January 4, 2021 Monday at Rikki’s Refuge, National Trivia Day
all in a day’s work …. photos by those caring for the animals
(you can help support those animals at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate )

Good Morning Hooman – about time you’re here – we’re ready for breakfast

HURRY IT UP ….

Let’s get those thumbs snapping …… we’ve got the cans ready …

LOOK! Right here … OPEN this one ……

Did YOU know that January 4th is National Trivia Day ? So let’s play !!

Can you name one of Life Centers Longest Residents ?

How about a clue? She’s know to be a little bipolar, or one of those we call a psycho kitty. She might be friendly, or she might be luring YOU in for a taste of your blood! Psycho kitties turn on a dime from ohh I love you, pat me some more, snuggle me, love me more ….. to CHOMP and very often CHOMP … CHOMP … CHOMP … CHOMP … and now you have 16 painful puncture wounds.

Psycho kitties are challenging. They entice you to come close and scratch their ears, or their belly. We know something has happened to make them like this, we just don’t know what. They so obviously want love and affection, and they seem to be enjoying it, yet turn and attack as if they fear you can’t be trusted and will hurt them. So they get you first.

Psycho kitties just pull at our hearts so. We want to let them know we will never hurt them. We want to earn their trust. We want to see them happy and secure always. We try to learn when to pull away just before they flip and chomp. We get pretty good at it. Bet we still lose blood on occasion.

Over time these kitties do mellow out with us. So instead of bleeding several times a day, it may be only once a month, or every few months. But every time we get a little to brave …. they put us in our place and show who is really ruling the show.

So did you guess who? It’s Riley !!!

Two goats and a unicorn

Yes, unicorns are real. Though Milo, our resident unicorn, was born a goat. Do you know how he became a unicorn?

If you follow Rikki’s Refuge I bet you do ! You can follow us at
www.facebook.com/RikkisRefuge or
www.RikkisRefuge.org
If YOU follow us, you’ll learn all about the animals, the events, and what we’re up to !!!

So how’d Milo get to b a Unicorn? Well it’s a sad story. Lots of people don’t want their goats to have horns. The horns sure are cute. BUTT goats like to use those horns to BUTT . If you bend over, the see a target and just can’t resist !! Some love to run up from behind you and BUTT your knees. And WHOOOF your knees give out and you go down !!! They love to BUTT gates, doors, cars … oh cars are so much fun … shiny and reflective !!! Never give a goat a mirror …. they’d instantly be destined to 7 years bad luck !!!

And so a lot of hoomans do things to bet rid of horns on goats. Things like putting acid on the little horn buds when they’re babies, or trying to dig out the horn bud. Some time the goat dies because that horn bud goes down to the skull and if you crack that and an infection gets in …… Hoomans have come up with awful things to do to animals to alter them to their likin, and often with no regard for pain the animal feels or anything.

And somebody did that to Milo before he came to live with us. ICK. He was very young still. He had very tiny horns an inch or so long, maybe 2, and they weren’t right, all twisty and porous and one was pretty soft. We’d never seen that in a goat before. It was our goat doc who told us what had caused that. We were kind of glad that was it, cus we’d worried it was some kind of deficiency that would also affect his bones and they’d break easy too.

Being a goat, Milo did what goats do. BUTT BUTT BUTT … Young goat have to get in a lot of practice to perfect those BUTTs !!! And one day, while BUTTing his head on the side of the 9th Life Assisted Living, Retirement and Psychiatric Building, the little deformed horns broke off and his head started to bleed real bad. We were really worried. The goat doc said keep it clean, use antibiotic ointment, and they may never grow back. Well one didn’t. But the other grew in just fine and strong and normal.

And so Milo is a Unicorn !!!

What kind of babies are these?

Nope! Not chickens … not ducks … not geese …. and not song birds !!!

These are newly hatched Guinea Fowl !!

These are adult Guineas.

Guineas are really nice birds. They’re wilder than chickens. They like to sleep in trees. Most hate to have to go into a house and won’t except on very very cold nights or if it’s sleeting. Guineas group together and can really scream up a storm. People like them for guard birds. Nobody sneaks past a Guinea !! If they don’t know you they all come running and sound the alarm.

