Chickens are great - unless you're small and they're terrifying (well the roosters can be). Even when you're grown, they can still be intimidating. I'll never forget the time I house-sat for a couple for a week in Flagstaff. They had some chickens in a coop out back. She was showing me around, and she was explaining how I was to feed the chickens. She went around back of the coop, came back, and handed me the most FUCKED UP, splintered, beat all to hell and back and then again for good measure Baseball-type Bat. A Louisville Slugger. It looked like it had been used to clear a biker bar in hell. "You'll need this," she said, handing it to me. "Watch out for that rooster."
O_O
I'm still proud of myself that I went ahead and took the job.
/that rooster scared the SHIT out of me //forced me to be creative at feeding time tho, so he wouldn't get me ;)
BTW, I'm trying to write a story set in a wildlife sanctuary/rehabilitation center and I need to bug you for some details, if you don't mind.
1.) Around what era did enrichment become standard? 2.) If the sanctuary needed to hire a new employee because, say, there had been a vandalism problem and you needed nighttime security, how long would that take? Who would (generally) would decide and provide funding? Is there a board of directors? 3.) Would high-school age volunteers be allowed to work with animals, and if so what would they be doing? If not, might they be allowed to work in a non-animal-care capacity, doing maintenance or filing or something?
Feel free to tell me to piss off and read a book, or that my assumptions are all wrong.
1. It's not standard. I was the first one at my workplace (that I'm aware of) to say the word. I think it probably varies from place to place, as to how much enrichment is done. Probably less is done in a rehab center than in a permanent captive situation, since a rehab is essentially a hospital, and the animals' movements are necessarily restricted. Enrichment is standard in most zoos, and has been probably for fifteen years or more.
2. We're still waiting to have that kind of security at my place. The decision to hire someone new (or to contract security) would be made by the Sanctuary director. At my work security isn't considered important enough to devote resources to. At zoos, there are often night keepers, or night security.
3. We allow people as young as 16 to volunteer. A lot of rehab centers have high-school age volunteers, but they have to be very responsible and win over the rehabber to get the gig. Zoos routinely have high school age volunteers. All of our volunteers do the same thing: clean cages. Probably some rehab centers have volunteers do things like help feed nestlings or whatever.
Thanks, that's extremely helpful. Now I can move forward with the poltergeists and spontaneous human combustion in the full confidence that I'm not being implausible.
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O_O
I'm still proud of myself that I went ahead and took the job.
/that rooster scared the SHIT out of me
//forced me to be creative at feeding time tho, so he wouldn't get me ;)
no subject
BTW, I'm trying to write a story set in a wildlife sanctuary/rehabilitation center and I need to bug you for some details, if you don't mind.
1.) Around what era did enrichment become standard?
2.) If the sanctuary needed to hire a new employee because, say, there had been a vandalism problem and you needed nighttime security, how long would that take? Who would (generally) would decide and provide funding? Is there a board of directors?
3.) Would high-school age volunteers be allowed to work with animals, and if so what would they be doing? If not, might they be allowed to work in a non-animal-care capacity, doing maintenance or filing or something?
Feel free to tell me to piss off and read a book, or that my assumptions are all wrong.
no subject
2. We're still waiting to have that kind of security at my place. The decision to hire someone new (or to contract security) would be made by the Sanctuary director. At my work security isn't considered important enough to devote resources to. At zoos, there are often night keepers, or night security.
3. We allow people as young as 16 to volunteer. A lot of rehab centers have high-school age volunteers, but they have to be very responsible and win over the rehabber to get the gig. Zoos routinely have high school age volunteers. All of our volunteers do the same thing: clean cages. Probably some rehab centers have volunteers do things like help feed nestlings or whatever.
I hope this is helpful!
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no subject