Families Go Wild! 14th April 2018

This week we did a full muck out of the rabbit enclosure by the office. It was a big job, but we had a lot of helpers on hand! The dirty straw had to be taken to an area in the donkey paddock, as the muck heap was full! This meant we got to say hi to the donkeys as well!

While we were mucking out, we took turns to sit and interact with the rabbits. We didn't want to pick them up, as this can cause them stress, so we waited for them to investigate and come to us. This was a lovely way to spend time with them, and get used to handling and caring for animals. We learned about what plants rabbits like to eat, and we foraged for them around the farm! We gave them chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris), saltbush (Atriplex halimus), dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) and cleavers (Galium aparine), or Goosegrass as it is sometimes called - a hint to which other animals enjoy this treat!

The rabbits enjoying their feast!

After we had tidied up our equipment, we had a meeting to discuss how we would like to treat each other, the animals, the plants, and the farm. We decided that we would put our hands up to speak, and we would take turns to put forward our suggestions. They were all written down, so that we can come back to them in future sessions and remind ourselves how we've decided to act with each other and the farm.

Take a look at some of the suggestions below!

Note from Ilana: Foraging is searching for food, which hasn't been cultivated. Some people call this wild food! When foraging, make sure you check with someone knowledgeable before you pick and eat anything! It's also important to only take a little of whatever you find. Leave the rest for local wildlife to enjoy.