Baby animals need tender loving care, just like children, and that’s something Indian Ladder Farms is trying to show with Baby Animal Days, which takes place through Sunday, May 23. Families or school groups spend time in the barn learning about proper care of baby farm animals, gently touching them or taking pictures with them. Then they can head over to the learning center attached to the store for demonstrations involving bees, wool and other aspects of animal care.
The important reason we do it is to expose children to natural farm animals because there are a lot of opportunities for children to go and visit zoo animals or exotic ones, but this is one of the few places they can see regular farm animals, said Cecilia Soloviev, retail manager. `Kids aren’t really sure if a chicken takes milk, or anything about farm animals, so this is a way for city kids who don’t see animals on regular basis to learn.`
Soloviev gives barn tours and demonstrations during the monthlong event. Her hope, she said, is to help young children ` and even their parents ` gain an appreciation for what a farm animal does and why they’re so important.
`When we appreciate what a farm animal does for us, we start to appreciate why it’s important to take care of them and why what farmers are doing for us are important,` said Soloviev. `People lose track of where our food is coming from and forget it’s important for all of us to work together. Milk doesn’t come from a truck; it comes from a cow. Animals are important in a bigger picture of the world.`
Soloviev knows firsthand how important farm animals are to making the world go ’round. She grew up on a farm in California and in addition to everyday farm work and animal care, she formed a special bond with them.
`I once had a baby goat that was, like, my most favorite goat and it was really sick, so I had to sleep with it to make sure it was OK all night. That’s the extent that I feel for animals,` said Soloviev. `No matter what attitude I come to work with, by the time I’m finished working with them, even if it’s freezing or hot, I’m relaxed, happy, calm and everything is right with the world. It’s a way of touching the Earth and realizing our place within it.`
When the baby animals arrive for their monthlong stay, Soloviev tries to gather a mix ` goats, sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys and rabbits. She also does a demonstration with the farm’s observation bee hive to show where honey comes from and why bees aren’t something to be afraid of but something we need.
`A part of them really opens up when they touch and interact with the animals,` said Soloviev.
When Baby Animal Days wrap up at the end of May, another chance to learn about life on a farm and animal care will start up in the summer. Barn School Day Camps, specifically the program called Life on the Farm in the 1800s, teaches home skills that were required for farm life centuries ago.
`On the last day we dress up in period costumes and do all of our chores and activities in dress up. These are great programs that help to teach forgotten skills to a new generation of young people,` said Soloviev.
The farm is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is $5 per child for Baby Animal Days.
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