See photo below this article. I have not posted and inserted a photo in quite sometime and I am having more than a small amount of frustration to get this right. Photo is supposed to be here where I am writing non-essential words. Hee hee.
What Not To Do For Your Children At Easter
Do you have little ones chirping- quacking- hopping or hoping for a wee baby chick, duckling, or bunny? If so, don’t leave this page without reading. I hope that after reading this entry, you can say NO to your child or children if they have been bugging you for a live Easter gift. Easter will be here in about 3 days. What do you give your child/children as an Easter gift? A live bunny, a baby chick or, a duckling? Think long and hard about your choice. Baby chicks and ducklings are very small and their little bodies can not hold up to being passed around between children or even just one child. Chicks and ducklings grow and become larger. How would you keep that chick or duckling safe from the family cat or dog? How would you care and house that chick or duckling? Even if the chick managed to grow to adult hood you will have a mess to deal with. Children can catch several diseases from that baby chick. Serious diseases. What will you do when that baby chick/duckling expels very malodorous excrement on your child or in your child’s hands while holding the chick/duckling. The small bird in all probability will die because it does require special care. A cage, chick/duck food, a watering bowl, and a small feeder designed just for baby chickens or ducklings. Cages must be cleaned daily. Clean black and white newspaper (not colored parts or adds of the newspaper) should be used. Are you prepared to deal with that? Or are you one of those people who figures “oh well. It’s just one of millions of chickens/ducks and the life of one baby chick/duck doesn’t matter that much.” What about that cute bunny that you saw in the pet store? As it turns out that bunny also needs special care. A cage, (made just for rabbits) water (preferably a water bottle) that the rabbit can sip from- keeps the water clean, a dish for rabbit pellets, hay for the bunny to eat, and small amounts of raw fruit and vegetables to keep its digestive tract healthy. But it does not end there. The cage should be cleaned daily to keep the bunny healthy. Rabbits should also be vaccinated for 2-3 diseases. The rabbit should be spayed or neutered before 6 months of age. A rabbit should be held a certain way because the delicate back is easily broken just from twisting and turning or letting it fall to the floor. They really do not like to be picked up and handled. If you just turn it loose in the back yard it can easily meet its demise in the jaws of a dog or cat or a hawk can swoop down and make a meal of the bunny and lets not forget that Great Horned Owl that will snatch it up at night or early in the morning. How will you keep it safe from over zealous children that want to carry it around or simply pet the bunny many times a day. Bunnies grow up and become large rabbits. Are you going to just turn it loose in your backyard or take it to the local shelter to give it up because it is just too messy and difficult to keep in the house. Bunnies are also capable of biting and then you will worry about a possible infection from the bite. Now if you still want a rabbit for your child there a a few more things to consider such as disease transmission to you or your children. A plethora of diseases also are on the list of why a rabbit is not a good choice for your child. Pasturella, coccidiosis, giardi, E-coli, toxoplasmosis, and the list goes on. If you keep the rabbit outdoors they are also susceptible to heat stroke and also need warmth in the winter. Remember: these are domestic rabbits which are much more delicate that a native wild rabbit. So let your conscience by your guide. Just don’t give a chick or bunny as an Easter gift unless you want a lot of work and the real possibility that the animal will die. If it doesn’t succumb to disease or neglet your children will grow tired of that chick or bunny and then you are faced with what to do with that Easter gift. Be smart and humane; omit anything live for your young child. There are many things to give your child. A stuffed rabbit or a toy chick or duck are great and you will not have all of the work and worry. Of course there is always the Easter candy but beware of the chocolate that the family dog can and will eat. Chocolate is deadly for dogs. If your dog ingests chocolate take your pet to the animal emergency where it can get the proper care to keep the chocolate from being absorbed. Special care is required for after care. PRECAUTIONS ARE THE KEY WORDS. The care and consideration that you show toward a “lesser” bird or animal will have an impact on your child’s emotional development. How your child will treat you later in life and how much empathy your child has for other human beings and animals is learned at a young age. This is something that can be taught but not at the expense of a small helpless animal. Your child can learn how to treat others and animals by following your example- good or bad. After Easter the animal shelters become filled with bunnies and chicks. Don’t be guilty of adding to the shelter’s already over flowing facilities. Be humane and don’t get give your child a live pet. Visit the zoo, watch an animal movie or, read a cute story to your child/children about an animal/s You’ll be glad you did.
