Ah the Life of a Buffalo?

We admit day 4 of 4-H Animal Science Day Camp was a little less than traditional, but it was tasty and a bit of fun. We started the day at Double C A Farms in Saddletree. The owner, Ronnie Hammonds showed our youth how animals can be big business. We started by visiting his poultry houses. We saw how they work and learned about how many chickens they can hold. Then we moved across the road to the field to walk with the buffalo. No this is not a Kevin Costner movie, we actually walked in a field with buffalo and dodged any surprises they might leave behind. We not only learned about respecting such large animals, but how they live and their nutritional value. With a brief acronym we learned that red meat has Zinc, Iron and Protein (ZIP) which is good for our bodies. From there we headed straight to the barn where we indulged in fresh watermelon from the field and traced back how our food ends up in the grocery store. In an effort to be green we recycled our watermelon rinds by feeding them to a very nice horse that let all our youth climb up on its back and take photos. The horse, after having quite the feast and fun with all of us...then promptly went back to his pen where he rolled and rolled scratching his back and entertaining our youth.
From Mr. Hammonds farm in Saddletree we headed up to Lumber Bridge to visit 7 Branch Farms. While there we visited with Buddy Blackmon who is a national roping champion. He told us of his different competitions and even demonstrated his roping abilities. We met his famous horse and learned about the different opportunities and events this farm offers our community. One of the things that caught our youth's attention was a brand new youth summer camp opportunity where youth work with horses, go on trail rides, and in general have a horsey good time.

From Lumber Bridge it was a quick trip to Fayetteville for lunch and then down 401 to Raeford to visit Five Points Pet Resort. There we received a tour of a facility that offers a happy vacation stay for our small animal pets. Not just cats and dogs, they also take care of birds, gerbils, ferrets and in one case even geese. They taught us how taking care of an animal is 80% clean up and 20% care and play. We got to see the cat condos, grooming area, dog suites and even the Pawsendtial Suite. We learned things that are good for our animals and things that we probably should not do. We also learned about another business opportunity where you can care for animals but don't have to be a vet. It was a fun time with some of our furry friends.

Tomorrow is our last day and it might get a little scaly, as we visit with some of our friends who prefer hot weather and dry conditions. Read more tomorrow if you are wondering if any big tears will be shed (yes, another bad pun clue).