Pets
Keeping domesticated animals at home.
The Pet Lodge
Pet
Lodge and boarding hutchs.
The Pet Lodge sits at the very top of the Farm and plays host to a wide variety of small animals commonly kept as pets in the UK.
Inside the main building you can see our colony of female Guinea pigs as well as Chinchillas, Gerbils, Dougal - our Corn Snake, some fish and a variety of small birds in the two aviaries.
Our rat window shows off our trio of female husky rats and occasionally a litter of new born kittens (baby rats) as well!
Outside, our rabbitry holds three dwarf and two large breed rabbits in addition to a collection of semi-wild fantail doves and the occasional young chicken.
Some
less common pets kept in and around the UK are goats, and in the field
on the way up the hill Jojo, Toby and Jess are often seen climbing on
their log mountain or play fighting with each other. Keep an eye out
too for our free range chickens who roam freely around the Farm!
Behind the scenes the Pet Lodge houses some other animals which aren't suited for display for various reasons the most important of which is lack of space.
For
most of the year the tortoises Fred and Mr. Murdock need the warmth of
indoors in their large run in the classroom. During the summer however
they are often found pottering around in the rabbitry enjoying the
sunshine. The classroom also holds an abundance of stick insects and
some giant African land snails as well as any animals that aren't
feeling too well and require some medical attention.
As well as breeding husky rats we also have a Guinea Pig breeding program, and the Pet Lodge's Breeding room is home to the stud males used for this.
All
of the animals on the Pet Lodge are cared for by the volunteers from
the Out of Bounds Project. Indeed, this group of hard working
volunteers are also responsible for all of the information leaflets and
posters dotted around. These volunteers are all young people from
around the city of Edinburgh and give up a morning or afternoon a week
each to care for and learn more about the animals housed on the Pet
Lodge. More information on this Project can be found in the
'The Out of Bounds Project' report.
Sorry
not yet
available.
As well as providing information on Pet husbandry and volunteering opportunities to the youth of Edinburgh the Pet Lodge also provides a few services to the community such as pet boarding, a pet re-homing board, and a mobile pet service.
Female Guinea Pigs wanted
age 3 - 6 months
Gorgie City Farm has a history of Breeding Guinea Pigs for the General Public to purchase. We are extremely careful to ensure that inbreeding does not occur and that our animals are provided with the best conditions during and after pregnancy.
We are keen to get some fresh blood into the breeding program, as a number of our sows are too old to breed and have gone into retirement. Rather than buying Guinea Pigs from a Pet Shop we are very keen to re-home unwanted pets and offer them a life long home at Gorgie Farm. It is VITAL that the females are between 3 - 6 months of age. If they are older their hip bones may have fused making pregnancy very dangerous and potentially fatal.
If you have pigs you think we may be interested in please contact Jo or Nim at the Pet Lodge, ideally via e-mail petlodge[at]gorgiecityfarm.org.uk or telephone 0131 337 4202
