My very first unusual pet was a fawn. I don’t remember much about it, but I do know that following an unfortunate hunting accident, Bambi warmed in a box by the fireplace in our living room one winter. It was cared for by my dad until it was transferred to a safe place to be reintroduced into the wild. That was the first of our many quirky, unusual pets.
4-H Lifelong Lessons from Cuddly Livestock
What followed throughout my childhood were bunnies and calves for 4H. Adorable cuddly babies and many valuable, many hilarious, and some also painful lifelong lessons learned along the way. Chickens, ducks, and geese too! All raised from hatchlings under heat lamps in porches, sheds, garages – and even kitchens when it got too cold outside. By the way – geese and roosters can be VERY mean! And note to self: don’t let mother ducks hatch and raise baby chicks unless you are prepared to intercede when the swimming lessons begin!
Quirky and Unusual Pet Adoptions
A city girl raising children in the country, my mom was afraid of horses. So we never had horses of our own. We did, however, adopt a wild burro (aka donkey once tamed) from the USDA BLM program where they rounded them up from Death Valley and trucked them to auctions across the west. We had to tame him and train him to walk on a halter and eventually to ride, which was quite an adventure.
FUN-FACT: Wild burros and horses continue to graze in Death Valley and other parts of the American West where they are considered invasive. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has placed nearly 290,000 wild horses and burros into private care since 1971. The adoption program still exists – you too can adopt a wild burro!
A Burro with a Big Personality
Did you know that burros can sit down? That is a very effective way to slide an unsuspecting bareback rider off, without hurting them. It’s more effective than running through the orchard and using low-hanging branches to brush the rider off! (I’m just saying.)
Our burro’s name was Shadow. Which was a perfect name because he would follow my sister and me around our farm. We carried carrots in our pockets for him and he was very persistent about reaching his nose over our shoulders or around our waists to find the pocket holding the carrot.
He would get so excited to see us that he would run across the field to us making that screeching bray that donkeys do when they see their people. It’s not much of “Hee Haw” any more than the sound that a pig makes is an “oink.” To this day, I still have a special affinity for donkeys.
We're Not the Only Ones with Unusual Pets
As they say, everything is connected. For me that is true. The quirky childhood pet adventures began with a rescued fawn, then the adoption of our burro with the big personality. And now in Shadow’s memory, our family farm hosts an animal sanctuary. It’s called Island Haven Animal Sanctuary and it is filled with unusual pets. Their niche is rescuing local farm animals whose owners can no longer care for them. Llamas, alpacas, horses, pigs, turkeys, goats, cows, chickens, ducks, and an occasional burro have been cared for at Island Haven.
Chickens in the Garage
While we don’t have a donkey in our suburban dining room, we do have several typical household pets – as well as a few less typical ones. During COVID, when it was challenging to do the traditional Easter Baskets, I got a brilliant idea to get baby chicks. We were stuck at home anyway, I justified. It seemed like a nice way to give the kids a unique experience. So we got 4 hens (lucky!) – yes they lived under heat lamps in our garage until they were big enough to be outside.
The COVID-era chicks joined many virtual classes with my kids. When other kids shared their dogs and cats, my kids shared their unusual pets: chickens!
And their coop is over the top! With predator eyes to protect them from our local coyotes; heating pads to keep them warm in winter; and fans to keep them cool in summer. They were pampered city chickens in their short lives – turns out they were modified to be raised for meat rather than pets.
They were very sweet, with special chirps that they used for each of us. They followed us around the yard as we gardened. Cackling up a storm when they found a particularly big (and delicious) bug or worm. And they made a huge racket if they saw a snake!
They joined many virtual classes with my kids. And the coop is over the top, with predator eyes to protect them from our local coyotes, heating pads to keep them warm in winter, and fans to keep them cool in summer. These were pampered city chickens, in their short lives – turns out they were modified to be raised for meat rather than pets. But they were really sweet.
They each had their own little chirps that they used for each of us. They would follow us around the yard as we weeded and gardened. They would cackle up a storm when they found a particularly big (and delicious) bug or worm. And they would make a racket if they saw a snake!
On trend with 45-60 million other US households, we also have two cats and a dog. Like Shadow, they have big personalities and they very much rule our household. They make us laugh and keep us from taking ourselves too seriously. Clearly, we talk to them too much, because they are VERY verbal, and demanding – but therapeutic too. If one of us is not feeling well, the cats have a way of knowing that and applying their “healing powers” of happy feet, purrs, and kisses.
Over-The-Top Home Items for Pampered Pet Chickens
Predator Eyes to protect your chicken coop from nighttime threats, like coyote, bear, weasels, mountain lions and raccoons (yes, we have all of those in our neighborhood, which is very exciting and scary if you are a chicken owner.) We place these on each corner of our chicken coop at large dog eye-level height. Unlike our neighbors, we’ve never lost a chicken to a predator.
