June 23, 2003

Agricultural Emissions Up Close Today

Today we took Aidie to the farm park at Cwmbran. We had taken him a while back, but he was less mobile then and spent most of the time in the pram. This time, it was hard enough keeping him on his reins. He tried to climb in with the baby guinea pigs and little ducklings. He chased the chickens. He was interested in the two white male bunnies that were segregated from the rest of the population, but they seemed more interested in each other in a rather perverted way. It was a bit of an unpleasant sight.

In the dairy animal barn, it took a while, but he got the courage to feed the sheep and goats. You would think they hadn't had a meal in days. Anytime someone walked next to their pens, they all crammed up next to the fence, forcing each other out of the way for the chance at green pellets. They would head-butt, climb up the railing, anything to get an avantageous position.

They were all supposed to be in their pens, but a little goat trotted up on his own and followed us up and down the barn like a puppy. He climbed up on each of us, looking for a little attention. I contacted staff thinking the kid needed to be re-penned, but I was assured that sometimes they get out and this is no cause for alarm. Eventually the kid had a friend, but the new goat wasn't as extroverted. He wasn't as interested in Aidie grabbing and hugging him.

On the way out, we made one last trip to the rooms with the guinea pigs. I had never seen pre-weaned cavies. They were tiny and really funny. Perhaps when we get piggies again, we will get a breeding pair.

Posted by david at June 23, 2003 10:37 PM
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