Thursday, January 28, 2010

Urban Petting Zoo

Last week two of the kids started dreaming about pet bunnies. They asked if they could each buy a pet bunny if they paid for it with their own money. Dad said 'sure'. Liesel looked on Craigslist and found baby bunnies for sale. We called and made an arrangement to buy two of them.

Unbeknownst to us, the person selling the rabbits was a fellow Down Syndrome advocate, Reece's Rainbow supporter, and Oklahoman. She happened to be a blog follower and a facebook friend. How weird is that! Hello Qadoshyah! :)

Anyway, we came home with two cute baby bunnies. A couple of days later our Chesapeake Bay retriever mistook the open cage as an invitation to eat one of the babies. :(((((( The children were devastated, so John told us all to load up in the car and drove 4 crying children an hour and a half to get a replacement for him.

We ended up coming home with THREE more rabbits, plus a little goat. We didn't know the first thing about raising rabbits OR goats, just like we didn't know anything about raising little girls with Down Syndrome two years ago. :)

Act first, think later, that is our motto.

So with no further adieu I introduce you to.....
Bear, who apparently can't wait to bring more baby bunnies into the world.
Champagne, sweet laid back, who doesn't mind being held by even Hope
Flopsy, whose brother Peter was eaten by a dog just a few days ago


And Jack, Peter's replacement.

And Romeo was the extra bonus!! I never thought I would care for a goat, but he is the cutest thing! He is living in a dog crate in my house for the moment because we don't quite have the heart to put him in the barn in sub-freezing temperatures. He drinks 3 bottles a day and cries like a baby when he's not getting enough attention. He's hollering right now in fact.

Come on over to the Urban petting zoo!! Admission is free, and we'll even throw in a mug of hot chocolate!

18 comments:

Tilly Cat & Pip-Squeak said...

Goats RULE!!!!!! I've always wanted a goat... PLEASE share how he is doing and what is involved in looking after him in future posts!!! (Apparently I read somewhere that goats are as intelligent as dogs.)

And I used to have rabbits... They're great. You can litter train them very easily (you let them soil in their cage and then you can use some of that soiled sawdust/hay mixed in with clean one in litter trays, they always go back to the same place.

I so wish I could visit the petting zoo!

Larsen Family said...

We'll have to come over when the weather is nicer. Looks like fun!

Kristy said...

We want to come! Hec you should charge adm. help pay for all the animals food! I had goats as a kid I am pretty sure they're aren't suppose to be in the house Ava LOL! I just remember one thing they eat EVERYTHING!

Charissa said...

He does seem to be pretty smart! Reminds me a lot of a puppy actually. He wags his tail and follows you around. so cute! The people we bought him from said that goats can be housebroken, but that won't be happening around here! ha. He is inside only because he is a baby and it is so cold outside. Definitely not a long term situation!

Amy...who wanted 4. said...

My kids would LOVE your house! All we have is a dog. If i lived on a farm though, I would love to have lots of animals.
Your kids must be in heaven!

Gayla said...

adorable!!!

Leah Spring said...

Ohhh I love it! I used to raise dairy goats. They are so very smart, and just plain fun! How old is the kid? Has he already been castrated? If not, make sure he's done very soon or you'll discover the pleasantries of a buck! LOL

mom2four said...

You just surpassed me with farm animals!! You may want to look into getting another kid as goats are herd animals and do best with "friends". And I echo what the other person said.. I HIGHLY recommend castrating the kid as he could get very aggressive as ours buck did. The weather we had though was VERY gentle :)

Kelly said...

I LOVE GOATS! Never had one inside... LOL. My husband had a chicken inside when he was little. I wanted a pot bellied pig, but my husband nixed that idea [I thought that was just rude! ;)].

Too bad you are not closer, my kids LOVE animals.. ours or someone elses!

Beth said...

I'll be right over! Those bunnies are adorably relaxed! And Romeo is sure to cause some shenanigans in your household!

Deb D. said...

I want to be a kid again . . . and be your neighbor!

Anonymous said...

Aww I wanna come visit you guys !!!
-Heather

Qadoshyah said...

Aww, they all look so comfortable in their new home!

The picture of Ava bottling Romeo is adorable :)! Osiyyah LOVES playing with and bottling all the baby goats.

Mark and Wendy said...

I just found your blog through I-can't-remember-where, as I've been reading a lot of your old posts and have been here too long now!
BUT...we have operated by the motto of "the fastest way to learn is to is just start and figure it out as you go!" That said, we now have 7 goats, 13 chickens, and are in process to adopt from Ethiopia.
On a more serious note...have you addressed in your posts the questions to ask your agency/red flags to look for to suspect unethical practices? I have no such fears in regard to our agency, but don't want to be naive, either.
And if you need any goat advice, drop me a line. :) Glad to meet you!

Unknown said...

Hello Folks,
Its really a cute and adorable story...got to remind me of whisk(my pet rabbit).I wish Bear give birth to two new baby rabbits.Hope to hear about them the next time I visit this post.
baby rabbits for sale

Mark and Wendy said...

Hi, Charissa-
Sorry to take so long to reply. Not sure how old your goatie is, but by 2 weeks old they're ready to start nibbling at hay! Brome, timothy, or orchard are all good options. He will also need free-choice loose minerals and baking soda...beyond that they are pretty easy keepers! They love to have something to climb on, and trim his hooves when needed. But here's the best advice I can give you: Google "fiasco farms" and you will have all the goat info you'll ever need!
I'm hoping to get around to posting some more pics of our three goat kids...goats are just too much fun to watch!
Also a warning: Goats are like potato chips. You can't stop at just one. :)

Unknown said...

Thats great Charissa. We had a bunny for four years until she was murdered in the back yard by our neighbors dog. It was a day of weeping for the Lindsey kids. Will these bunnies be multiplying?

Unknown said...

I love the rabbit in the picture which was hold by your son. I cant even imagine to get a goat.
pet rabbits for sale