Eve’s necklace: native, drought tolerant, understory tree. This little tree blooms about the time Easter rolls around. I love this tree which native Indians utilized to make necklaces and etc. After the blooms fade, small hard berries form and dangle like a beautiful necklace. I have several of these trees on my property .
Pets, People and, Life 
hi Yvonne, just come to take news as I did not see you for a long time. Hope everything is alright.
Best regards
chatou
Hello and yes I m ok. I did not have a computer for quite awhile and then I went into a pretty severe depression but I am coping as I always do. I have missed reading my favorite blogs and it seems now that I am making my way back to some extent. Thank you as always for visiting and expressing your concern. Take care, dear lady, Yvonne
Hi Yvonne, I hope now you have completely recover. I was really worried not to see you anymore and seeing you were not posting on your blog.. I hope you will do soon as your topics are always very interesting. Take care and thank you for your visit.
chatou
Thank you, Chatou. It is always nice get a note from you. I am still struggling with over whelming fatigue and I simply do not know if is from my meds. afib, or the chronic fatigue that I believe that I have had for a very long time. Doctors don’t want to listen and I have given up trying. I sleep very little and my MD prescribed an anti seizure med that has terrible side effects and thus I am not willing to try. But aside from that, I don’t post because I cant’ get to my photos on this new computer. I plan to take my computer to a certified tech so that I can view my photos. Then I will have something to work with. Take good care. Fond regards, Yvonne
Thinking of you, Yvonne. ❤
Hi JoAnna and thank you for thinking of me. I have not had a working computer until tonight. I just took my time getting a new one and I sort of wondered if the bloggers that I follow were wondering if I had kicked the bucket. 🙂 I am doing ok and have been trying to get stronger. So far I am feeling some better but it is a slow process. I hope you are well and enjoying the summer. Take care and I will try to get over to commenting soon. I have a lot of catching up with mail and blogs.
Take your time getting back to blogging. I so glad you’re okay. You are in my prayers this morning. ❤
Thank you, JoAnna. Prayers are very much appreciated.
Thank you. I need the prayers.
❤
Hi Yvonne, thank you so much for thinking I am the kindest lady “in the hood”… but I know Dali is happy in his new home. It is raining today and he is sitting right to me near the computer.
Have a nice week end
chatou
Oh my Dali really loves you. I think he knew how to win you over and you did the same with him You and the cat are both winners and so lucky.
Ayeyaya. This is why I’ve stayed away from animals. =) My life is complicated as it is.
Hope you are well, Y.
Hold onto your happiness.
Diana you definitely have a point, with no argument from me. I have often wished that I had the likes and dislikes of someone such as yourself. A pet is work but can also be a source of joy. I have never had a pet rabbit, etc. But as you know I do love cats and dogs. Keeping a pet requires commitment, time, and money. I think you are a wise lady.
Hi Yvonne very difficult tu write as it is very small and I ha a cataract surgery.
That is very funny that you thought I was a teacher. No, not in biology but I have been teaching english to young ones (10 to 12 year’s old…A very, very long time ago! But I love entomology.
Have to wait for one month now to have my new glasses…
talk to you soon and take care
chatou
Hi Chatou, I have been calling you Chantal but I see that you signed your comment as Chatou. I have been wrong. So sorry. Well, I just figured you taught something so I was partially correct. 🙂 I am sorry that you are having a hard time with seeing. Cataracts surgery is pretty simple but the aftermath is and was a pain for me as well. I had my first cataract surgery in July of 2017 and the second one in November of 2017. The post-op eye drops were a pain for me and they caused my eyes to itch and burn. The bottles were very small and I found them difficult to handle in order to get the drops in my eye. But over all my eye sight improved quite a bit and that was a good thing. In August, 2018, I had laser surgery on my left eye, to hopefully reduce the pressure from glaucoma. which is in both of my eyes. My left eye has only 40-50%v vision and that is because I ignored the early signs of glaucoma. So I suppose that you and I are running along parallel lines with our health. You have been in hospital for illness and I was in hospital for UTI and abnormally low blood pressure in July. Getting older has not been a picnic for me. They say in the USA that getting old is great because one is then in their “golden years.” Getting older for me has been anything but gold. Take care dear lady.
