Unusual Pets

Me and Calvin had a pond full of pet Ducks and Mud hens. The blue headed ducks (not sure what the correct species they were) and mud hens would be waiting for us at breakfast and dinner time. The mud hens were funny cause they would climb up the hill to see which would get the first serving of bread.

The mud hens would also follow me and Calvin if we were walking, or driving our Jeep along side of the pond. Till they all flew off sometime in late March early April.

They never even said good by or anything. Just flew off one day!

Calvin tried naming them, but there were too many of them. Plus they all looked alike so that made it more difficult.

Pops

Had a dwarfed Herford-Holstein mix. Buttons was given to us by a neighbor who had a dairy farm. I guess they would breed the Herford Bull to the Holstein Heifers, for their first calf, so that the calf would be smaller, and cause less stress. Well, Buttons was smaller than most, and never got to be much more than about 4' tall. She was sweet, and was always looking for some treats of feed.
We also had some pigmy goats, which were always fun to watch.

We had a small farmette....horses, a couple of beef cattle, pigs, goats, chickens and ducks. All were pets, though the pigs did go into the freezer in the fall.

Now, when we go camping, we've got 8 dogs that go with us, so while that may not be as exotic as the cow, it's still turning some heads...LOL!!
All the dogs combined, don't way more than 40 lbs. and we can contain them with a 2' tall X-pen.:)

Had a Pet Rock too:) Had to get rid of it, as it was always getting stoned:B

I had a nice pet rock once. It ran off with a bunch of marbles.. I bet no good came of that!

Had a pot-bellied pig that traveled with us in the RV for about 9 years. She was smart and would sit, stay, etc etc.
If you had a treat and said "go around" she would keep circling you until you have her the treat. Loved to go for walks on her leash.

Unfortunately she got arthritis so bad we had to let her go.

Had lots of folks at campgrounds that would remember "Chelsea" but no our names. Was always good for a laugh.

We had a pet albino skunk, used a litter box like a cat. Not at all cuddly though. The poor guy went through many foster homes.

The summer I was sixteen, a farmer friend plowing a field accidentally ran over a jackrabbit nest.He brought the surviving baby home and I begged my folks to let me keep it. My dad (always a sucker for fuzzies) built Topper a nice cage. I bottlefed the little guy and then when he was old enough, fed him carrot tops and dog food. He had the most gorgeous big, brown eyes and his fur with its black and brown ticking was sooo soft. He could kick like a mule, though! As much as I loved that rabbit,he never really tamed. I felt really sad when I watched him stare off into the distance from inside his cage. When he was a few months old I called Animal Control for suggestions and found an Animal Control officer who turned Topper loose way out in the country with another rescued jackrabbit. I hope Topper never saw a human and thought "food." I sort of doubt it, though, because he was so wild. I enjoyed the time I spent with him and I hope he and the other rescued jackrabbit lived a happy life running free.

The first of my farm pets was Rudolpha.

She was mostly guernsey. 7 year old me found her. It was the last day of school and I ran out to the barn to see if Patsy had had her calf yet. Yep, all wet and looking like a fawn, even if not on her feet. Of course, I watched Mom turn around and start to wash. Of course, I got into the middle of it.

& I named her. As Rudolpha grew into an adult heifer, I wrestled with her. I was told, be careful. Do that from outside the pen. So, I did, reaching over the pen boards I'd grab her horns and we'd wrestle.

End of story, it turned out that Rudolpha's milk was very rich in cream. My permission was sought to sell her. The word of her special creamyness had got around and she went to a dairy that sold cream on its own.

:B

We boarded a horse that loved for my sister and me to ride him. If my dad or older brother got on she would pay no attention to where they wanted her to go, but would go right to the barnyard and buck them into the manure pile. But if one of them got on and we put my little brother up with them, the horse was perfectly contented to take them on a nice ride. We could never figure it out, it was not about size because the weights were about the same.

My dad had a trained pet pig. Kept him small. He would come on command, heel, sit, stay, beg. Chase the dogs and cats off the porch.
Smarter than most dogs. Died of old age.

Grandpa had a huge Charlet Bull that would not let you walk past without giving him a sugar cube. He would block your path and nudge you. No sugar cube another nudge......still no cube he would step on your foot. Just enough so you couldn't pull it away.
Better have a sugar cube!

We raised farm animals....4H but none were named or thought of as pets.

Couple guys in high school had odd pets.
One found a very young skunk.....nursed it. Had the glands removed BUT it still smelled like a skunk. Acted like a cat.
The other guy had a spider monkey.....it was nasty!!! Not having much luck with the girls after they were 'blessed' my the monkey he got rid of it.