Meet The Animals
Bertie
Bertie is a lovable Springer Spaniel. His favourite thing is his ball and he is a dab hand at dog agility!
Bertie is an experienced Therapy Dog and his day-job is working in an SEN school.
Bertie loves getting belly rubs from everyone he meets!
Gandalf
What Gandalf lacks in size, he more than makes up for in personality! Gandalf is a cheeky chappy who likes to investigate everything that goes on in his paddock! Before coming to OATS, Gandalf lived with his sister, Fleur, as a field pet, and he was desperate for a job. When his owner used to take the other ponies in from the field, Gandalf trotted after them, hoping to be taken in too, and was sad to never be chosen. Now, he loves his life as a therapy pony and can't wait to interact with all the new and interesting people he gets to meet!
Fleur
Fleur is the leading lady of the group! She is independent and knows her own mind. She looks after her little brother, Gandalf, and is very good pals with Alphie. Fleur also really enjoys making human friends too and loves getting her back scratched!
Alphie
Alphie is the cuddle-bug of the group. He absolutely adores people and will do anything for a stroke. He is his happiest when he is getting lots of attention and being brushed. Alphie is a man of many talents and also knows how to do carriage driving!
Wilbur
Wilbur and his soulmate Rosie were rescued together. They have such a strong and deep connection together, Wilbur will do anything for Rosie and always looks out for her. Wilbur is such a relaxed, chill guy. He is often hopping around our feet whilst we do nature crafts at the picnic bench in his enclosure. He likes the odd carrot, and loves to sunbathe and fall asleep in the sun!
Rosie
This beautiful lady is Wilbur's other half. They are inseparable and can often be found snuggling up together for a little cuddle or sleeping together in the sunshine. Rosie likes to give Wilbur's ears a good clean for him and sometimes licks his face if she thinks he's looking a bit dirty!
Rosie is the shyer rabbit of the two, and will always let Wilbur go and investigate things first to check if there is any danger before she comes out to see for herself. She is often referred to as "the cow rabbit', but we think she looks beautiful in her Dalmatian coat!
Biscoff
Biscoff and his little brother Oreo are the youngest members of the OATS team. They are very fast and absolutely love their grass and vegetables. Biscoff is slightly braver than Oreo and is always the first one to come out and see what tasty treats we have made for them. Biscoff doesn't like to be picked up, but he will come and have a sniff once he feels comfortable with whoever is in his enclosure.
Oreo
Oreo is slightly shyer than Biscoff and will usually let his big brother go and check out their food delivery to make sure all is safe, before he comes out to get his fill. He often prefers to steal the treat from Biscoff, rather than coming out to get his own! This doesn't go down well with Biscoff, as I'm sure you can imagine, and lots of little guinea pig squeaks often ensues! These two brothers do get on very well (despite the occasional food theft!) and they both love nothing more than diving into a pile of grass or fresh vegetables!
The Chickens
We have 9 chickens all together. Some of them came from a school that Jess worked at. They were hatched from eggs and have known Jess and Bertie all their lives. The children in the school lost interest in the chickens after a year, so Jess rehomed them.
The rest of the chickens were rescued from farms. They were in a terrible condition when they first arrived at OATS and were terrified of humans as they had been abused and kept in very small cages their whole lives. Now though, they are healthy and happy little chickens, and love nothing better than to be fed their favourite treat of corn straight from our hands!
Our animals are at the centre of everything we do at OATS. We always ensure that they are treated respectfully and with care. We uphold their dignity, and respect their autonomy. We expect everyone who interacts with our animals to do so appropriately and with their welfare in mind.
We are not a petting zoo, and we do not advocate picking up or hugging our animals. They like their personal space, just like humans do! We teach our young people to read the animal's body language cues to check if the animals are comfortable with our interactions.
Sometimes our animals may not want to interact with us for whatever reason. We always respect their choice and never force our animals to do something they don’t want to do.
Our animals gain a sense of fulfilment and get pleasure out of the work they do with us. We want to ensure they can continue to enjoy their work, so that we get to continue enjoying working with them!
