Happy Halloween

We’ve had lots of fun with the animals this Halloween, giving out tasty pumpkin treats (no tricks here, just treats!) and having a go at bobbing for apples - Penny the goat had the best technique and managed to work out how to get them, much to the disapproval of the others!

Penny & Jim demolishing their pumpkin!

Many of the apples that we are currently using have been very kindly donated by people with apple trees in their gardens. As the majority of our animals can eat apples, these are very much appreciated by us all. Thank you!

Henry the Rooster bobbing for apples!

Halloween usually marks the end of our open year, as we traditionally close at the end of October until the following Spring. However, after lots of requests from our wonderful supporters, we have decided to stay open at weekends until Christmas. We will have slightly revised opening hours of:

10am to 4pm (with last entry at 3pm)

Winter can be the toughest time for us and our animals, so it is at this time of year that we need your support more than ever!

Thank you, and we hope to see you soon.

Are YOUR rabbits eating enough hay?

It's Rabbit Awareness Week and this year the emphasis is on HAY. According to a survey carried out last year by the PDSA, it is thought that around 70% of rabbit owners aren't feeding them enough hay. It is sadly a little known fact that your rabbit's diet should consist of 85-90% good quality eating hay. It's not something that just needs to be fed along with pellets; in fact these should make up a very small percentage of your rabbit's diet, with the hay and grasses making up the bulk of the diet. Types of hay that are recommended include; Timothy Hay, Grass Hay and Meadow Hay.

Here at Brockswood, we follow a Rabbit Diet Pyramid:

Brockswood Rabbit Diet Pyramid

As you can see this is made up mostly of hay and grasses; followed by leafy greens, herbs and other plants; a small amount of pellets, and an even smaller amount of treats – after all, the biggest treat you can give your rabbit is a healthy, balanced diet!

Your rabbits need 85 – 90% of feeding hay & fresh grass, that’s equal to their body size every day!

Please remember to throw away any old, damp or soiled hay!

✔ High in fibre, promotes digestive health - rabbits have a very complex digestive system, and it is important that this is kept in tip top condition.

✔ Stimulates chewing, good for dental health - hay helps to grind their teeth while they're chewing it. As their teeth never stop growing, they need to hay to ensure that they are kept trimmed down, so they do not overgrow and cause issues later on!

✔ Encourages bunnies to forage for emotional health - keeping your rabbit's mind active is very important and helps to stop them from becoming bored and depressed.

Why not make it fun for your rabbit and present it to them in different ways? Hay racks for rabbits are available from most good pet shops, and even small hay nets like we use for our larger field animals! We like to fill up boxes with good quality eating hay, various grasses grown on site, herbs and other edible plants such as dandelion leaves - and occasionally we'll hide a couple of treats at the bottom, encouraging them to forage!

We use recycled fruit crates in our rabbit runs - we simply clean them up, paint them with a pet safe waterproof paint, wait for them to dry, and then fill them up with goodies!

By talking to our friends, family and other rabbit owners and letting them know the importance of hay in a rabbit’s diet we can all play a part in encouraging responsible ownership and helping to better the lives of more rabbits.

Are your rabbits getting enough hay?

Fire sets back Brockswood education project!

First of all... Why an Anglo-Saxon village at an animal sanctuary? At Brockswood, our mission is not only to care for animals in need, but to educate too. While our work sees us teaching about animal care, wildlife conservation, beekeeping etc; we are also aware of the importance of other subject areas, and one very dear to our hearts is local history.

Many of you will know of the different incarnations of 'Cotwall End', but what if you looked back not 20 or 30 years, but well over a thousand years! To the Age of Penda when this land in the kingdom of Mercia (the Midlands) was a settlement for our Saxon ancestors.

With Generfeld - literally "Sanctuary Field", we hoped to give you a snapshot in time; showing you how some of these fascinating people lived and worked. The Age of Penda group are all volunteers – they do this in-between their day jobs. Penda is a fantastic opportunity for like-minded people to learn new crafts and skills, discover some of our history, and build new friendships. They have also recently joined forces with one of Dudley College’s Foundation Land Based Learning groups, enabling local students to have a hand in this unique venture.

To say that a lot of time and work has gone into this would be an understatement. It has been years in the making, and was really starting to take shape. We were so excited to show you what we had achieved together!

Instead we have to tell you about the fire-fighters called out on Saturday night, and several buildings torched by thoughtless intruders.

Photo by Dudley Fire Station

Thankfully we had very recently moved our group of senior sheep that had been grazing in this paddock, and we can assure you that all our animals are completely unharmed. We just wish that we could say the same for Generfeld.

This comes after the group had items stolen last year, including a blacksmith’s anvil, and previous intentional damage.

This is sadly the sort of thing that we are having to fight, alongside trying to restore and improve the site, and caring for the animals. The last few months have seen old pipes falling apart, causing flooding in paddocks and costing both countless hours of our time and funds spent that we had earmarked for rebuilding enclosures (more about this HERE).

The buildings that were burned have taken months of hard work to complete, and has left us feeling more than a little deflated after so much effort. Built in the Saxon style, complete with turfed roof (which our sheep were quite fond of playing on and mowing). The items inside have also been destroyed, including various pieces of replica historical items, and tools.

 When we took over this site, we knew that we had our work cut out for us.  

We knew that this would be continuous hard work and a real labour of love.  

We knew that it would mean long hours, long weeks, and little sleep; sometimes leaving us aching, stressed, and very tired. 

We knew that this would never make us rich in anything but the knowledge that we are doing something GOOD.  

What we didn’t bank on, was the people that would stand in our way.

These are setbacks not only to Brockswood, but a huge dent in the morale of those working so hard here. The unseen hours spent every day, trying to not only provide the best care for these animals, but to make our and your vision of Brockswood become real.

