Memorable Moments from Visits To and From GEE Funny Farm

  

Lizzy, the bearded dragon



We pulled up to a preschool and started unloading animals.  As I took out Lizzy, the bearded dragon, children in the playground area called out:

“Hey, does that dragon have wings?”

I answered, “No, she doesn’t have wings.”
“Does it breathe fire?”
“No, sorry, she is just a plain ol’ bearded dragon.” I’m thinking to myself, “Wow!  I hope they aren’t disappointed!”
Then I pulled out Sariah, the goose.

Sariah the goose being pet,
even if she doesn't lay golden eggs.

“Does that goose lay golden eggs?”
I gulped, “No, she is just a plain old goose.  Wow!  You guys are going to be a tough audience!”
They laughed.  The teacher said, “Umm, we’ve been reading fairy tales.”
They were a great group and they liked Lizzy and Sariah, even if they were just plain ol’ animals.

 I start out each event asking, “Who here is an animal trainer?”  I let kids who raise their hand tell me which animal they trained and what they trained it to do.  I mentioned this to the USDA Inspector. 

“What is something they said they’ve trained?” 
“Well, one kid said he trained his pitbull to sit.”
“Tell them to teach their pitbulls “release!” she muttered.

 Other things kids have trained:

• A giraffe…to run.
• A dog to sit. (more than one has said this)
• A cat to use the litter box.
• A cat to stand up for a treat.
• A bird to talk when it is told to (I needed to meet with this trainer since I can't do that!)
• A train to go on the track.

We were at one event that had really been misrepresented to us.  There were too many people and we had too few helpers and our animals weren’t secure.  My assistant at the time was shocked to look over and see a child squeezing one of our chicks.  An adult was standing there watching and asked, “How many chicks do you lose at events like this?” My assistant grabbed the chick and put it into a traveling cage and snapped, “None!  We don’t do events like this!” (Well, I thought it was memorable.)

We were at a camp for kids with special needs and every time he pet an animal one young man sang out, “I did it!”  He was so excited about it.  It was fun!

We were at a preschool and one of the little boys was very afraid of the animals at first and didn’t want to stay.  By the time we left, he had pet all of them (early on I remembered the young man who sang out, “I did it” and suggested that this little boy say it, too, and he did, with a big grin) – that was a successful visit!

Gabriel

We have Gabriel, a Shetland wether (a male that has been neutered), and he has had multi-denominational experiences.  He has gone to one Christian church to give people an idea of what a lamb might look like that would be slaughtered as a Pascal lamb.  He stood out in the foyer and allowed people to pet his regal body and he went up on stage and stood regally, after he ‘marked’ his area with a few droppings.  Gabriel also showed up at a Jewish family’s home as the Pascal offering as a practical joke (we’d been promised that he would remain unscathed – which we already knew since in both cases he was NOT unblemished).  After we made that visit, the family walked us down to the Rabbi’s home where we surprised HIS family. 

We had a group at the farm and during the hayride we got StUcK!  Everyone had to get out of the hay wagon while David got the tractor out (luckily he was in his office and ran out to help).  All the moms and the kids were very good sports!!  They waited patiently and then reloaded when David was ready!  We are thankful for visitors (and people we visit) that go with the flow!!

The front duck is a runner duck.

We went to the birthday party of a 2-year-old.  We’d been told that he was an animal lover and it was no exaggeration!  He sat and petted animal after animal for over an hour.  His birthday gift?  A couple of ducks!  He made frequent visits to a neighbor’s where he had fallen for the runner ducks the neighbor had.

Another 2-year-old wasn’t very interested in the animals at his party, but one of the other little boys was ready to go with us and an even younger girl pet every animal much to the surprise of her mother!

We were at an event where there were chairs set up for the children with the plan for the adults to sit back at tables behind.  The organizer was shocked when adults sat in the first row!!  And once we went to an assisted living place.  The plan was for there to be three groups that would come out so it wouldn’t be crowded and everyone would have an opportunity to meet and pet the animals.  We were asked to set up in a patio area.  To our surprise, and the surprise of the organizer, EVERYONE came out at once.  It was very crowded, but the people were so excited and very patient as we made our way around walkers and wheelchairs and people with canes.  In spite of the crowd, it was fun! It just goes to show that people are never too young or too old to get involved with our animals!!

