Annual Farm Animal Baby Shower attracts thousands

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Jenavieve Jastatt seemed enthralled when she interacted with a miniature pony, and she didn’t care that it called to mind a popular TV character to a few others around her.

“It reminds me of Sebastian,” said her father, John Jastatt, referring to Li’l Sebastian, a miniature horse that appeared in a few episodes of the NBC comedy series “Parks and Recreation.”

The 2-year-old girl is a big animal lover who “likes all big animals,” added her mother, Jaime.

The Warren family was among those who enjoyed spending time with a host of traditional and nontraditional animals, all of which were the featured attractions of Sunday’s 26th annual Farm Animal Baby Shower at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm, 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road (state Route 46).

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people were expected to come to the six-hour funfest, partly because of ideal weather that included clear skies and temperatures in the 60s, said Brenda Markley, the park’s agriculture and education manager. The event also kicked off the farm’s 2017 season, she added.

Wasting no time getting acquainted with a series of ducklings and goslings in three lighted tubs was 4-year-old Dominic Rura of Cornersburg, whose first experience at the shower was with his mother, Juli Rura.

“My favorite animal is a horse,” an excited Dominic said, adding he also has dogs at home.

Introducing other such birds to many attendees was Nicole D’Angelo, a park volunteer who also is with the Mahoning County Junior Fair Board.

The gathering in several barns featured the regular array of farm animals such as sheep, goats, rabbits, lambs, roosters and ponies. Mixed in, though, were a variety of unusual ones that included a baby kangaroo, baby llamas and a kune kune, which is a small, compact exotic pig native to New Zealand.

“It’s a foraging pig that eats mainly weeds and grass,” explained the animal’s owner, Dwayne Felger, who runs Felger Exotics in Greenford. “It’s very rare in the States.”

Felger’s 8-week-old kune kune, which is reddish-brown with black spots and extra skin protruding from under its neck, weighs 6 to 8 pounds but likely will grow to weigh more than 200 pounds, Felger said.

“He’s super friendly, kind of like a dog,” he added.

The same can safely be said about Captain, a baby kangaroo that Felger’s son, Danny, owns.

“He was raised with us since he was a baby,” the younger Felger said about the 18-month-old animal. “He’s very friendly and loves the attention; he’s very laid back.”

It didn’t take long for a small assemblage of adults and children to gather around and give affectionate attention to Bandit and Barnie, two 6-month-old crias (baby llamas) that were part of the festivities, courtesy of the Mahoning County Llama Club. One of the animals appeared at one point to pose for photographs, to the delight of spectators.

The two llamas are to be at the Canfield Fair this summer, so their appearance at Sunday’s show likely will better groom them to be comfortable around large numbers of people, Markley explained.

“They’re learning their people skills today,” she said with laughter.

Others slowly walked through another barn that resembled a small version of the Canfield Fair and had two rows of stalls in which were goats, sheep, calves and a pig.