Hello farm friends! Have you ever given your furry friend a treat and watched them trot off and bury it?
One of our newest rescue dogs, Ms. Angel, has her masters degree in hiding and burying her treats. We have watched her bury dog treats, bones, pieces of bread, and even dog toys.
One of our other dogs, Mr. Bear, a chocolate labrador, can set a land speed record chewing and eating a rawhide chew. There is nothing left to hide with him. If there was a dog contest on how fast a dog can chew up a rawhide and eat it, Mr. Bear would be a grand national champion.
Others, like Ms. Angel, prefer to hide them instead of eating them.
Have you ever wondered why some dogs do this?
This behavior goes way, way, back to when dogs were actually wild. When they had extra meat they would bury the leftovers so they could come back later and have a second meal. Today's domestic dog behavior originated from their ancestors. They bury their treasures to keep them safe.
Domestic dogs may bury anything they consider valuable, not just things they eat. Ms. Angel will push a plush toy under the couch cushions to safeguard it. If she catches you watching her, she will immediately remove it and go find another hiding place she thinks you don’t know about. It is hilarious watching her keeping an eye on you while hiding something.
Recently we had a bag of extra large rawhide treats. Every dog got one. After lying around a few hours chewing on them, the dogs abandoned them around the yard. I think their jaws were sore from chewing on them. This is a fact. How do I know? On days they get big rawhides they don’t bark at night. That’s because they have sore jaws. Lol.
Ms. Angel went around and absconded with all the abandoned rawhide treats she could find. Every time she came in the house she had someone else’s rawhide treat hanging out of her mouth. When no one was looking she hid them one by one under a chair that was covered with a blanket. After a few days, I decided to look un
Hello farm friends. It's hot, hot, hot everywhere. Our animals are all miserable in this sweltering heat. We currently are using around 400 gallons of water a day to keep them in fresh water. Whew. The creeks are all drying up and the snakes are out moving trying to find water. One of our friends was helping us water and feed the other night. They saw the biggest water moccasin they have ever seen out by our lake. It was really big and very plump. The first day they told me about the snake they were terrified just talking about it. The next day they said how beautiful a snake it actually was. See how perceptions change after we think about it a little? We all have to live in this world together, animals and humans. Think about that. Let's all just be kind and just get along. Add that to your "to do" list for today.
Hello farm friends. Here is Mr. Walter, our friendly Watusi cow, enjoying a red ripe juicy tomato. Mr. Walter weighs in at over a 1,000+ pounds and is an herbivore. This means he eats plant-based foods like grains, fruits, and vegetables. When feeding tomatoes to cows make sure they are completely red and ripe tomatoes. Cows can only safely eat ripe red tomatoes, and not green unripe tomatoes. Tomato plants and green unripe tomatoes are toxic and poisonous to cows. Even an occasional green portion of a ripe red tomato contains poison and should not be fed to cows. Even cooking green tomatoes does not decrease their toxicity to cows.
When it comes to vegetables, Mr. Walter loves carrots, apples, pumpkins, turnips, bananas and corn on the cob. He even loves a good “baked” potato as a treat. Yes, a baked potato, hold the butter and sour cream. Raw potatoes are ok but are hard to digest for cows so we bake them for our animals. Mr. Walter loves baked potatoes! I know you think I’m crazy baking potatoes for our animals. For the record I’m not crazy, I’m just “happy with a twist”.
We get asked a lot if Mr. Walter is dangerous? Two things quickly come to mind. The first is anything with horns can be dangerous. Anytime we are close to Walter hand feeding him we need to be cautious of his massive horns. He is a big baby and would never hurt anyone intentionally, but if he turns his head his horns can swing around and hit you. All it takes is a fly landing on his backside and the horns come swinging around as he turns his head and they can easily hurt you. You will quickly learn to duck when hand feeding Mr. Walter. Second is his size. He can be a bottomless pit at times, consuming an entire case of tomatoes or bananas in a single feeding. While you are hand feeding he comes closer and closer to the fence, pushing on it, trying to get the next morsel of food. He can push on the fence so hard it can snap or bend a tee post over. A 1,000+ pound cow is very stron
Today is April 11 th and it is “National Pet Day”. Did you know that 70% of ALL households in the United States own a pet? More than any country in the world.
This past Sunday we took all the farm dogs (13) on a long walk in the woods, the creek and the green field to let them play and enjoy the afternoon after working all week.There was lots of tail wagging! The video is a montage of them just enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon here on the farm. Remember, it is not the years in your life but the life in your years that count. Consider adopting. All shelters are full of loving dogs just waiting for you to come get them. Opening up your life to a dog who needs a home is one of the most fulfilling things you can do in life. Dogs are the role model for being alive.
