestyle to anyone. But looking back at every fence post, every barn, every shingle, and saying “We did that” is a most rewarding feeling. I chuckle when our friends from the suburbs visit us and gush “Oh I just LOVE it here, I’d love to have all these animals!”. I say politely, “It’s a lot of work”, but that ain’t the half of it. Give it a year or so, and you’ll know if your heart’s in it or not. After two years you’ll start to think you’ll know what you’re doing. In three years, you’ll be tiring of the whole experiment and consider whether you’ve made a huge, expensive mistake. After four years, some psychotherapy, and perhaps a career change to enable you to devote more time to fixing fences, you are probably past the point of no return. You’re a transplanted suburbanite hobby farmer and you won’t be going back to town until maybe you decide your back’s getting too sore to carry feed bags and hay bales, or that taking 10 hours to mow the yard is getting really old.
At that point, heading back to the ‘burbs is not like giving up, it’s more like retiring. I think we’re pretty well committed by now. I’m sure there will come a day where the heavy stuff is just too heavy. If we can afford to pay young strong backs to do it for us, then we’ll have the luxury of staying forever. If not, well, we’ll just have to cross the bridge when it gets here. We’re too young to be thinking “exit strategy” quite yet, and you just can’t get that view any other way.
By the time I write this (almost 5pm), the snow is pretty much long gone except in a few shady areas, my daughter told me I need to come see the cake she just iced, I smell the rib roast starting to cook, and I feel like trying one of the winter ales I received from my sister in law.
So in this season where we all (hopefully) take some well-deserved time off to reconnect with our families, catch up on some of the books gathering dust on the night stand, and reignite interest in our neglected hobbies (anyone else give or receive any musical instruments this Christmas?), we wish a very merry Christmas, happy and reflective time out, and a happy new year.
Sincerely,
Kevin, Cathy, and all the 2-legged and 4-legged crew members at Cathy’s Critters
April and her reading buddy
Ok, I understand concern and caution, but can we get a little perspective here?
Fifty-three children have died this year due to normal strains of the flu. The victim was 22 months old and, according to the Centers for Disease Control, had “underlying health issues”, which I take to mean he was especially vulnerable to the virus because of a weakened immune system.
Strong healthy kids and adults do not die from the flu. They get achy, sniffly, and rotten-feeling and go to bed to sweat it out. Vulnerable babies and the elderly should be kept away from high-risk areas, but the measures our state and city leaders are taking are more likely “CYA” actions designed to deflect the charge that they “don’t care” or “aren’t doing anything to help”, and will probably make matters worse rather than better.
Take Fort Worth, for example. School’s out for a week. Where are those kids going to go? How about a fun family DART rail ride downtown to do some sight-seeing or go to the zoo? A little shopping at the mall? Do we really think the families are going to keep their kids locked in their sterile rooms with plastic wrap over the windows to keep germs out? I kind of doubt that the “real world” is any less a breeding ground for flu virus than the classroom.
Maybe rather than putting school for the entire city’s children on hold, it would make sense to offer a one-time, one-week dispensation during which concerned parents could keep their kids out.
Are you aware that in 1976 we had a similar panic over swine flu? Here’s a recap:
Feb 20, 1976: US set on code red alert for swine flu epidemic
Mar 25, 1976: President Ford urges “Flu Campaign” to innoculate entire US at a cost of $135 Million dollars (adjusted for inflation, that would be about $500 Million dollars today).
April 10, 1976: Congress authorizes the $135 Million to develop and distribute the vaccine.
May 21, 1976: Lab in Manhattan begins developing the vaccine. (Another “Manhattan project”?)
Oct 13, 1976: Flu vaccination program halted after 3 people die from the vaccine.
Nov 24, 1976: Person who had the particular strain of flu quoted as saying “I was back at work in a week. The regular flu was worse!”
Dec 17, 1976: 94 Cases of paralysis blamed on flu shots. Vaccination program halted.
By November of 1976, there were $2.64 Billion in damages claims against the federal government.
In October of 1980 is was reported that the government would destroy the remaining $49 Million worth of vaccine.
I’m not going to ask you to hope that our leaders are wiser than the last generation’s, because that would be naive. Our “leaders” are more concerned about their own careers and image than about the health of the community. The national and international organizations that are funded by the US government and the United Nations are not likely to temper their rhetoric when it’s exactly this kind of moment that justifies their existence. As expressed by Rahm Emmanuel: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste”.
Just a reminder to keep things in perspective…
Thanks for listening,
Kevin Smith
Cathy’s Critters
Cathy's Critters - stuff we do out here 