Why The Difference??

Spring is coming and bookings are coming in.  Sometimes people wonder why it is cheaper to come to the farm than for us to bring fewer animals to them.  Let’s pretend you have booked us for a birthday party a mere 30 miles away.  We’ll bring 5-7 small animals for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the interest of the participants.  Why does that make a difference?  Because when people get bored or distracted is when an accident might happen, so when interest is over, we pack up.

We put each animal into a crate or carrier.  Today we are bringing a bearded dragon in her plastic travel container, two parrots (which count as one animal since we use them to show why it is important to research parrots before you buy one) – each in his own acrylic travel carrier, a rabbit in his plastic travel carrier, a hedgehog in his bonding pouch, a short-tailed opossum his travel pouch,  a goose in her crate, a turkey in her crate, and our mini pig is in crate – that’s a bonus of an extra animal.  Besides the animals in their crates, we need water and water dishes or dispensers for each, a canopy for shade, a tarp, a barrier to keep people and animals separate except under supervision, a table if we bring the egg game and the eggs.  We need to bring antibacterial soap that can be used without water, and water for us (especially if it is hot).  Sometimes we need to provide benches, so we need to pack those.  We figure that it will take us an hour to 1-2 hours to get everyone and everything loaded and secured.

For most 30 mile treks, it takes 45 minutes to an hour one way.  We arrive, you pay us the balance (you’ve already paid a deposit to secure your date and time), and we unpack everyone.  We set up the canopy and the barriers, get the stand out for the parrots, put down the tarp for under the turkey and goose crates (they have wood chips in to absorb droppings, set up the canopy, if needed, and set up the egg game, if we bring it.  We figure that will take about 15 minutes.  So, before we’ve started, we’ve already put in 1.5-2 hours.

Then we do our favorite part – we present the animals and interact with the participants.  People ooh and aah when they touch the goose (she is very soft!).  They touch her feet and we talk about how they get feathers for featherbeds and pillows.  Participants ask questions about the hedgehog who may or may not be ‘soft’ as they touch him.  We talk about the difference in personalities in umbrella cockatoos and African grey parrots and everyone gets to see Asimov, the cockatoo, do some tricks, and then they get to pet him.  If people want a photo opp – it is often with Asimov.  And so on…. (most of the time 1 hour-1.5 hours).

Then, we pack up the truck, clean up the wood shavings that have fallen from the cages, put away the bird stand, the canopy, the barrier, the benches or table, etc.  We figure that takes 15 minutes and then we head home (45 minutes to 1 hour). 

Asimov, the umbrella cockatoo, being pet.

Once we are home we have to unpack everything and put the animals back into their habitats.  That takes about an hour.  So, at the end of the day, we’ve put in at least 5 hours to bring the entertainment to you and if you add large animals, it is at least 7 hours of work since we have to pack more, hook up a trailer, set-up a corral, take down the corral, clean up after larger animals (we put down a large tarp with the corral around it), etc.

If you come to the farm, we do have to set up our canopy (the county makes us take it down every day), so we have to set up benches and tables and gather the animals (7-10 animals big and small).  It takes us about 2 hours.  The presentation takes about 45 minutes-1.5 hours and then we have a hayride around the property if you’d like.  If you stay to have cake and party stuff, using our tables, we put animals away, so when you leave, all that is left is putting away benches and tables and taking down the canopy.  It takes us about an hour – so if you have partied for an hour, we have 4 hours invested and part of that was a break after putting away animals.  So, you can see why it is cheaper to come to the GEE Funny Farm!  Make an appointment today!!

Our canopy on the farm AND the screened tent for the birds and flying squirrel.  You can also see the edge of the corral where the larger animals are hanging out waiting to be presented.