Faith. Look at our beautiful sweet Miss Faith. I brought her home on August 21st this year after driving over three hours to get her. She was one day old when I went and rescued her. A baby red Angus calf. She was totally blind and still is. I named her “Faith” based on a bible definition. Hebrews 11:1, “Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. The central feature of “Faith” is confidence and trust. I asked her to have “trust and confidence” in me and together we would make it in this wonderful world. I would be her eyes and provider and she would give me the gift of watching her growing up as a part of our animal family here at Serenity. Miss Faith was bottle fed by hand twice a day for over 12 weeks. Not once did she ever miss a feeding. Yes, that’s a little longer than necessary but it helped Faith grow and develop properly. Then it was reduced to once a day as she was slowly weaned off a bottle to grain feed. Now that she is weaned and eating good I have been slowly introducing her to produce. This was her first ever piece of broccoli. I told her it would be good, to just trust me and she did. Now she loves broccoli and has developed a good sense of smell and can find the broccoli without even seeing it. To some, she’s just “a cow”. To me she is so much more. To watch her growing up, is so stunningly beautiful and amazing. They say blindness is a disability. It may be but in Faith’s case I believe she has been given most magnificent gift of all, the gift of life. I honestly believe she will live a full and productive life with us here on the farm. To me she is our “teaching cow” as I learn something from her every day. When I talk to her I find myself telling, no, describing things to her. I find myself describing things like colors, textures and shapes to her. What a tree looks like. What does a tree look like? Try it sometime. Close your eyes and try to imagine how beautiful a tree or a f
Every now and then we try and post videos that we hope will help educate people on a specific animal species. This week it's The Greater Rhea Bird. It is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America (Brazil and Argentina). They weigh between 40 and 60 pounds, are 4 to 6 feet tall and can run 40 mph. Rheas do not make good pets. They are still wild animals and they have not been bred long enough in captivity to ensure a docile animal. They can also disembowel a human with one strike of their feet because their claws are six inches long. This week’s video shows a Greater Rhea Bird and a Pygmy Goat. The goat wandered into the pen of the rhea. The rhea was sitting down trying to relax and enjoy some sunshine. The goat decided to harass it a little. The goat kicks and bleats at the rhea. Pay careful attention to how fast the Greater Rhea can strike. The speed of the strike is impressive for a bird. It will remind you of a rattlesnake striking and recoiling. Rheas strike and aim for the eyes. The goat is smart enough to stay just out of harm’s way. The goat continues this until the rhea has had enough and starts to stand up. This is the goats sign to get away from the rhea knowing once he gets on his feet he could seriously injure the goat. The smart goat left and crawled back into his pen safely away from the rhea bird. Lately I have seen a few ads offering baby and adult rheas for sale on the internet. We suggest before you consider getting ANY animal - do some research first and proceed with caution. Some factors to include are diet, housing and fencing requirements, space required, lifespan, and access to veterinary care, the temperament of the animal and overall costs. Please understand Rheas are living creatures, wild animals, that can be very dangerous and will require a lifelong commitment. A Greater Rhea can live 30 – 40 years in captivity. The Greater Rhea is one of the most dangerous animals we have here on the farm and is treated with utm
Do you know what is black and white that eats like a horse? It’s our Zebras!! After watching the video you can see why our Zebras are in an 8 foot high fence. The fence that divides the area is 5-1/2 ft. tall. Matilda, our female Zebra can sail over it with ease without much of a running start. Here are a few facts about these magnificent animals:
· There are roughly 3,002 Zebras in the United States (the two are at here with us at Serenity Animal Farm).
· Zebras can sleep while standing up.
· They are herbivores and spend most of their time eating grass.
· In the wild, they can live up to 20 years and around 40 years in captivity.
· Indigenous to Africa, they live in grasslands and savanna woodlands.
· A Group of Zebras is called Dazzle.
· They run in a zig-zag pattern when being chased by a predator.
· They have four slender hoofs with only one toe.
· Their ears are pointed and can be eight inches long.
· Their mane is short and stands straight on their necks.
· They can run up to 35 miles per hour and kick really hard. They have the strongest Kick in the animal kingdom. They kick with About 3,000 Pounds of Force!! Between the well-known force of the kick of a red kangaroo and a giraffe, you might be surprised to know that the zebra beats them both.
· When threatened, an adult zebra can kill a fully grown male African lion with a single blow (kick) to the body.
· The Zebra is an endangered species because it is hunted for its skin.
· They weigh between 600 to 1000 pounds.
· Lions can run significantly faster than zebras. Lions have a top speed of 50 mph and zebras have a top speed of 40 mph.
· Their black and white stripes are unique and are as distinctive as human fingerprints. Each stripe pattern is unique and different. Their stripes act as a heating and cooling element for their body.