Best regards, Yvonne
true, true, true — great post, Yvonne ❤
Thank you, da-AL. I am so glad you liked the post. Thank you for commenting.
Hi Yvonne, thank you for your nice visit. I reply here as I suspended my activity until mid-September. I can’t see much on the computer but I will have my cataract surgery on the 29th and I hope it will be better.
Gosh, you have 7 fig trees! I did not know that when we planted a tree it was for Thee, Wee and me.. I like that very much.
I understand you have enough to share with friends. This year it will be the first time I’ll have more than a few after years… The tree is suddenly became bigger with a lot of fruits.
Dali is my new friend after one year…at first time he would accept any food from me. He had a broken leg and he was so thin! after a few months he accepted food and sometimes slept on a cushion.. but I could not cattch him… now he comes in several times and he likes cuddles. It had been possible for me to take him to the vet to be castrated and vaccinated.
This morning when I woke up, he was sleeping next to me on my bed. I’m really happy.
Hope everything is going well for you and your son.
See you next month.. and take care.
chatou
Finally catching up reading some old blog posts and stopped here. Great wisdom in this article! I hope every parent and grandparent can be advised like this. Hope you are doing OK these summer days.
Hi Yvonne it seems I did not quite understand your last comment. I am glad the vine is not doing any arm to the cats..!..is Xoxo your nick name? have a nice week end.. All the best for you. chatou
I just found comments that I never replied to. I am so sorry, NO my nick name is Vonnie I got the XOXO from a very good blogging friend who is British and lives in Spain. l have been following her for 8-9 years. She is a wonderful writer: witty and, so entertaining. I think the xoxo stands for a kiss on the check and a hug, You can look it up on Gooogle and it will give you all the meanings of the symbols. Lottie’s blog is “The Red House Diaries. Many posts that are very funny and entertaining and are there to be read and enjoyed.
Hi Yvonne, thank you so much for you nice message. Yes I am taking some blood thinners and I had all exams in intensive care in hospital. But I know I’ll have to lower my cholesterol and I eat really too much cheese which I love best than meet. But I realize how lucky I am to have no sequelae. I am going to see the cardiologist on the 7th of June.
Have a nice week. I hope you son is much better now.
Thank you so much for writing and posting this, Yvonne. It is so important that people understand animals are not playthings and have feelings and needs of their own. I wanted to be a vet from the time I knew what a vet was until I ran into college trigonometry and chemistry and heard some of the things people had to do in vet school. But it all worked out the way it was supposed to. I’m sorry it took me a while to get here, but glad you’re writing some and healing.
Hi JoAnna. Thank you for stopping by. I bet you would have been a great vet but you are so right about what you must do in vet school and the very difficult courses. As you say, things worked out for you and you are living a good life which is all that really matters. And truly you are where you should be after all those years. I think it is great.
Yes, I am feeling a bit better now. It was rough before and after my sis died a few weeks ago. So much to do with lots of frustration. I have spent lots of time on FB looking at all the homeless dogs and cats and my heart bleeds. Thank you for taking time to comment.
I understand about so much to do….. Sometimes when I watch videos about homeless, rescued dogs and cats, I look at the sad parts only briefly to get the “before” picture and then skip to the part where they are getting cleaned up and living happy lives. I don’t watch videos about homeless pets unless there is a rescue. It’s just too much for me otherwise. Be good to yourself, Yvonne. ❤
Yep, looking at pics of all those in the shelters was getting to me but the rescues that I follow in Colorado ad New Mexico and osoem in Texas do astounding work and I do mean astounding wor. From Forgotten to Forever and Two Arwe Better Than One have an incredible network of volunteers and fosters. Their networks are well organized and the women that head these non-profits know their stuff. I am in awe of how many lives they save each week. I think I have finally learned to keep from getting too involved emotionally but it has been difficult.
