summer camp small animals….

[jayne fine]

I work at a summer camp from June-August.  We have a small “Farm and Nature” area comprised of 2 pastures (1 for sheep and 1 for goats) as well as a medium sized shed/small barn that separates into 2 sections.  One of those sections has a small door that opens into an enclosed run.  This shed was just renovated last winter and was used to house chickens last summer but I’m thinking about trying to put it to a different use this summer.

I went to this camp as a kid so I have a lot of history with the place.  I’ve always wanted to tweak the way the farm and nature program was run and am hoping to take this summer as a chance to do this- namely to use it to educate kids about small animals and their care (instilling in them a sense of responsibility and respect when they’re young and hopefully preventing the 100 kids that attend from making impulse pet decisions over the course of their lives).  Historically the camp has housed rabbits outside in hutches and last summer we kept a camper’s guinea pig outside similarly.  This has been the main thing I’ve always wanted to change- I’m not an advocate of housing either of these species outside, but think they both still add to our program.

I’m thinking about turning the inner side of the shed (not the one leading outside, that would still be for chickens) into a small animal room.  This would allow for indoor housing safe from predators- to my memory the shed is built like a little house with a concrete floor and solid walls.  It’s not a typical chicken coop that a predator could break into.  The area typically stays between 50 and 80 degrees so its really not so different than an animal living in an un-air conditioned room in a home.  I also have access to freezers that I could use to freeze cold water bottles/ceramic tiles for the critters to lay on in the heat, and the kids and I can make little hides for them out of boxes/hay for colder nights.

My plan would be to dedicate at least 1 45 minute activity period a day to the small animals and then at least an hour of my off time every day for health checks, cage cleaning, and most importantly time for them to be playing without being bothered by kids.  The activity period would be them grazing outside on nice days or in our “Nature Barn” on rainy ones while kids pet them and give them treats and what not, the other out time would be for them to be on their own and I would be near bye watching them.  There would be no mixing of species or individuals that were not bonded.

I’m working on locating animals for that period and was wondering if you all had any suggestions.

I’ll at least be bringing my current rabbit with me and probably a second since I’m planning to get a boy to bond to her in late feb/early march.

I’d also like guinea pigs.  We had one last summer that was a kid’s pet that she brought with her.  It lived outside in a hutch in the sheep pen.  Obviously bad housing, but it was a great addition to program.

I think the ideal would be to find a shelter willing to let us rent/foster the animals, but I don’t know how much success I would have finding one.

Any input?

[drwil]

Rabbitwise and House Rabbit Society want volunteers to foster rabbits. That’s the place to start but they screen volunteers and facilities.

Don’t’t know much about guinea pigs other than they are very social. The Budapest zoo in Hungary has an enormous guinea pig village in its children’s section. You can Google pictures of it to get some ideas.

[Author]

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