· Flies don’t b
There was a lot of “screaming” on the farm this past week because it was “hair cut day” on the farm. All of our sheep, alpacas and llamas got sheared. Animals like being sheared about as much as you did when you got your “first haircut” as a child. For me personally, I hated getting a haircut as a child. The barber would always ask “how would you like it cut sonny”? I would always tell the barber “how I wanted it cut”. Then the tell-tale sign of the clippers being turned on…buzzzzzz….. ended any faith I had in old Mr. Barber listening to me. Up until I was in high school, it was always the same, a clipper cut shaved to the quick, regardless of what I told him. For our animals, they get laid down on a mat, they are restrained and stretched out, “and also shaved to the quick”. They don’t like it either and scream the entire process. I am sure when the summer heat gets to 100% humidity this summer they will thank me. For now they are mad and won’t come anywhere near me.
What a week it's been. When Serenity took in a Hedgehog I knew nothing about these cool little animals except they are illegal to have in some states. Most of the knowledge I have learned about animals came from my first hand experience and trial and error. I've tried and oh have i ever errored during my years of dealing with animals. Now when Milo the hedgehog arrived I already had a nifty cage that fit all his needs. As for food, I tried several things over the first few weeks. I discovered that baby food and moist cat food were his favorites. I also discovered that they do better in tree bark shavings instead of cedar shavings. So I added bark shavings to my list of monthly supplies to get from the local pet store. I like to visit the pet store in person instead of ordering online. On my last visit the little salesgirl just had to ask "what animal I was getting the bark for"? I happily told her about Mr. Milo the hedgehog. Looking back, this is where I messed up - by telling her all about the hedgehog. She asked if he had a wheel to play in? A wheel I asked? She proceeded to tell me how hedgehogs like to exercise and run on a wheel. I said no and in the same breath asked where do you get one? She escorted me to aisle 15 and showed me the wheels. They are solid plastic wheels mounted on a base and not like the wired ones hamsters use. So I bought a hedgehog wheel and headed home. Now you ask why is that plastic wheel currently lying outside in the grass by the dog pens? Let me tell you. See hedgehogs love to run on a wheel. I put the wheel in little Milo's cage and off to the races Milo ran. Since they are nocturnal, Milo ran at night. He ran and ran and ran on the wheel all night. What no one told me is hedgehogs like to "duke" while running on a wheel. A lot. They "duke" and keep running. When I say they "duke" on the wheel does not do the description justice. It's like they try and repaint the wheel and cage in "duke". Running spins the wheel round and round. "
Have you ever had "one of those days" where the unexpected happens and catches you off guard? Well I just had one. I casually walked into the kangaroo pen to give him a treat, like I have done, numerous times before. However, on this day Mr. Cassidy was having no part of it. As I approached he stood up, jumped forward, and boxed me in the face and quickly retreated. I have never been boxed or accosted by a kangaroo before (there is always a first time for everything). Luckily, I was not hurt, only taken back by the big marsupials actions. I will say that my jaw stung for several minutes. My jaw could easily have been broken, like the golfers I once heard about in Australia. On the way home from golfing all day their car hit a kangaroo, when it leapt out in front of their car. They got out and thought he was dead. They decided (stupidly) to get a few pictures of him. So they stood him up, put a green suit jacket on him, a hat, and posed for pictures with their arms around it. I think alcohol was involved. How well did that go you ask? Not too well After a few minutes of picture taking the kangaroo came back to life. Seems it was not dead after all, but was only knocked unconscious. It immediately started to box with the guys, breaking one of the guys jaw in several places before quickly hopping away. Then they realized they could not drive their car home, because their car keys were in the green suit coat pocket that the kangaroo was still wearing. They had to walk several miles for help. Everyone made fun of them until sightings came in for weeks of a kangaroo hopping around wearing a green suit coat. At least I still had my car keys in my pocket and my jaw was not broken. Turn sound on to watch video.
