proved my point :-D **neww picsss**

[stumble_n_mumble]

thanks everyone for leaving a lot of positive feedback! its great to read. i should have new pics around friday or so, so check back in!!

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

heres some pics i promised! more to come

the cutest chick. its a black and white cochin:

the littlest chick outta the bunch. its a white japanese bantam:

some of the new crew: about 20 more hatched after taking the pic lol:

 

[Suellyn]

Congratulations on your success.... and they are adorable!!

I have been a Zookeeper in a major AZA accredited zoo for 18+ yrs, altho I am taking a couple yrs off right now to be home for my 2 little girls. And you are right, it is an absolute DREAM JOB as far as I am concerned, too!!

I have worked with/trained numerous interns, students, "newbie keepers", etc., and it is always refreshing (& valuable!) to embrace the personal knowledge & areas of interest that they bring to the position.

I worked mainly in the Mammal Department, and have done everything from training a diabetic mandrill to accept insulin injections, to hand raising orphaned lions, to vaccinating gorillas, to assisting giraffes give birth, to making the heartbreaking call that "it's time" to euthanize a beloved, but terribly ailing, animal under my care... I could go on & on...

However, one of the COOLEST things about this career, is that YOU WILL NEVER KNOW IT ALL. There are just too many species, and too many "variables", and too many unknowns for ANYONE to claim that they have learned all there is to know.

That is why it is SOOOOOO important (for the sake of the little lives entrusted to us), to be careful about labeling others as "uneducated", or put someone down because you know something that they don't. Any Zookeeper worth his/her salt knows SOMETHING that nobody else does... and will go far in improving the field if they learn how to present this important knowledge in a positive, non-insulting way. To do otherwise will will only alienate your co-workers, curators, etc., and ensure that all of your potentially valuable input will not be heard, or effective.

I commend you for your ability to correct the "incubation situation", but please think twice about how you are labeling your valuable co-workers, and please stay open to the knowledge that I'm sure they have.

Hey, I could be - and have BEEN - published on innovations in multiple aspects of behavior management, exotic animal husbandry, environmental enrichment, various research projects, etc., etc., but I had to read & read until my EYES CROSSED when I went to incubate my first batch of eggs less than a year ago!!!

All the best in your new & wonderful career... it really IS the best... and I have met almost as many wonderful PEOPLE as I have animals....!!!!!

 

[walkswithdog]

Suellyn, you hit the nail on the head. I almost stayed with Zookeeping and it would have rocked as a life long career.

I wandered into everything dog shortly there afterward and well, went to the dogs, grooming, showing then training/rescue/rehabilitation. Now farming, in my retirement.

Most good Zookeepers do have a wealth of knowledge much of it totally unique and irreplaceable. I have written small locally published handouts and books for people, even tweaked them toward their individual situations, I've been copied and printed in breed club letters, and been paid for consulting on behavioral issues.

And I still had to read EVERYTHING written on incubation last year when I started it. I knew broodies from my childhood and care from then too, but electrical incubation my Great Grandmother hadn't ever done, so I didn't know how.

Everyone has things that they know and things they can still learn. And especially where lives are in human care, in a zoo or on a farm, it's important to share and learn, from each person's strengths. The people I have met who "know it all" stopped thinking and learning a LONG time ago.

 

[SunnyChic]

Woo-Hoo, that's awesome! Good Luck with the rest of the hatches!