We have said for many years that we are trying to restore the site to its “former glory”. We want MORE than this. We want it to become even better than that. We want you to be proud of this little Oasis in the Black Country. We want to make a big impact for not only our animals and the many more that need us, but our local community (and others beyond!)

We can’t do this without help, and we most definitely cannot achieve this if we are persistently knocked back down whenever we pick ourselves up.

We’d like to say a big thank you to the locals who have inquired after the safety of us and our animals after seeing the smoke and fire engine – and a very big thank you to the fast response of the Fire Service, who do such a wonderful job! Thank you to all who have offered support, and to those who have supported us from the very beginning. We need you!

How You Can Help...

• If you think that you could help us in any way, please get in touch! We need timber and other building materials.
  
• We will also need to replace the tools that were destroyed. We need old fashioned wooden handled tools for building.
• If you have an interest in history, or good with DIY and would like to help, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Email: volunteering@brockswood.org
  
• If you have any other ideas for ways to help us, we would love to hear from you! Email: brockswood@hotmail.co.uk

Animal Sponsorship

After lots of requests, we've set up an animal sponsorship package! Sponsorship makes an ideal and original gift at any time of the year for an animal-loving friend or relative, and we can even post directly to them if you like! Or why not treat yourself? Not only are you treating the recipient, but our animals as well, as profits go straight towards caring for that animal. This can buy food, bedding, helps us to pay for important medications and veterinary treatment, plus enclosure renovations.

 

When you sponsor with us, you will receive:

• A certificate
• 2 Pictures of your animals
• A copy of our twice yearly newsletter
• An adult season pass
• A fact sheet about your animals
• Your name displayed on the sponsor's board 

We'd like to say a huge thanks to all who have sponsored our animals so far, on behalf of us and the animals. After a few niggly problems (such as printers breaking down!) we got our first packages out in time for Christmas; one of our fantastic Volunteers and maintenance superman John hand-delivered them. But the result we had was well worth it!

 

Currently you can Sponsor:

• The Goats
• The Sheep 
• Duke the Donkey
• Callum the Welsh Mountain Pony
• Leo the Shetland Pony
• The Owls 

And our Most Popular Animal Award goes to...

Duke the Donkey - Most Popular 2016!

Duke the donkey has been the most popular choice so far, which thrilled him to bits! Duke can be quite a shy donkey, but mischievous and sneaky, with Callum being his partner in crime! Callum loves to steal haynets from him, but Duke stands up for himself by letting out a high-pitched bray to say - "Oi, I need another haynet!".

Sponsor an Animal

Happy Halloween!

Halloween at Brockswood is an occasion our animals all look forward to - it means treats, treats and more treats! Of course, it's all in moderation, but what's better than tucking into some pumpkin?

Pumpkins and their seeds are a great source of vitamins and nutrients, such as Vitamins A, E, C, antioxidants, lutein and beta-carotene. The seeds are even thought to aid natural de-worming! What a great way to recycle!

Our new Roosters, Davey & Jack loved it!

And so did Missy the Raccoon!

Additionally, we all had some great fun dressing up - Rosie the goat loved being our star witch for the year. Even Tuppence, who's a bit shy sometimes, seemed inquisitive as to why her enclosure suddenly bared all things Halloween-y.

So how can YOU make Halloween fun AND safe for your animals?

• Keep your pets inside - ground your cats, tell your dogs to stay, as trick-or-treating commotion can be quite upsetting. Simply put a spooky film on and give them some love instead!
• Don't be a stranger. Masks and costumes can be quite frightening for your pets - they don't know who you are! So when around them, keep masks and costumes on the DL. 
• What about treat time? Make sure all treats given are non-toxic, and in moderation - human chocolate, sweets, and gum are a DEFINITE no-no!
• What if I'm having a house party? Set your pet up in a 'safe room' - a quiet, chilled environment where they can get away. 
• Even the best vampire dog can't drink blood. Make sure all decorations (i.e. candles, lights, cardboard cut-outs) are all out of pet's reach. Even things like rubber eyeballs or fake blood can pose a threat. 
• Not every pet is a dress-up star. Be aware of how your pet feels dressing up; if they're uncomfortable, let them be themselves for this year! Ensure the costume used is safe! Remove dangling parts, masks that cover eyes etc, and ensure your pet can move freely.
• Customise and personalise. Got a rabbit? Give them a cabbage leaf stuffed with veg as their treat bag. Got a dog? Buy them some new toys! Leftover pumpkin? Feed it to your chickens! Don't be afraid to GET CREATIVE!

Out of Quarantine

Say hello to two beautiful boys - Jack and Dave.

With all new arrivals, we have to quarantine them for 30 days as a standard procedure; contamination and illness is always a risk with new animals, no matter how healthy them seem, as we can never be 100% sure of their backgrounds, genetics or past lifestyle. Don't worry, though - we keep quarantined animals in a cosy, warm stable catered to their needs. The boys had a treat being pampered by our keepers and being able to listen to the sounds of our farm; all the better for them settling in!

Now though, they are free out of quarantine, and loving their new enclosure in our Walled Garden! Dave, being the friendly boy he is, loves to perch on our shoulders and have a bit of a cuddle (who would have ever thought cockerels would love cuddles?), while Jack is a true adventurer - he can usually be found exploring his enclosure, searching for dips in the ground, and logs to clamber on and let out his mighty calls!

So what's the story with this pair? They were found dumped on-site, outside the gates in a cardboard box, in the early hours of the morning. Although frightened at the time, they've settled in brilliantly now; all the better, for the adventures they're bound to have with us, and their neighbours (or rival clan!) the turkeys.

So why not pay them a visit, before we close for Winter?