Facilitating Interactive Exhibits - Red s Hobby Farm Petting Corral Protocols Goal: To insure the safety of the hobby farm animals and all visitors in the corral. In addition to interpret educational material regarding the exhibit and its animals. Use animal names at the barn. Farmers are very familiar with their animals and will often call them by their names. Please do this while at the barn. Later in this document, you are given a picture guide to the animals currently at the barn as of April 2014. Duties when working anywhere at Red s Hobby Farm 1. Interacting with guests: a. If there aren t too many people in the area where you are responsible, be sure to interact often with visitors. b. Welcome them to the hobby farm. Encourage them to observe and interact appropriately with the animals. c. Don t just stand back and watch. Make yourself available to them in an inviting manner. Be available to answer questions. 2. Be sure to observe animal/visitor interactions. a. Visitors are allowed to touch free roaming chickens as long as the chicken lets them. They can't pick them up or chase them. 3. Fill hand sanitizers as needed sanitizer is stored just inside the door to the upstairs barn on a shelf. 4. When the animals are being shifted between barn and corral~1:30 each day: The area inside the barn is the rest area for the barn animals. By having the lower barn as the rest area, we are able to provide visitors with another potential interaction and close-up viewing area while also providing the animals with the rest area they need. The farm animals are divided into two groups. These groups spend half their day outside and half their day inside. They are shifted between the spaces at ~1:30 each day. While animals are being shifted between the corral and the inside of the lower barn, visitors are not allowed in the barn or the corral. It will be the duty of the interpreters in the barn area to engage with visitors about why they cannot be in these spaces while this is happening. The animals are often excited about going in or out of the barn. We don t want children to be in the way of the animals as they come in and/or out. 5. Make sure the station has a radio at the start of the day. The radio stays all day at the Barn. DO NOT place/hook radio onto fence areas in the exhibit! Always have the radio clipped to your pants. Please return radio to the office at the end of the day. Make sure radios are on charger, turned off, and charging (red light on). Duties if working in the Corral 1. The red barn keeper will have let the animals out into the corral earlier that morning. The gates for the corral will still have the locks on them but will not be locked. Remove the padlocks and store inside the barn. There is a place to hang them inside and to the left of the door with other padlocks. Please do not lock them. 2. Be sure to observe animal/visitor interactions.
a. Monitor for inappropriate visitor behavior (i.e. no food or drinks in corral, animals eating maps, must be wearing shoes, visitors riding animals, etc) b. Make sure visitors are not being rough with the animals. If they are, you should show them the proper way to interact with them. c. If an animal is misbehaving with visitors (biting, kicking, being aggressive, etc.), please intervene to eliminate visitor interaction with the animal, and then notify 900 Red Barn Keeper immediately using the radio. The keepers can help properly get the animal into a stall in the barn. 3. Grooming a. Encourage the appropriate use of brushes and show visitors the proper technique for brushing. This should be done from head to tail and not on an animal s face. b. Discourage dipping brushes in water to use on animals 4. Cleaning a. Remove fecal matter from the corral throughout your shift using the rakes and pans provided. There are little rakes that you can get out if you are comfortable asking kids to help you clean up. Once you ve raked fecal matter into a pan, place it in the compost container just inside the door leading from the corral into the barn. Please leave compost lid closed so chickens are discouraged from climbing in. b. Level sand/gravel as needed in the corral throughout corral duty c. Engage children; have them help you clean using appropriate sized tools 5. At the end of the day or if for some reason the corral closes early due to severe weather, be sure to lock both the outer entrance and exit doors with padlocks. The locks will be hanging just inside the barn doors to the left with the other padlocks for the area. They are the smaller padlocks. Duties if working inside the Barn 1. Be sure to observe animal/visitor interactions a. It is okay if visitors touch the animals but they should be aware that the stall is their rest space. b. Monitor for inappropriate behavior (i.e. no food or drinks given to the animals, animals eating maps, etc.) c. Make sure to monitor animals in stalls so they don t bite visitors d. Do not allow visitors to go up the stairs or out the back doors to behind Red Barn. Both areas are off-limits to visitors. Exhibit Information: Hobby Farm What is a hobby farm? A hobby farm is a farm that is operated not as the sole income for the operator/owner. In Michigan, many farms are hobby farms. In fact, over half of the farms in MI operate at a loss, rather than a profit. Most hobby farms are family farms, 85% of farms in MI are operated by a family or an individual. Many hobby farms have come about because they have been passed down from one generation to the next. Many smaller hobby farms have also come about because when a larger farm company comes in and buys up what used to be a large farm, they do not want the farmhouse and the barns. They often