They are also very peaceful birds and object to anyone fighting. And they put their lives at risk to stop it. They will jump into a dog fight, two goats head butting (you wonder where the term butthead comes from? Yup, one who stands there beating their own head against a wall!), or cats fighting. They jump in and stop a rooster going after a hen. And they protect songbirds.

Once upon a time a very naughty cat jumped up and caught a bird, right there in the front yard. Before I could run to try and save it, the guineas swarmed in screaming, they chased the cat down, surrounded it, all screaming, and a couple going in to peck and flap (birds will beat you with their wings) the cat. Finally the cat dropped the bird and fled. The guineas then surrounded the bird and sat quietly around in a circle until the bird felt better and got up, walked around a little, and flew away.

Then the guineas went back to hunting bugs in the grass.

Ohhhh and one of the guineas’ favorite foods? Ticks !!! YES !!!! They can really keep an area tick free !!!! But if you get them for tic control, be ready for all the loud calling and alerting !!! Something different and they all GOOHHHAAAAKKKK loudly until they are sure the danger is over. And they call to each other when the find a bunch of something good to eat. IIIIIGOOOOOOOHIIIITTTTT come over here and get some.

Why does Rikki’s have Guineas? Cuz silly hoomans get them without knowing heir nature and then can’t stand the loud screaming all the time. And so they come to Rikki’s !!!! Where we appreciate heir unique voices and their watch dog … I mean bird … behavior and their peace keeping among all the residents.

Why do so many geese end up at Rikki’s Refuge?

Cus they had no other safe place to go. Usually it’s their HONKING that hoomans don’t like, so they get rid of them. And if their talking doesn’t do them in, those silly birds actually poop, and that upsets hoomans too.

Some hoomans want to raise them as hooman food. We don’t like that idea. But it happens. Several years ago, several counties away, someone had set up a home breeding and butchering project. They had pretty small enclosures and were breeding geese and ducks and butchering the ones people came to buy. Neighbors kept complaining about it. And the county came to check it out, and then animal control came, and they said no, no, no …. you’re not zoned to run a butcher place, and these enclosures are small and filthy and you’re in trouble for doing this.

So the hooman disappeared and left the birds there, no food or water. A neighbor started helping them and called animal control again and rescue was authorized. I have some volunteers who can tell you amazing stories of packing up crates and carriers in many vehicles, heading out at daybreak, chasing and catching birds all day, falling in the mud (and poop), catching birds mid flight trying to escape and more !!!!

They arrived nearing dark one night with their vehicles full of hungry tired and frightened birds. We were most the night getting them all set up and checked out. Since it was an unexpected venture, we had no place for the birds to live. So we closed the Day Runs, the protected outdoor play area, of the 9th Life Assisted Living, Retirement and Psychiatric Building, and used anything we could find to make temporary nesting boxes.

The cats were NOT impressed, but they only had to put up with it for a few days before we had a new area built where the ducks and geese could quarantine and acclimate. Now most are free rangers, others live in aviaries.

How many hay bales do the cows go through each week?

And I don’t mean those little bales you can pick up and toss to them !!!! Those “little” bales that look so light and fluffy and only weigh 40-60 pounds each. I learned THAT the first day a truck full came to Rikki’s and we were unloading it. Right …. not going to be tossing these things around !!!

When you have big animals … and lots of big animals … buying little bales is very inefficient and the labor to haul them around would be crazy. It’d take a few just to fill up a cow. If you’ve never been around cows, you have no idea how big they really are. Our tallest are 7 feet at the shoulders. Not an animal you’re going to push around. So before you get in there with them, you better learn cow etiquette and how to work safely around them. Like NEVER turn your back. But that a story for another time.

So the hay bales we get are 4’ wide and 6’ around and weight between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds. Something you need the tractor to move around.

This hay bale is already more than half eaten.

So how many a WEEK? For the cows … just the cows. Don’t count the horses, sheep, goats or pigs in there. How many do you think the cows eat a week?

SIX !!!