Last week we were literally overcome with flooding conditions and numerous animals who, at that exact point in time, decided to take an early fall vacation. Blame it on mother nature, a full moon or the earth's gravitational pull. Either way it was a memorable week for us, and one that I won't easily forget. Most of our animals that decided to take an early vacation or walk about did not go too far. The animals all chose different parts of the farm to spend their fall vacation. Some spent it on K12 our mountain, some spent it by wallowing in the creek, while others just visited the neighboring animals. Others were party goers who, had a ball, and tore up things around the feed barn and garage. They all end up at some point wandering into the woods to sample the local cuisine of roots, pine cones, leaves and grubs. An exception to that rule is the Emu. Emu's have a 6th sense that kicks in when they are NOT inside a fenced area. We call it the "stark raving mad syndrome". An Emu will run for miles thinking their own shadow is chasing them. Luckily, none of the Emus went on walk about or early fall vacation this last week. Cows, pigs, goats and sheep, on the other hand, just wander short distances. It doesn't take long until the thought of missing the Serenity food wagon kicks in their hunger button, with lots of daily fruits and vegetables, which usually entices them to come back home early, cutting their vacation short. Some animals on vacation just wander around and have a meet and greet with the other animals. More of a "look at me....I'm free...attitude” as they meander past animals still enclosed in fenced areas, just for no other reason than to tease them. Sometimes I have to go interrupt their vacation and walk them back to their pen. We call this, the "Walk of Shame" here on the farm. This is because they have to walk past the other animals to get back to their area. The other animals neigh, moo, bleat or baa at them as they walk past. If they could talk, I
How do you cool off a big bird? More precisely an 8 ft tall 300 lb Ostrich. We hose them down with a garden hose when the temperatures get above 90 degrees. All our our big birds (ostriches, emus and rheas) love getting cooled down with a garden hose. Did you know that ostriches, emus and rheas can swim? Ostriches do swim, though it is considered to be unusual behavior. An ostrich can keep afloat in the water and kick with its long legs to propel it through the water. Emus can swim if presented the opportunity and are actually quite good swimmers. The Greater Rhea bird is also a surprisingly good swimmer, with the ability to cross rivers.
Meet Ms. Milly, a "so called" 8 lb "mini-pig" that came to the farm a couple days ago as an owner surrender situation. Allegedly the owner paid high dollar for her. I won't get into the owner's situation but the pig had to go immediately. At Serenity, Ms. Milly adored one of our dog beds and played in it all evening (see short video). Several times she would spin around and fall out of it. She was having a ball playing in the dog bed. Yes, at 8 pounds she is as cute as a button. I enjoyed her when she followed me all around wagging her little tail, no matter where I went. She is housebroken and will follow simple commands. Pigs are really smart animals. However you feel about "mini pigs, I have to say, after dealing with several in the last few years, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A MINI PIG, TEA CUP OR MICRO PIG. These smallish animals are actually inbred, underfed potbellied pigs. When fed properly, a potbellied pig will grow up to be 100 pounds or larger! Yup, everything you've seen about micro pigs is just plain false advertising. We had Ms. Milly only 24 hours and truly fell in love with her. However, in her best interest, we adopted her out to some friends of ours that can give her the love, affection and attention she deserves as she grows into a regular pot bellied pig. Please quit buying these as pets and maybe people that profit off of starving a pig will quit selling them as cute mini pigs.
Let's talk Camel today. Camels are herbivores, which means they eat almost anything that requires photosynthesis to live. Our resident Camel Cedric, gets wheat, dates, hay, oats, vegetables, fruits, camelid pellets, fresh and dry grasses to maintain a healthy diet. As a treat he gets alfalfa pellets, carrots, beets and apples (with a few oranges and bananas mixed in). Today we learned Cedric likes lemons, yes the sour citrus fruit. He leaned over and started eating some we had in a bucket for the chickens. So we started hand feeding the lemons out of the bucket. I waited for him to make a funny face but he never did. He apparently enjoyed them since he wanted more. Camels generally do not eat citrus fruit like oranges and lemons, because they are herbivores, and prefer eating grasses, plants, bushes, and shrubs. However not our gentle giant Cedric, who loves citrus fruit. Camels graze/browse and eat almost all day to store food in their humps (not water). They have three stomachs, and can eat rough forage, including thorny bushes. An exceptionally thirsty Camel can drink up to 50 gallons of water in a matter of minutes. A Camel can eat up to 45 lbs of food a day. Cedric is a magnificent animal who is a gentle giant creature, and is one of our favorite animals on the farm.
We re-bed all our animal houses before each cold weather snap with straw or hay. Most animal houses, like the goats for example, we have to physically carry the hay into the house and spread it out. Ever wonder how we re-bed the hay in all of our "pig" houses? We let the pigs do it. We just throw hay into the pen and the pigs take it from there. Our farm pigs are trained to pick up the hay or straw, carry it to their house, and spread it around. Watch the video of Arnold, a red waddle boar pig, re-bedding his house. He scoups up a mouth full of hay and trots off to his house to spread it around. This saves us lots of time in cold weather. This brings up the question how smart are pigs? Pigs are believed to be one of most intelligent animals, following #1 chimps, #2 dolphins, and #3 elephants. Pigs are the 4th smartest animal in the world. Pigs are even more intelligent than any other domestic animal, including your dog or cat. Experts even say pigs are easier to train than a dog or cat. Imagine that the next time you try to train your dog to sit or roll over, that you could train a pig to do it quicker and easier.