just want the fields for crops and grazing. In these cases, they sell the structures enough acres to make a small farm. In MI, just about half of all farms are 5-50 acres. What kinds of animals are found on hobby farms? Hobby farms include many different types of animals. You name the livestock or the small animal breeds and they can often be found on a hobby farm goats, sheep, cows, alpacas, cattle, equine, pigs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, buffalo, rabbits, donkeys, mules. Hobby farms often specialize in smaller animals and rare breeds. These farms are where you can find the less common breeds of livestock, this can include bee farms. Why do people have a hobby farm? Hobby farmers have their farms for many reasons and income is usually not the primary one. Hobby farmers love being closer to nature, they like the hard work, they like seeing the product of their hard work and they love their animals. They sometimes just have the animals for companionship and the fact that they enjoy raising them. Raising animals on a farm bring us closer to the food we eat as well. When you raise an animal, you understand everything that goes into that process. The meat or plants you eat are not just found at the grocery store. They started with the birth of an animal or with the planting of a seed in the ground. Getting them from that point to your plate takes a lot of hard work and hobby farmers understand this. Many hobby farmers get food from the animals they raise on their hobby farm. Goats and cows provide milk, chickens provide eggs, etc. As the name suggests, hobby farms can also be used as a hobby, for instance bee keepers making honey to sell, or sales of alpaca fur for knitting. Exhibit Animal Information: Picture Guide to the animals of the Farm (as of April, 2014) (Note: Both male and female hoofed animals can have horns) Alpine/Nubian Goat: Russell: Born - 7 Apr 2005 Nubian Goat: Spot, Black with white spots Nubian Goat: Dobie, Black and tan Nubian Goat: No name, Blackish stripe down back
Nubian Goat: Snap (sister to snip) Nubian Goat: Snip (sister to snap) 1 horned surgically removed 1 horn is snipped at end Goat: Johnny, White w/ long fur Pygmy Goats: Born - 19 Apr 2007 Melvin, dark brown Simon, white
Theodore, light brown Anthony, black and white Katahdin Sheep: Born - 22 Mar 2003, brother and sister Primrose (short tail w/ freckles on nose) Bob Polypay Sheep: Brownie (brown), Benny (white with black freckles), May 2012
Dwarf Pygmy Goats (Will be transported to pygmy goat corral) Sugar (white), Saffron (reddish brown), Cagney & Lacy Fainting Goat: Arthur, 2011 Fainting Goat: Ringo, 2011 Chickens: Turkin, Polish, Silver Spangled Hamburg, Araucana/Americana, Cochin, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red Male Cochin: Fire Pants Female Araucana/Americana: Tony
Female Hamburg: Oreo Female Polish/Cochin mix: Nugget Turkin (NOT a mix between a turkey & chicken, but rather a breed of chicken with a long naked neck.) Buff Orpington Exhibit Animal Information: Katahdin sheep are a breed of hair sheep developed in the United States. The breed is ideal for pasture lambing and grass/forage based management systems. They have demonstrated wide adaptability. They were derived from breeds that originated in the Caribbean and British Islands and the state of Maine was their original home. Katahdins are docile so are easily handled. Weight of a mature ewe ranges from 120 to 160 pounds; a mature ram will weigh 180 to 250 pounds. Mature ewes usually have twins, occasionally producing triplets or quadruplets. The hair coat of the Katahdin varies in length and texture among individuals and can be any color or color combination. It generally consists of coarse outer hair fibers and an undercoat of fine wooly fibers that becomes very thick and longer if cold weather sets in and day length decreases. This undercoat and some hair naturally shed as temperature and day length increase seasonally, leaving a shorter, smooth summer coat. The Nubian goat is a goat breed, which is actually native to Middle East and North Africa. The Nubian breed is highly resilient, withstanding very hot climates and also temperatures down to -15 degree Celsius. The coat is short, fine and glossy, which gives a sleek look to the body. The coat can be of any color, spotted or parti-colored. They are much larger than the common dairy goats, and can be raised for both meat and milk. They are often considered as one the best goats for milking purposes.
Nubian goats have many distinctive characteristics, which help them to get easily recognized. Some distinguishing characteristics include large floppy ears and a Roman nose for the prominent and slightly curved bridge. The male Nubian goats are pretty large and can weigh up to about 175 lbs, while the females usually weigh around 135 lbs. The female Nubian goat or 'does' usually attains a height of 30 inches, while the male or the 'buck' can grow up to a height of almost 35 inches. Apart from meat and milk, Nubian goats can also be raised as pets. In fact, they can be considered as excellent pets, due to their good temperament. These goats are sociable, intelligent and won't bother you much, unless they need something. They can eat grains, grasses, alfalfa and clover hay along with lots of water, about 3 to 5 gallons of water daily. The Pygmy Goat is hardy, alert and animated, good-natured and gregarious; a docile, responsive pet, a cooperative provider of milk, and an ecologically effective browser. The Pygmy goat is an asset in a wide variety of settings, and can adapt to virtually all climates. Pygmy goats are precocious breeders, bearing one to four young every nine to twelve months after a five month gestation period. They are very sociable and are happier in a herd atmosphere or with another goat as a friend. A pygmy goat is a small breed of domestic goat. Although they produce a very large amount of milk for their size, and can be eaten, pygmy goats are not typically used for milk or meat, unlike larger dairy and meat goat breeds. The pygmy goat is quite hardy, an asset in a wide variety of settings, and can adapt to virtually all climates. A myotonic goat, otherwise known as the fainting goat, is a domestic goat whose muscles freeze for roughly 10 seconds when the goat feels panic. Though painless, this generally results in the animal collapsing on its side. The characteristic is caused by a hereditary genetic disorder called myotonia congenita. When startled, younger goats will stiffen and fall over. Older goats learn to spread their legs or lean against something when startled, and often they continue to run about in an awkward, stifflegged shuffle. Slightly smaller than standard breeds of the goat, fainting goats can weigh anywhere from 60 to 170 lb. Males, or bucks, as they are often referred to can be as heavy as 200 pounds. They have large, prominent eyes in high sockets. The eyes protrude from the eye sockets, as opposed to recessed eyes seen in other breeds. Their hair can be short or long, with certain individuals producing a great deal of cashmere during colder months. There appears to be no angora strain of the fainting goat. Common coat colors are black and white; however, most possible coat colors are found in this breed. Fainting goats have many other names, including Myotonic Goats, Tennessee (Meat) Goats, Nervous Goats, Stiff-leg Goats, Wooden-leg Goats, and Tennessee Fainting Goats. They are smaller and somewhat easier to care for and maintain than larger meat goat breeds, which makes the fainting goat desirable for smaller farms. They are also raised as pet or show animals as they can be friendly, intelligent, easy to keep, and amusing.