And when we’re lucky we can get decent quality for $40 a bale. Market rate is $60 or more. And then you’re have to pick up, or have delivered …. this is why you see our crazy fundraiser for a whole bunch of hay at the beginning of winter. We have a wonderful farmer who sells them to us for $40 AND delivers for FREE.

So so so many wonderful people come together to make Rikki’s Refuge possible so the animals can have a home for LIFE !!!

Baaaahhhhh Baaahhhhh Black Sheep, Have You Any Wool?

Are our sheep black? Or White?
Most of ours have black faces and black legs and grow white wool !!!

And do they have wool?
You be they do, and to GROWS. Nature did not make sheep to just grow and grow wool without ever stopping. Have you ever seen any animal who’s hair doesn’t reach some length and then there’s no more? Or even any animal who is natural to a climate who does not shed out thick coats in the spring and grow it back in the winter? Of course not !!!! Cus God made them right !!! Made them for the best survival.

But hoomans changed that. They’ve breed “wool” sheep to never let go of their heavy warm “fur” no matter how hot it is. So they MUST be sheared every year so they don’t have heat exhaustion in the summer. “Meat” sheep, which I won’t discuss what they are breed for, do still shed out like normal natural animals. In the spring you’ll see their wool start to peel off in hunks.

So how much wool do we have to shear off every year?
Almost 50 big trash bags full !!!! But in more recent years we’ve found wonderful shearers who travels the USA shearing all spring and summer and fall. We now have a standing appointment for early May. They’re pros, a wife and husband team, who work an area at a time. Only one comes to us, sets up their professional equipment, including wool compressor !!!! Then they spend well less than three MINUTES a sheep !!! So little stress on the sheep, no injuries, Ohhh they’re the best shearers ever !!!

They can pack all that wool into one giant canvas bag.

Our wool is “dirty” cus we let out sheep live the lives they want to. They get to play in the woods, roll in the mud. And many have their tails. What? Yes if you’re farming for wool, you cut the tails off. WHY? Cus the poop gets matted in the fur/wool on the back end more with the tail there. So that warrants chopping off a body part, cus it’s icky to have to shear and the back end of the wool then sells for less cus it needs more cleaning. Oh well …. we’d rather have tails and less quality wool !!!! Wouldn’t YOU ?

We tried selling our wool a few times to make back the cost of shearing. In the very beginning we put it out for birds and wildlife. But they used very little, and we had to clean up wool from all over the refuge !!! What a mess !!! Live and learn !!! Then we bagged it up and volunteers took it to the wool market. But they got very little for it as it was cut off in hunks. Our first sheep, it took us three DAYS a sheep to shear !!!! We had hand clippers, had no idea how to hold them still, got kicked in the head, bit. Dang the How to Shear Your Sheep book said to quiet the sheep put your finger in their mouth behind the teeth. What it didn’t say was when you feel the gap there without teeth … watch out the big sharp chompers are BEHIND that gap and those things will crush your finger but good !!!!

But our pros shear the wool off in full pelts, roll properly, and bag. They don’t trip off the edges or do any cleaning, which would bring more money, but takes a lot of time. And they take out wool and sell it for us. It covers the cost of shearing !!! And in some years when the wool market is strong, we even get enough money back to feed the sheep a few days !!!

Can YOU guess Patrick’s and Preston’s favorite past time?

And we’re not talking about rolling in the mud or eating!! What else do they LOVE? And what do they get every day?

Back scratches and belly rubs !!! Pigs just love to rubbed and scratched. More even than your dog or cat does !! They especially love their armpits scratched, and if you start when they’re standing up, they’ll get an absolute blissful look on their face and flop over !!!!

This is a technique we use to calm then and keep them laying down for various vet work. Say you have an eye or ear infection and need drops. Or it’s shot time. Or the vet is here to trip hooves or tusks.

Breakfast at Feline Fields.
How many cans of cat food are on this tray?

The cans today are these. We’re not picky and neither are our cats. They’ll eat what ever you will send them !!

Six cans ! And each cat house will get at least four trays. And then there are the 9th Life cat and the Life Center cats and the Office cats, and the Free Range Cats.

