Make unforgettable memories at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead in Overland Park. Animal Care Supervisor Sarah Higgerson gives a behind the scenes look at what it takes to run a farm with more than 230 animals.
Q: Can you tell me about your background and journey to working at the zoo?
A: I grew up in Overland Park and visited Deanna Rose countless times as a child. It helped spark my love of animals and my career path with them. I attended Kansas State University where I received my Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management and Ecology. After graduating, I accepted my first job as an animal keeper at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. Upon moving back home, Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead was hiring an animal care assistant, and I've been working here ever since.
Q: What goes into keeping the animals happy and healthy?
A: All the animals have different care and diet requirements. We currently have 234 animals residing at the Farmstead, and every animal has their own Google sheets spreadsheet log. We keep track of everything from their current location to their name, age, sex, vaccinations, deworming, hoof trims, baths, shearing, ailments and so on. Every day all animals are checked, given feed, and water quality levels are checked. My staff and I do everything from cleaning pens and grooming animals to fixing fences and speaking with the public. Once a month our local vet, Dr. Landau, assesses all animals and helps with any medical issues. We also have to maintain current licenses from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the USDA.
Q: Are there a few animals with fun, strong personalities that you would want to highlight and share with our readers?
A: Belle, our miniature donkey, loves to be groomed and will follow us around and nudge us if we are grooming one of her other pen mates. She hates flies so much that she will bray at the animal care staff if we walk by. She will do so until one of us puts fly spray on her legs—it’s hilarious!
Another is Tatanka, our bison. He came here as a calf and has grown up here. He's this huge, one ton animal, but he's the biggest baby when it comes to animal care staff in his enclosure. He'll get real close to us, but if we make any sudden or abrupt sound or movements he'll take off like he's got a fire under his tail. He plays with a big plastic barrel that sometimes gets stuck behind the back fence. We remove it and he gets all excited about it. If he's feeling really frisky, you can see him running and pronging around his exhibit. It's super cute!
Q: How would you describe the zoo atmosphere to someone who has never visited?
A: It’s an excellent and unique place for people of all ages to come and enjoy themselves. We are similar to a formal zoo, yet we are more affordable and require much less walking than a typical zoo. We also offer much more in the way of history as we try to resemble a turn of the century farmstead and town. We have a main street, school house, Native American encampment and blacksmith shop. There are other activities you can add to your visit with our mining sluice area, bamboo rod fishing, bottles to feed our baby goats and a horse drawn wagon ride! We even have a live cow milking demonstration in the dairy barn daily at 9:30 a.m. We have a splash area behind our goose pond, an old fashioned ice cream parlor for hand scooped ice cream and a general store which serves as our gift shop.
Q: What are guests most surprised to learn?
A: One of the things I get asked a lot is where do the animals go during the winter when we are closed to the public? It seems to surprise people that we keep the majority of them here. The geese, swans, turkeys, quail, pigs and calves are loaned to us from various local farmers and returned after the season ends. All the other animals reside here year-round with us. We have two cows that switch off breeding each season so we can do live milking demos, so one has a calf and gets milked during the season and the other goes offsite to visit a bull during the summer. This way our girls get a break in between having calves.
Another thing people don't realize is that all 50-70 baby goats we have are born onsite. Our big white dairy barn turns into the goat birthing area and has a geothermal floor that runs during the winter to keep the temperature inside nice and warm. We maintain a herd of about 34 momma pygmy goats that give birth each February and March. All babies come from one stud that visits the mommas for about six weeks in the fall. Animal Care is there every step of the way, from pregnancy to birth. I have witnessed and assisted in hundreds of goat births. We name each and every one—the fun part is choosing a name theme each season. In the past, we've used superheroes and villains, Harry Potter, Pokémon, Disney characters and Chiefs players names. The kids this season are all named after Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters from shows such as the Flintstones, the Jetsons, the Powerpuff Girls and Scooby-Doo!
One last thing—many people don't know we sell our farm fresh eggs from our chickens in our General Store. The eggs are collected daily and sell out quick since our hens can only lay so many eggs per week!
For more information, visit opkansas.org.