Have a Happy Fourth of July

Small Animal Independence Day Safety

I am looking forward to spending my first fourth of July with my chickens, ducks and bunnies. I am excited to see how they respond to the sights, sounds and smells. So this got me thinking on how I should prepare my animals and make sure everything goes smoothly. Here is what I found:

1. Eating Garbage is Bad
   It might be a good idea to set up an exercise pen for your small animals as there will inevitably be tons of fun things for them to inspect, peck at and nibble on. Stray fireworks, wrapper, matches and who knows what will be left on the ground and all about. Unless you are a super crazy cleaner and think you can pick up every dangerous scrap before your chicken tries to attack the shiny on the ground - keep them confined to a debris free area.


2. Fourth of July = Smoke and Fumes
   Small animals need fresh air, oxygen, ventilation and not to be suffocated with smoke. Make sure your enclosure, pen, coop, is not down wind of your fire pit, firework show or grill.


3. Plenty of Shade
   I am praying for a hot and sunny Fourth of July so that I can play in the sun, get my tan on and enjoy grilling outside. Remember that small animals are sensitive to heat. Make sure they have plenty of shade and extra water. You don't want to have to check their water in the middle of your firework extravaganza. Also, although this might seem obvious, don't apply any sunscreen or bug repellent to any animal that is not specifically marked for that species.
    


4. Our Junk Food is Junk for Small Animals Too
   Avoid passing the left overs and scraps to your small animals. While it is cute to see them try new foods, chances are most of your holiday treats will not be good for them and might possibly be toxic. If in doubt, don't feed it to them! Remind your guests too :)


5. Fireworks are Loud
   This was my main concern when I first thought of fourth of July safety. When I was little we always brought our bunnies inside when there were fireworks or if we knew there was going to be a storm. I was always afraid of my bunnies dying of shock from the loud noises. From what I have read, most chickens don't seem to care. I am still going to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get too freaked out. I am also going to set off a few small fireworks before anyone arrives (and a little at a time over a few days before the fourth) to get them used to the sudden pops, whistles and bangs.
   *BUNNIES* Bunnies can get very stressed in new situations, which includes loud noises. I recommend bringing your bunnies inside, in a quiet room, away from the festivities. Put on music, or the television to create constant sound. This will give them something to associate the noise with and help them relax. While fireworks and thunderstorms don't often frighten bunnies to death they can die of shock if they get really stressed. Stress can cause a heart attack or gastrointestinal stasis which is a common cause of death in rabbits.

Pictures are Mandatory 
Finally, remember to take pictures. It is necessary, for everyone's happiness, that you take many cheesy Fourth of July pictures of your little critters dressed for the occasion. Here are some of ours, please share yours!

Spider - Always the first to join the fun!

Bromley lookin proud

She loves to perch and puff out her feathers with the good old American Pride! She was great about having the necklaces on but did peck at them a bit.

She sat up on the coop patiently while I took a million pictures of her. She really is such a sweetie. It is nice to have chickens you can do absolutely anything with. She made the task of rounding up the other chickens seem much harder.

I went ahead and let her down to explore and run around with the dogs while I took pictures of the other hens. She was super calm. She investigated a little but mostly just found her way back to the coop and looked longingly through the fence to get back in. 

Bromley and the dogs.

Helen.

Helen got real scary looking when I was dressing her up. She looks almost like a vulture or something.

Road Runner

The Brown Leghorns or as we call them "Road Runners" were hard to catch as usual. They kept jumping up on the edge of the fence to the run. I wouldn't trust them to come back if I let them free in the yard. I decided it would be best to hold them for picture time.

Meeko and Ayden - Easter Eggers

Seraphina - Easter Egger

Seraphina is usually really sweet but you can see she was given me a bit of an attitude. She didn't want anything to do with my props and tried to choke herself with the necklace. I had to dig it out of her feathers and get her claws off it in order to get it off. Then she just stared at the wall, away from the camera. What a brat! She sure knows how to give a dirty look.

Have a super fun and super safe Fourth of July! We will let you know how ours turns out!