Great news from Whitehouse Farm! Our beautiful Black Sow Victoria has given birth to six of the cutest little piglets.
Come along to the farm to see them for yourself, but don't wait too long - they won't be tiny for long!
Here at Whitehouse Farm we've got kids galore! Two of our lovely Anglo-Nubian goats gave birth 3 weeks ago and have had 5 kids between them. Shirley had triplets called Leo, Libra and Gemini and Luna had twins called Barney and Bambi (pictured above). Anglo-Nubian goats are well known for their long legs and very long floppy ears. You can see them and proud daddy Charlie in the petting barn when you come to the farm.
Our beautiful 5 legged lamb Vee is now 1
Vee surprised us all last year when she was born with 5 legs, 4 normal ones and one coming out of her side. She became an instant star overnight with visitors and staff alike.
Vee is now 1 and a fully grown sheep. She is regularly checked by the vet and her 5th leg remains in place but you can barely see it now under her fleece.
The pictures below show her as a new born lamb and now, with our Heather.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR VEE!
A Rat's (Rattus rattus) long tail helps it to regulate it's body tempreature, as well as help them to balance.
They can climb brick walls and trees.
Rats live underground and although we rarely see them, they vastly outnumber humans. They are experts at staying out of sight!
Their whiskers are more sensitive than human fingertips. They brush them over objects and the floor to build up a picture of where they are.
Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) are nosey creatures but are very friendly and are related to the rodent family like rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters but are more closely related to porcupines, capybara and chinchillas.
Guinea Pigs were first domesticated by the Incas more than 3,000 years ago in the Andean region of South America.
They will give birth up to 6 pups at a time, but 3 is the average. When the babies are born they are born with their eyes open and their fur on and are able to eat solid food within a few hours of being born although mother’s milk is still more important.
Budgerigar's (Melopsittacus undulatus) have over 1,000 possible colour combinations. The most common colours are green, yellow, blue and many shades in between.
Budgies are native to Australia and they migrate north and south throughout the country.
The name Budgerigar translates as 'good to eat' in the native dialect of the Australian Aborigine.
Budgies have amazing vision and can register over 150 images per second. This compares to a measly 16 for humans.
They have a third eyelid which you can't see. This helps keep their eyes lubricated and clear of debris.
Their respiration rate is very fast, up to 85 breaths per minute. Their heart rate is also extremely fast at over 300 beats per minute.
Macaws (Ara ararauna) are very sociable and can become great talkers. The Macaws beak is very strong and they can crack a coconut shell with it. They also use it to help climb and cling to branches.
When a Macaw pair can't find their own nest they will take another birds and kill the hatchlings inside. There are more than 370 different types of parrot but Macaws are the largest.
Macaws have a wide range of expressive behaviours from bowing and prancing to fluffing their tail feathers.
European Eagle Owls (Bubo bubo) are one of the worlds largest owl species, with a female's wingspan ranging from 4 to 6 feet.
They swallow food whole, including feathers, fur and bones. Materials that the body can't digest are regurgitated as pellets each day.
Their eyes are fixed and their heads can rotate almost 270 degrees around.
The largest item of prey recorded being taken by a European Eagle Owl was a Roe Deer weighing 13kg.
The Southern White Faced Scops Owl (Ptilopsis granti) are usually recognisable by their striking white facial discs, with a border of black plumage, and bright orange eyes.
When threatened they create the illusion of being much larger and aggressive by opening their wings, creating a 'semi-circle' around their bodies and fluffing out their feathers to increase their size.
The typical call begins with a rapid, stuttering staccato trill, followed by a clear drown out 'whhhhhy-hooh', with the 'hooh' often slightly rising in pitch.
Hunting from a perch, they drop down and glide low over the ground before swooping to a new perch with their caught prey.
The Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) is also known by its nickname 'The wolf of the skies' because they hunt as a pack rather than individuals. A unique trait in the bird of prey world. They are a popular choice of bird to use within falconry, as they are social, intelligent and easy to train.
Trained Harris Hawks have been used to remove unwanted pigeon populations from Trafalgar Square and the tennis courts at Wimbledon.
Harris Hawks don't have a specific breeding season, instead breeding throughout the year and producing 2-3 clutches a year.
The long legs of the Harris Hawk are covered in tough skin and due to this, they are able to perch on cacti.