Oxon Hill Farm
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Some pictures and information about our animals are on this web site. If you
would like to learn more select from these links: Horse Pictures Horse Information Cattle Pictures Cattle Information Donkey Picture Donkey Information Goat Pictures Goat Information Sheep Pictures Sheep Information Swine Pictures Swine Information Poultry Pictures Poultry Information Rabbit Pictures Rabbit Information | Oxon Hill Farm is home to many kinds of farm animals. These include horses, cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, ducks, swine and a donkey.You can see many of the animals and learn what they eat when you visit the farm. Some of them have retired here from other places, others were born here. The cattle, horses, donkey, and some goats and sheep have been given names. You can find out how old some of them are and where they came from on this web site. Because visitor safety is important to us, we ask that you do not feed the animals or climb on fences. If you have a question about an animal, park rangers and volunteers will be happy to answer it for you. You might also want to check our list of Frequently Asked Questions below. PLEASE do not pet the farm cats or touch any farm animals without staff supervision. |
Chldren are usually fascinated by farm animals what they eat, how they sleep, do they get sick, and so on. This section includes the farmers' answers to the more frequently asked questions. Please use it as a reference and let us know if questions crop up that aren't covered.
What animals are used for clothing?
Wool sheared from the sheeps body during the spring each year is washed, dyed, and spun into thread or yarn. Even with many synthetic fabrics available, wool is still an important material used for clothing. Rabbit fur is used for coats or to line gloves. Leather generally comes from cowhide or horsehide, but pigskin, sheepskin, and goatskin are also used. Typical products from cowhide are shoes, purses, belts, vest, jackets, saddles, harnesses, and footballs.
What are other animals products?
Many animals, such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry, provide food for people. Horsemeat can provide ingredients for dog food. Animal manure replenishes nutrients in the soil (fertilizer). Horsehair is used for sighting scopes on rifles. Milk products, antitoxins from chicken eggs, and down feathers are more examples of products from animals.
What do the animals eat?
Cows, horses, ponies, donkeys, sheep, and goats eat a grain mixture or ear corn and hay. Usually, the grain mixture is a combination of wheat, rolled oats, and cracked corn sweetened with molasses. Hay is made of dried alfalfa and grasses such as timothy, lespedeza, or orchard grass. Pigs eat ear corn and a specially mixed feed called pork maker, a combination of wheat, oats, corn, barley, soybean, and even fish bones. Scraps of vegetables from the farm kitchen provide good food for the pigs also. All the farm poultry eat cracked corn or wheat. Hens are given a supplement called laying mash and crushed oyster shell, a source of calcium hens need to make egg shells. Rabbits are fed specially prepared food made from hay and corn pressed into pellets. Their diet is supplemented in the summer with clover and greens from the garden. All animals must have water to drink and salt to lick. Salt and other trace minerals provide necessary elements and is important for the animals to stay healthy.
How do you care for animals?
A farmer provides food and shelter for the animals. At Oxon Hill Farm, farmers feed the animals twice a day and clean the barns every day. (They spread the animal manure on the fields as fertilizer to replenish the soil with nitrogen and other important elements necessary for plant growth.) When the animals are sick, the farmer calls the veterinarian to check them. Usually, the farmer will keep the animal in isolation until it is well again. Animals can eat too much and become sick. For example, one of the sheep at Oxon Hill Farm became sick when she ate too much of the variety of food offered from visitors' hands. That is why we do not permit visitors to feed the animals. Some of the animals have to be groomed daily. Brushing horses, especially after they have been worked, is an important task because it cleans the sweat and salt from their pores and improves their blood circulation. Most animals keep themselves clean if the farmer keeps their pens and stalls clean.
Do animals get the same sicknesses that we do?
Yes. For example, animals are susceptible to colds and fevers, even aches. An illness like kidney stones is common to both man and his farm animals when the kidneys do not function properly. Of course, not all diseases are common to both people and animals.
Why do animals have tails?
Animals have built-in fly swatters in their tails. Watch the cows swish their tails to shoo away flies.
Can a cow give milk before she has a calf?
No. The reason a cow gives milk is to nourish her calf. Usually a cow is milked for 9 months after giving birth to a calf before she is dried-up in preparation for her next calf.
Why might a cow wear a bell?
A cow would wear a bell so that the farmer could locate her easily when she is grazing near woods or in a large pasture.
Doesn't it hurt to put a nail in a horse's foot?
No. The hoof, the part of the horse's foot that nails are driven into, is like our own fingernails: the cells are hardened and do not contain nerve endings.
Why are there rings in the pigs noses?
When the baby pigs are several months old, the farmer puts rings in their noses to discourage them from rooting in the soil. It is natural for pigs to dig with their noses since they like to eat the roots of plants. Rooting also causes erosion around the fence line and holes appear allowing the pigs to get out of their pens.
Why do pigs roll in the mud?
The pig can not sweat (perspire) to cool off. Because its skin is so thick and insulated by a layer of fat, the pig must cool itself by lying in water or mud.
Why do ducks and geese like to swim but chickens and turkeys do not?
Ducks and gees find their niche in a water environment. Their webbed feet and waterproofed feathers are adaptations to their aquatic life. Chickens and turkeys on the other hand lead a terrestrial life, liking just enough water to drink. Their feet are adapted for scratching in the soil for worms.
Can a hen lay an egg without a rooster?
Yes. Most modern-day chicken farms raise laying hens that never see a rooster. Roosters are necessary to fertilize the eggs so that young chicks will develop and hatch.
How long does it take for a chicken to hatch?
It takes about 21 days for a chicken to hatch. In an incubator, the fertile eggs must be turned every 12 hours and kept moist until the chicks hatch.
What are the typical family sizes of farm animals?
Generally one (1):
A horse (mare) has one foal.
A cow (cow) has one calf.
A pony (mare) has one foal.
A donkey (mare) has one foal.Sometimes two (2):
A sheep (ewe) has one or two lambs.
A goat (doe) has one or two (sometimes three) kids.A whole litter:
A pig (sow) can have 7 to 14 piglets in a litter.
A rabbit (doe) can have 7 to 10 bunnies in a litter.From a clutch of eggs:
A chicken (hen) can hatch from 15 to 18 baby chicks from the eggs she incubates.
A turkey (hen) can hatch 12 to 15 poults from the eggs she incubates.
A geese (goose) can hatch 12 to 15 goslings from the eggs she incubates.
A duck (hen) can hatch 12 to 15 ducklings from the eggs she incubates.
How long is the approximate gestation and incubation periods of farm animals?
Horse 11 months Cow 9 months Sheep 5 months Pig 4 months Goat 5 months Donkey 12 months Rabbit 1 month Chicken 21 days Turkey 26 days Duck 30 days Goose 30 days
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http://www.nps.gov/nace/oxhi/animals.htm - December 22, 1999