What to bring?

[SkyStorm]

Not sure were this went So I put it here

Anyway, tomorrow myself and my mother are doing a spinning expo. It is suppose to be old farm townish. So she will mainly spin, I am handeling the animals. I am bringing 3 of my bunnies and my 12 day old baby chicks. It will be from about 5:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The man who is running it REALLY wants me to bring my farm animals down there, he would love it if I brought them, so I agreed.

I have set up a pretty big cage for them, what should I bring special for them? Also should I let people hold or pet them? I am worried about that because my little guys are runners/jumpers. In little kid hands they will surely jump and run off, and the older they get the faster they get. I also don't know if I want a bunch of strangers touching the chickens, I would hate for the chickens, or the people, to get sick. A couple of my chicks also like to peck at people when they are being held. Is it a good idea to let people hold them/pet them? I also will be helping with my other animals and spinning so I don't have the time to stand by there cage and wait for people to ask me to pet them. I am kind of freaking out because I just learned of this thing this morning and I don't know if I should bring anything besides food, water, and there little sleeping hut for the chicks.

 

[SkyStorm]

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[Stonerowfarm]

I would not under any circumstance allow anyone to handle the animals. Kids, although they may be well-meaning, could easily harm 12 day old chicks. As for the bunnies, again, I wouldn't allow anyone to handle them. If either the chicks or bunnies nipped at someone you could be opening yourself up for trouble. For the safety of your animals, primarily, you should have a look - no touch, demonstration. This will keep any cross contamination to a minimum as well as protect the animals.

I'm not sure what bunnies would need, but your chicks are going to need to be kept warm enough. I believe at 12 days they still need to be kept in the 80s with fresh food and water available, and a large enough area so if it is too warm/sunny/hot they can escape to a cooler place.

Good luck - it sounds like a real long day for all involved.

 

[bantybev]

I agree with Stonerowfarm...I would make sure the chicks have a hardware cloth, or screen covering. After what I saw at the farm stores this Spring during chick days I would never assume parents will teach their children the correct, gentle way to handle baby animals of any kind. Most of the parents weren't even watching their little stinkers. Kids were picking up, dropping and being way too rough with the chicks. I couldn't believe how some parents let their kids run wild, unattended at a store. Some of the kids didn't look over 3 years old and were practically falling in the bins trying to pick up the chicks. Some parents weren't anywhere near and even worse, some were just standing around watching the rough treatment without a word. Even with a handwashing station and large sign warning about washing hands before and after handling, no one was even using it.