As that first day progressed, we realized a likely reason their original home wasn’t working out. These two were escape artists and also lovers of trouble!
When they arrived, we still had our animal hospital area in our original office/shelter building called “the white house,” with pens in the back that were more than four feet tall. Although the boys were just babies and were very short, scaling that wall was no problem.
What was a problem was their refusal to adhere to our quarantine practices. (We isolate all of our incoming animals from the general population until they are confirmed to be healthy, but Jake and Peanut were eager to meet new friends!) We would find them in the kitchen, in pens with chickens eating their food. Clearly, they needed a different setup!
We moved them to an area set up for birds, with a wooden six-foot-tall fence around it. Although they did not escape, they ensured that the farm assistants had plenty to do—turning over the cans used to take out their soiled bedding, jumping on those cans in an attempt to jump over the taller fence, and butting their tools or the staffers themselves. They really kept everyone on their toes!