I am trying to do better with resting and not pushing myself. I also have chronic fatigue and the afib meds really do a number on me. I cook nearly everything from scratch with lots of fresh vegs and fruits and use lots of olive oil to cook with. I don’t eat gluten nor any meat except fish. That keeps me in pretty good health other than the afib thing. Thank you for your kind words, JoAnna.
You are most welcome, Yvonne. I admire how you take care of yourself and care for animals, too. ❤
Thank you JoAnna. I keep learning about how to take things in stride- well I should say half way learning. But age does change one’s perspective in some ways. Having pets keeps me going even when I feel down and out. 🙂
🙂 They are wonderful.
Yes very much so.
Hi Yvonne, very happy to read you post. You are right in all what you said. I know that as I lived that but as an adult. I had rabbits, chicken, ducks etc… but my goodness what a lot of work! even I loved them.
For a child it is impossible to cope with it
About 15 years ago my duck was sitting on a chicken’s egg and of course it came to live one day before the duck’s eggs. I found him lonely and freezing. Took him and kept him in my pull over for a week, feeding him every three hours… then I put him in a cage until he was able to eat by himself. He was following me everywhere, was climing along my leg and sat on me to watch television and he was sleeping in the big basket of my German sheppard with a newspaper under him. Too funny. He became a very big male and was also sitting on my knees… I think he has been very happy..
But for kids it is much better to goo and see animals at the zoo!!!!!
Your Eve’s necklace flower is really beautiful. Just love it.
My Glycine’s flowers are starting to grow… you will see picture of it in my blog probably at the end of the month.
Take care Yvonne.
chatou
Chatou, I love the story about your rooster. He must have been a great pet. I too had ducks, geese, chickens etc. (as a child on the farm I made a number of pets of the farm animals) and as an adult when my kids were growing up. I kept all of them until they died of old age. Pets are work but also so rewarding. I hope that you took some pics of your chicken. Best regards, Yvonne
🙂 Beautiful post!!! Happy Easter!!!
So nice to “see” you here, Yvonne. And as always, you leave us all with an important message. NO NO NO! No pets for the little kids – they have no way of taking care of puppies/chicks/bunnies, and the adults won’t want to. In my household, growing up and then with the family I raised, we waited until the kids turned 8 before even considering a pet. At that point, we could make rules and structure on how to treat an animal, to be kind, and take care of his/her needs. Happy Easter to you!
Pamela I agree with your thoughts. Some homes are not made for a dog or cat before the child is 8 or 10 years old, At that age, a child is more receptive to direction from the parents. In my case I was at home after stopping work to be a full time mother. My kids loved their pets and were very good with them. My son had a dog and cat by the time he was 4, I think. When I was pregnant I had two dogs. The dogs were very sweet dogs but I was very careful to make sure all was ok between the dogs and the children. It was a bit of extra work but I was not about to get rid of my dogs because I had children. To this day my son has been quite attached to all of his dogs. My daughter is crazy about her 4 cats and is now down to one dog.
Yes, and it seems to depend a lot on the family in question. My daughter and her husband got a golden puppy when newly married, and nine months later added a baby. The golden was their first child, and he was definitely part of the family from day one (and treated that way). He’s ten now, and all three of my daughter’s children dote on their ‘brother’ Charlie. However, that said, it’s still the mom and dad who take care of Charlie; the kids don’t know that responsibility yet. Getting a dog when children are the ages you mention – 8 or so, is a better way to integrate that responsibility to every member of the family. I love how your message here has been seen and commented on by so many! xo
I agree with your points. Bunnies and chicks are not the things for children to have–unless they are stuffed animals! People should not have pets at all unless they have the means and will to care for them properly. People often forget how many years they will have to care for a pet once they get one.
It is nice to know that I am probably not in the minority when it comes to pets for little kids. As you have written folks should never get a pet unless they have the means and wherewithal to take care of a living creature (this includes having children). Thank you for commenting, Greg. Happy Easter to you.