Yup, it takes a LOT of food to feed almost 600 cats every day !!!

Thank you for your donations. Every day the nice mailhooman, UPS and FedEx come with packages for us. And usually it’s food!! This is what came today, and it will come close to getting us thru breakfast. But we still have dinner coming too !!!!!

Fancy Feast is for the old, the sick, the ones who just don’t thrive well. All hospital patients get Fancy Feast, and often the ones in quarantine need it too.

YOU can send food to the cats, or anybody, at
Rikki’s Refuge
10910 Barr Ln
Rapidan VA 22733

They’ll bring it right to our gate !!!!!

Right now the best price we can find is Chewy’s 9-Lives. Last time I checked Amazon was out.

BUT WAIT …. do THIS before you ever shop AMAZON again !!!
Sign up for Amazon Smile and choose LIFE UNLIMITED OF VIRGINIA INC (that’s us!) as your charity of choice. For every purchase you make afterwards, a donation will be sent to Rikki’s (at NO cost to you!). Just another easy way to help the animals of Rikki’s Refuge!
Just click: https://Smile.Amazon.com/ch/54-1911042

Do YOU know what helps us the most? If you sign up for an automatic shipment of cat food from Chewy or Amazon !! Just pick the day of the month or week you’d like to feed some kitties, and send a case or two !!!
Thank YOU !!!

Panda says, “How many pieces of Paws and Claws cat food are in my blue scoop?

There are 678 pieces !! Did YOU come close? And can you guess how many MORE scoops are needed to feed everybody? In addition to the canned food, we eat 80 pounds of dry cat food EVERY DAY !!!!

Fuzzy Wuzzy says, “I don’t trust YOUR count Panda, you only have 9 digits to count on. I’m going to eat each and every one and see if I get 678.”

Say HI to Ash, one of the kitties in our Feluk House. Can you guess how many feluk kitties share that house?

There are 21 kitties in Ash’s house. And they’re all happy and healthy even though they have the feline leukemia virus. It is contagious thru contact to other kitties (but only kitties), so they have their own house!! Their health can be more fragile, so they get vitamin C and L-Lysine and probiotics in their food every day to help keep them healthy. Many will live to die from old age, others may have organ failures or succumb from weaken immune systems. But all are very happy to be alive and to be loved during their natural lives !!!

Can YOU guess Goliath’s favorite snack?

I’ll give YOU a clue! It’s not your regular kitty food!!

Give up? It’s the lunch you forget to take out your car!!! Nobody eats alone at Rikki’s Refuge. Some days, there’s nothing left for the hoomans !!!

This is Ben, can YOU guess what makes him differently abled?

Don’t see anything? Want a clue? He just might not hear YOU when you walk in he Life Center for a visit. That’s because he’s deaf.

But somehow or other, he can hear a potato chip bag being opened from anywhere in the house

and that brings him running quick for a snack !!!

How many different species of animals are you likely to see hanging out together at Rikki’s Refuge ? Even I can’t answer that one !! They’re always mixing and mingling !!!

Everybody is HAPPY at Rikki’s Refuge.

With YOUR help we can save and provide life long homes to well over 1,000 animals each and every day !!!!

Thank YOU for making it all possible.

www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate

January 3, 2021 Sunday at Rikki’s Refuge
all in a day’s work …. photos by those caring for the animals.
(you can help support those animals at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate )

Sunrise …. I know some folks who say they’ve never seen one !!! At Rikki’s it means it’s getting light enough to work without your headlamp !!!

How do we decide who lives in a house and who lives in a barn?

We don’t. When ever possible (for their safety, the safety of others, and their health) we let them decide. Some kitties have always lived in barns and hat the thought of indoor confinement. Others have never been outside and the though of cold or wet of muddy paws is horrifying.   Some kitties are totally free range cus they come for breakfast and dinner and we can catch them if they have medical needs. Others have aviary like outdoor areas to play in and stay protected. And others stay strictly indoors. Though every indoor area has a kitty door to a day room which is protected outdoor space to get fresh air and play in the grass.

Our goal at Rikki’s is to give each critter the home they find the most ideal.

