FUN ON THE FARM WITH HOLLY!

Hi, my name is Holly, I am 9 years old and I have been coming to White Post Farm for as long as I can remember. My Dad has a pass through his work so we can come any time! Which, of course, I am very thankful for. I was very excited to meet all of the animals on the farmer day experience I will be telling you about, I just CAN’T WAIT to share my day with you.

Firstly, I got to hold some really cute mice, they kept running up my arms and pooing on me! Despite this, I enjoyed holding them so much I asked Farmer Claire (the guide who took me around the farm) if I could go back and hold them a second time after we had seen ALL the other animals. Then I went in with the huge rabbits, they were coming up to me and nibbling my boots, it was SOOO funny. I was a bit surprised by how friendly they were, I thought they’d just run away, but they let me stroke them and kept coming up for more cuddles! After that, I held a guinea pig, it was squeaking and making these little random noises it was so CUTE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now onto the goats, I took Giggles and Gargantua on a walk all around the farm and I loved it! They were continuously tugging at the leash and wanting to eat the grass so I had to hold on tight, I didn’t want to be chasing angry goats all around the farm! Then we went back into the silver barn and I held a kid, it wriggled and kept squirming so I had to pass it back to Farmer Claire, but I still got to stroke it. After it had calmed down a bit I had another go at holding it and it weed all over my legs! I didn’t mind though, I was having too much fun. Then I BOTTLE FED A LAMB! It was so cool! First we had to go and make the milk in the feeding room, there was a chart reading all of the different measurements hanging on the wall so we’d know how much milk to make. When we actually fed the lamb I was a bit surprised, she gulped the milk down so fast she was finished in two seconds. But I had to get it out of her mouth quickly because if she started to suck on the air, then it would give her indigestion. And we don’t want that!

Next were the reptiles, but first I got the privilege of meeting two amazing creatures. Matilda and Ahmed the Armadillos! When we got into the enclosure we had to clean our boots with disinfectant so that no infection could get in or out of the area which could harm other animals or the Armadillos. Farmer Craig came in with us and told us all about them, he also gave me some treats to give to them before we moved on. Their back is really hard and felt strange and lumpy but it was also really cool as well. He showed me that Matilda had one eye due to an infection and that is one way to tell them apart. They are partly blind so they kept bumping into our legs, it was so funny!

Now the reptiles, I got to hold a lizard first, it was very cool and felt scaly and weird. Farmer Craig fed it a grasshopper and it was fascinating watching its tongue snatch it off him! SO AMAZING! After that, were the beetles, they were yellow and black and some had little orange dots on them, they were called sun beetles. Obviously! They were fairly big but surprising they didn’t try to fly away, maybe it’s because they knew it was almost dinner time, I’m not sure? Now for my favourite reptile that I got to see, the snake. It was very squirmy and kept trying to wriggle away, so I gave it back to Farmer Craig and it went all the way around his neck! I WOULD HAVE HATED THAT!

Finally, were the ponies, I got to walk Holly all around the farm and it was very enjoyable. I am a horse rider and I love being around any type of horse whether it’s a Shetland to a Shire to a Mare to a Gelding I do not care, I love them all. So it was really nice to spend the last bit of my day with her. When we got her back into her pasture at the end of the day we had to cross two fields to get to it. When we were nearly there she stopped moving so we had to call for some help, it turns out it was because her dinner was normally kept in the first field so I don’t really blame her for stopping. It was a silent protest! She’s an old girl so it’s forgivable.

Now for me, it’s not a trip to White Post Farm unless I have whizzed around the track on a Go-Kart, flew to the sky on the bouncy pillow and adventured through the new indoor jungle barn. I would really recommend visiting these parts of the farm and you know what’s even better, taking a friend to enjoy it with you! That is the end of my day!

Thank you to Farmer Claire, Farmer Craig and all of the other staff for making me feel so welcome and answering all of my questions!