This is why I don’t do pets. =) It’s like having another child. I barely have the wherewithal to water that unneedy aloe out back every two months. I always learn something here, Yvonne. I still hadn’t realized all those details that go into animal care. And yes, there is the regard for the chicks, too, that they are too fragile to be handled much outside their little home.
Diana a pet of any kind is out of the question, as you say, for your household. Anything additional that requires caring would just add more stress. I feel that you are an emotional person but maybe I have that wrong. If a pet were to become ill, I’m sure you would be, as they say, beside yourself. I have no idea where that slang phrase originated but, I’ve heard it since I was a child. In other words, over wrought is perhaps a better term. Thank you for your comment. It’s nice to know that you learned something here. 🙂
Interesting how you read me, Yvonne. =) Not the picture I have of myself. I’d say I’m passionate, though not emotional (except at that time of the month 😛 ). I wouldn’t respond that way to a pet getting sick. I am just too busy to take on caring for another little life. =)
Aha, Diana. You did notice that I wrote maybe not (about emotional). Actually I did not write that as I had intended. You are, as you say, passionate but not one who would be emotional regarding a pet. Animals are just not your bag and lots of people don’t give one wit or fig about animals. But I completely understand as well that you have no time for another life. And, I don’t fault you for that. It’s not in your DNA. For me, animals are what cigarettes, alcohol, food and, other pleasures are to some people. I like to say, “to each his own.” Our differences are to be admired not criticized. I feel that we can agree about our likes and capabilities. 🙂
I appreciate that tender, compassionate heart of yours as well as the generous support (of one who isn’t excited at the sight of animals). =)
Xxx
You are a sweet lady, Diana. Hugs, yvonne
Important post, Yvonne.Thank you.
Thanks, Paulette for taking time to comment.
I liked your topic very much Yvonne. Chicks, ducklings and rabbits are not toys and I only like them in chocolate!!!!. Thank you for remembering this to all of us.
Yes, that chocolate is so good. Thanks for commenting, Chatou.
This was such an important read for those folks thinking animals are toys. As a child living in suburbia, I saw a few blue/pink chicks in the neighborhood. Not sure what happened. . Love to think they went on to be great egg layers…
I couldn’t be a vet either. Although I love animals, I couldn’t see them in pain all day. I hope to have more time to foster. That is more fulfilling to me. 🐇🐔🐣
Hoppy Easter!
Ilex you always make me smile. I must agree with you about the vet part too. I would not be able to deal with the euthanasia part or having to tell their pet has a dreaded disease. I know hard it is because I’ve heard those words about some of my pets. It is sobering and difficult to accept.
Fostering is great if you do not have a hard time letting go of the dog or cat when a really home has been found for the animal.
Well said, I quite agree
Thanks, Wendy. I appreciate your visit and comment.
This is an excellent and timely post Yvonne. I’ve got to be honest, I’ve never seen chicks, bunnies or ducklings sold as ‘Easter pets’ in the UK but that’s not to say it doesn’t happen here. When we lived in Jakarta I used to regularly see ‘bird men’. They would stand at the side of busy roads in the sweltering heat surrounded by tiny cages crammed full of ‘dyed’ small birds and chicks. I have no idea what they had been dyed with but they were bright blue, bright pink, yellow etc. So unbelievably cruel – I wish that I could have bought every single one of them and set them free.
Hi Lottie. I’m waaay behind but I’m trying to catch up. Email will be on the way soon.The weather has turned colder again and a freeze is predicted again for tonight. I moved lots of bedding plants to the shop where thye’ll be protected from the cold. The weather is still iffy here in Texas. I have not forgotten you. Just not feeling so hot but of past few days began feeing some better.
It’s awful that Indonesians must resort to selling precious wildlife. Some of those birds are becoming fewer and fewer yet that government continues to turn a blind eye. There are strict laws concerning native wildlife here. At the same time people are still buying exotic species and then have no idea how to care for or afford to keep the birds and animals in the proper way. I’m not sure how these things continue to get into the country.