Just like some of us want to live in the country in no more than a shack but surrounded by nature, trees, looking up at the stars at night. And others want all the comforts and conveniences of city life on the 104th floor of a condo. Each find the other’s life horrifying. And so it is with non-hooman animals too !!!

Why do selfies at Rikki’s always have an animal in them too? Well …. if you work at Rikki’s you are always surrounded and often covered in animals !!!!

Why is it less painful to work at Rikki’s in the winter? Cus you’re wearing more padding. In a snow suit, it feels great when they sink the claws in and climb up to your shoulders. In summer pants, not so much. With a heavy jacket on, the claws that are sunk in to hang on are no problem. In a tshirt, OUCH !!!!

Fuzzy Wuzzy climbs round for her morning smooch.

Then settles in for a ride on the head. See the claws digging into the hat to hold on? In summer, there is no hat!!!   I once had a medical practitioner express concern about the little white “sunspots” on my shoulders and suggest I get checked by a dermatologist for skin cancer. Some of them were even raw or scabbed over! I burst out laughing and said that’s not cancer, that’s scars from all the cats who’ve ridden on my shoulders for years!!!   They next suggested I get checked out at the loony bin ……….       Some people just don’t get it !!!

Is that a Loch Ness Horse ?

Nawwww

Oink oink …….

Maaaaaa ……   the goats are always the mischievous ones !!!   If anyone can figure out how to get out of a fence, you can count on a goat !!!   The ones who promise not to roam off property, or far off into the woods, are granted free range. Those who need a fence for their protection, are encouraged to stay in them !!!

Coooooo Coooooo the singing of the pigeons and doves is so beautiful. They sing at sunrise and sunset.

 Pigeons? Do you go catch them in the city? No, they were generally homing pigeons or carrier pigeons or race pigeons.   People keep them for competitions. How far away can you drive your pigeon and it still find it’s way home? That doesn’t sound so nice, does it? Some never do find their way home. Some go to other homes asking for help. They usually get turned into the pound. Most have bands on their ankles so the owners can be contacted. Few want a pigeon back who got lost, after all, they lost.

Pigeons are also released at events and supposed to go home. Some people consider it good luck to release them at weddings. Wonder if anyone ever did the stats on that? How do marriages fair when the pigeon fails to find it’s way home?   These often end up on someone’s deck looking for food. They’ve never known non-captive life and have no idea how to find their own food. Take the wild out of an animal, and you have an animals that is dependant on humans for survival.

That is where Rikki’s comes in. An animal who’s dependant on humans, and no human wanting to be responsible for that animal for one reason or another. We will take care of them for life. And we don’t ask for any kind of performance out of them. We love them, just because they are who they are. Unconditional love.

Roosters? Why so many roosters?

Did you know that most roosters are killed shortly after hatching? Yup, nobody wants them. They sing so wonderfully. At sunrise, sunset, all day and all night. Anything catches their interest and they sing out that coooocckkkkkaaaaadooooodllllllldoooooo over and over …. they notice a new star, an airplane overhead ….   Lots of people don’t love hearing their voice at all hours. People want hens for eggs. Roosters have no purpose.

In most industries they aren’t even worth keeping alive till they’re big enough to eat. Not that we at Rikki’s think that is an appropriate thing to do with any animal. Egg layers have been breed to be egg layers and urn them out faster than a natural chicken would. And “broilers” and others have been breed to have giant chests (everybody wants a chicken breast right? But no silicone!) or huge thighs, for people to eat. Ugghhhh …..

You can learn more here if you wish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_culling

 

Ducks and Geese? How do they end up at Rikki’s?   Geese are noisy by some people’s standards. At Rikki’s we think their honking and talking is all a wonderful part of nature. And if they out talk the humans … oh well … they usually have more interesting things to say anyway !!!!   But their worse offense that makes people want rid of them? They poop. As if the people dumping them didn’t !!!   They sit around on your porch, they poop. They poop where they are. Not all animals have the sensory input to know when it’s coming and manage it. For some, when it’s time, well it’s just time and drops out. How can we blame them for the way God made them? So we get out the hose and clean up instead !!! That’s what hoomans are for !!! 

