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