I’ve heard that selling poultry and rabbits at Easter time has diminished but I’m not sure of that. Thanks so much for commenting. ~yvonne
Go into your dashboard.
Click on posts.
Then this post will come up and click on quick edit.
At the right hand side is an option to enable comments. Unclick that. WordPress is using silly boxes instead of ticks now for some bizarre reason, but it is the same. You want that funny blue box to disappear, it is the equivalent of a tick.
OK?
Thanks Ms Gib. I appreciate the information. I had found the “place” in the past but for the life of me I could not last evening. I’m still on the mend and getting a bit stronger with a new cardio MD and a med change. But it’s uphill all the way. 🙂
That’s a shame Yvonne, I always look forward to your posts and enjoy the comments and responses on here.
I turned off the comments on my last post because I have other things to do, and it seems silly to say, ‘i’m not around on here’ and then have to reply to a load of comments.
But at least it lets people know I am taking a break for whatever reason. Otherwise I get people asking me when I’m posting. Mind you, someone asked me that on the previous post 😀
I send you my very best wishes that your health improves, that’s far more important than blogging. Take care, and hope all your lovely animals are well.
Thank you.It’s kind of you to say you look forwrd to my posts. I have a rather severe case of inferiority and know well that I “can not run with the big boys” in blogland. That is one factor plus my health and time for wanting to turn off the comments. That way there are no expectations of the tit for tat thing when following someone’s blog.
I do enjoy the comments very much and I feel honored for you to say that you too like to read the comments. The interaction here with the readers is the best part of this blog.
Your blog is in a different league than mine and classy compared to my attempts. I can well understand someone asking for your next post. I envy your writing ability very much.
Thank you for the good wishes for my health and mention of the animals.
Well, dang! Now I can’t order a purple bunny for myself next Easter? Surely no raptor birds would bother with a purple bunny; they would think it was a plush toy.
Yvonne, you constantly amaze with your deep and abiding respect and thoughtfulness for animals. I wonder, did you ever want to be a veterinarian? I think you would have made an excellent one. Or dog whisperer. :O)
Very good post!!
Thank you but no I never considered being a vet. Don’t have the brains and I know my limitations. Nursing was as complicated as I could stand. I did encourage Lisa though. She wanted to be a vet at three years old. Hard to fathom a three year old that could think that far ahead. “Mama, all I ever wanted to be was a veterinarian. That is all that I know how to do and now look at me. I feel hopeless”
Words escape me. I am sure that all she has been through has put me over the edge. It is hard not to think about the arthritis which is a curse from hell for her.
That post was Lisa’s idea and I titled it and wrote with most of the info that Lisa gave me.I added my spin to make it a story of sorts.I worte that when I was writing the blog for her web site. I think her site might still be up. I need to look.
A good, timely post. When we were kids we had no cats or dogs but we did have some oddities – gerbils, hamsters, tortoises etc. And then one day we acquired a rabbit. Her name was Penny. Dad built the hutch and the deal was the kids would look after her. Of course we were too busy playing soccer or rugby etc (and homework now and again) so dad ended up doing all the work. And we discovered you can’t really take a rabbit out on a lead. But this story had a happy ending. Penny moved to a children’s home run by friends of the family, along with a lot of toys and books. She was loved and spoiled by the kids there. But acquiring pets on impulse or though kiddie pressure is not always the best way to do it! Oh! And the tortoise “ran away”. Went out grazing in the back yard one day and disappeared. Never seen again 😦
I enjoyed reading your comment about the pets during your growing years. The rabbit was very lucky to get such a good placement. The problem with gerbils and hamsters is that they are short lived. The little rodents are so cute. I never had one and my children didn’t need one since we had a mini-mini farm on this one acre. They had to help me with care and did a pretty good job when I did not supervise them. Mostly I made sure that all the animals received proper food and water. We had chickens and all of then died of old age. Lisa still loves chickens and wishes that she could have some.
Hope all is well with LuLu. Poor little thing. I feel sorry for her. Her fur was her crowing glory.
i do not like this practice, either.
Thanks, Theresa. I’m glad that you agree.