And peacocks? Yup, people think they are pretty. But gosh do they SCREAM. And that is how they talk. And they tend to wonder too. We’ve woken up to find a new peacock or two at our breakfast buffet. They usually stay. No idea where they come from. And never hear a report of a lost peacock either.

Their screams are very different for different things. The scream of a male to his woman sounds like HEEEEELPPPP in a very high pitched sound. When our first pair of peacocks hadn’t been with us long, I was in the shower one day, all alone at Rikki’s. I hear HEEEEELPPPP HEEEEELPPPP HEEEEELPPPP. I grabbed a towel, shampoo in my hair, and ran out. Nobody around. All silent. I went back to the shower.   HEEEEELPPPP HEEEEELPPPP HEEEEELPPPP.  Once again nobody answers me when I call, where are you, who’s here?

Sitting on the porch after getting the soap out of my eyes, I hear HEEEEELPPPP HEEEEELPPPP HEEEEELPPPP again. Mr Peacock was on the roof calling to Mrs Peacock on the ground. Finally she listened and joined him on the roof. If you live at Rikki’s, you know what the sounds are for “come here”, “I want food”, “I found food”, “I’m going to beat you up”, cus they are territorial !!!

We all know the stories of dogs and cats and why people “get rid of them”. Adorable big black puppy grows into an untrained, jump all over you, big black dog who’s lost his puppy cuteness.   At Rikki’s we think they are adorable al their lives. We especially love our old grey seniors !!!

And the hounds. If they are good for hunting, they lose their homes real quick. At Rikki’s we let you be YOU and don’t ask you to do our bidding or get booted.

And so everyone lives happily ever after at Rikki’s

With YOUR help we can save and provide life long homes to well over 1,000 animals each and every day !!!!

Thank YOU for making it all possible.

www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate

January 2, 2021 Saturday at Rikki’s Refuge
all in a day’s work …. photos by those caring for the animals

(you can help support those animals at www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate )

Misty morning …. everything flooded from yesterday’s rain …. temps went up steadily …. beautifully sunny wonderful afternoon ……

Breakfast at the Life Center

I love the multi-species friendships at Rikki’s Refuge !!! The emus and pigs have always been friends. We built Emu Estates next door to Piggy Paradise. Separated with a six foot fence. And the emus jumped over into Piggy Paradise. We caught them and walked them back around to Emu Estates. The next morning they were in Piggy Paradise. We caught them and walked them back around to Emu Estates. The next morning they were in Piggy Paradise. We caught them and walked them back around to Emu Estates. The next morning they were in Piggy Paradise. THEN the light bulb went on !!! They WANTED to live together, they got along, they liked each other !!! OK …. and so the areas merged into one !!

Sharing a snack of trail mix with Turkeys …. you NEVER eat along at Rikki’s !!!

Piggies love nothing better than mud …. except food … food …. yes … food is NUMBER ONE !!! But mud is a close follow up !!!!

Cats and goats and peacocks !!! Everybody hangs out together at Rikki’s !!

Nobody but trained working folk are allowed to drive any kind of vehicle on the refuge. Animals of all sorts are always drawn to them. Someone not checking every possible snoozing spot before starting or moving a vehicle could … well ….. that’s why only our working vehicles are allowed on the property and everyone is trained on critter detection.

JoJo,

Sunshine,

Smoky Joe,

and Grumpy are just a few of the nearly 600 cats who live with us.

Grumpy is so tired he’s falling asleep on his feet !!!! But he’ll perk up quick when dinner comes !!!

 

Free Range Buffet !!!

Piggy Bed Time …. they love to snuggle and pile up together. The colder it is the tighter the bunch is, even sleeping two or three layers deep!!! In warm weather they spread out.

… and the sun goes down. But that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the day for the hoomans. It’s just time to don the headlamps and keep on working …. with almost 1,300 animals, it’s not a full day’s work …. it’s a full life’s commitment.

With YOUR help we can save and provide life long homes to well over 1,000 animals each and every day !!!!

Thank YOU for making it all possible.

www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate