Hi it’s Farmer Katie, I’ll let you into a little secret about me…. I’m a self-certified “crazy giraffe” lady! and I’ve been on an adventure to learn more about caring for them!
I love my job at White Post Farm and it is getting better all the time with so many exciting exotic animals to work with. But one animal we do not have is giraffes!
I’ve loved giraffes since I was a toddler and still remember when my first giraffe toy burst. A giant inflatable one! I was so sad that my family bought me lots more different toys and clothes featuring my fave animal to cheer me up. That has continued into my adult life too! I wore a giraffe dress when I graduated with my Zoo Biology Degree and guess what? I even had a giraffe Wedding dress!
When I saw the chance to work with them as part of a Zoo Keeper exchange programme at Folly Farm in Wales, I jumped at the chance. Farmer Rebecca was right behind the idea so I applied and I was so excited when my application was accepted. It was such an amazing chance to develop my animal husbandry skills and my knowledge of catering for the needs of different exotic breeds. So that was it! I packed my giraffe print bags and headed off to Wales!
I arrived on Sunday and settled into a lovely little cottage ready for my first day of work on Monday. The journey from the cottage to Folly Farm was amazing with a view of the sea too! Everyone at Folly farm welcomed me and were just as exciting as I hoped.
New Friends and Secret Socks…
I worked with a different keeper every day, it was brilliant to get so many perspectives and ideas and the various ways they approached their duties. Best of all, I quickly found a fellow “crazy giraffe lady” and we compared notes on who has the most or craziest giraffe memorabilia. I think I took the biscuit with my Wedding Dress (and they didn’t even know I wore a different pair of giraffe socks every day too!) Ha!
I worked with three different giraffes, Rudi, Ryan and Shrimp. Brilliant names! It was amazing to see the different needs of such a large animal. At White Post when we are cleaning out our animal pens and fields, lots of them can stay in the enclosures with us. We love this because its nice to interact with them and make sure they get to know us. (Even Gloworm the sheep who refuses to get out the way when we’re trying to work! He’s so naughty!) Whilst at Folley Farm it is so different with the giant giraffes who need to be manoeuvred into separate, secure parts of the enclosure while we clean each section out safely. It was really interesting to learn new techniques!
My favourite part of the whole experience was the training. We were ‘target training’ the giraffes and it was brilliant – imagine a ball on a stick. When the giraffes ‘boop’ the stick they’d get a click and a reward. (We are training our wallabies in a similar way). This kind of training with the giraffes means the keepers can safely check the animals feet to ensure the are always healthy. The best thing about this was that I got to take home some footprints from Rudi, Ryan and Shrimp – What a brilliant parting gift!
If you would like to read more about the Giraffes I spent time with, you can read about them on Folly Farms website here https://www.folly-farm.co.uk/zoo/giraffe-heights/
I am really keen to bring my new knowledge back to White Post especially with some new exciting animals arriving soon. A fantastic experience and lots to look forward to here at the Farm – just no Giraffes right now!
Farmer Katie.