Predator Eyes to protect your chicken coop from nighttime threats, like coyote, bear, weasels, mountain lions and raccoons (yes, we have all of those in our neighborhood, which is very exciting and scary if you are a chicken owner.) We place these on posts at large dog eye level from the ground at each corner of our chicken coop. Unlike our neighbors, we never lost a chicken to a predator.
Chicken Coop Warmer Wintertime luxury for the pampered chicken. Not sure they really need it, but when it is below freezing, we worry about our ladies’ comfort 🤭. Oh, and warm happy chickens lay eggs all winter! (with all the pampering expenses, our eggs probably cost us $100+ a dozen). Their water mustn’t freeze, so we have warmers both under the water and in their nesting area.
Chicken Coop Warmer Winter luxury for the pampered chicken. Not sure they really need it, but when it is below freezing, we worry about our ladies’ comfort 🤭. Oh, and warm happy chickens keep laying eggs all winter! (with all the pampering expenses, our eggs probably cost us $100 a dozen). Their water mustn’t freeze, so we had warmers both under the water and in their nesting area.
Chicken Coop Cooler Summer luxury for the pampered chicken. This one is solar powered, ours is electric and on a timer. Our ladies loved to stand, sit and roost in front of the fans on hot summer days, their feathers ruffled with cool air blowing through them. (I imagine it’s their version of riding in a convertible, roof-down, hair blowing in the wind… Don Henley playing on the radio).
Chicken Coop Cooler Summer luxury for the pampered chicken. This one is solar powered, ours is electric and on a timer. Our ladies loved to stand, sit and roost in front of the fans on hot summer days, their feathers all ruffled with cool air blowing through them. (I imagine it’s their version of riding in a convertible, roof-down, hair blowing in the wind… Don Henley playing on the radio).
Our Favorite Products for Our Cats and Dog
Litter Robot is very expensive and finicky about litter types. Looks like a mini cement truck, but SO WORTH IT. We’ve had two of these. The first worked for 5 years then broke. The second one is now 2 years old. We can leave for 3 days without leaving a backup litter box. For more than 3 days we leave a second box.
Litter Robot is very expensive. Looks like a mini cement truck, but SO WORTH IT. We’ve had two of these. The first worked for 5 years then broke. The second one is now 2 years old. We can leave for 3 days without leaving a backup litter box. For more than 3 days we leave a second box. It is finicky about litter types.
Tiki Cat canned Cat Food. When you open the can you can see fish meat (not grey ground goop). Our cats were on premium-grade organic dry kibble and were having health issues, teeth issues, being overweight, etc. Our veterinarian suggested we move to a human-grade canned food, we tried Tiki Cat and within 2 weeks their hair got softer and shinier. Within a couple of months, they were at an ideal weight and have maintained it for 10 years, with no more teeth cleaning or veterinary dentists pulling teeth. Now they only gain weight when we’ve been away for a weekend and have to leave kibble out for them (they gorge).
Tiki Cat canned Cat Food. When you open the can you can see fish meat (not grey ground goop). Our cats were on premium-grade organic dry kibble and were having health issues, teeth issues, being overweight, etc. Our veterinarian suggested we move to a human-grade canned food, we tried Tiki Cat and within 2 weeks their hair got softer and shinier. Within a couple of months, they were at an ideal weight and have maintained it for 10 years, with no more teeth cleaning or veterinary dentists pulling teeth. Now they only gain weight when we’ve been gone for a few days and have to leave kibble out for them (they gorge).
Flat Chicken. The only toy our dog plays with – loves. (his own unusual pet). We buy a case and give him one at a time. He goes through a surgical procedure each time – immediate tears off the red comb. Then he carries his chicken around for months. He sleeps with it. Eventually, he tears it apart. Then we give him a new one. It has a noise maker that only dogs can hear – which is fabulous!
Flat Chicken. The only toy our dog plays with – loves. We buy a case of them and give him one at a time. He goes through a surgical procedure each time – immediate tears off the red comb. Then he carries it around with him for months. He sleeps with it. Eventually, he tears it apart. Then we give him a new one. It has a noise maker that only dogs can hear – which is fabulous!
Read more about The Power of Pets: How Our Pets Make Our Lives Better.
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Christy, this warmed my heart. I love imagining your home (growing up and now) with a bambi, your burro Shadow, geese, roosters. And the photos of your family – love.
Wonderful insight Lindsay! You got me thinking and I realize every single one of my most heartwarming (and also hilarious) memories involve family, friends or pets.