4-H Animal Crackers 2025

Saturday, May 3, 2025, 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Registration required by Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

Register with Rachel at rrw33@cornell.edu.

If you are unable to access the internet, please call 315-539-9251

2025 Animal Crackers Workshops

https://cals.cornell.edu/nys-4-h-animal-science-p...

The NYS 4-H Animal Science Team is pleased to announce 2025 Animal Crackers, "All Creatures Great and Small”, on Saturday, May 3, 2025, on the Cornell University campus. This year’s program will highlight Dairy, Goats, Poultry, and Rabbit/Cavy topics.

Interesting, educational, hands-on activities are planned to make Animal Crackers a memorable learning event. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about dairy, goats, poultry and rabbit/cavy while having fun participating in a variety of interactive activities with 4-H’ers from across NYS. 4-H youth 8-12 years old or those with beginner to intermediate knowledge of the covered species are invited to participate.

Dairy:

Workshop 1: Holy Cow! - Cows are ruminant animals. That means they have special digestive systems that help them break down high fiber feeds. Learn more about what cows eat and how their gut works by feeling a rumen in motion as you stick your arm into a fistulated cow. Ruminate that!

Workshop 2: Repro Depot - All hands in to learn about dairy cattle reproduction. Starting with the anatomy and then venture into Artificial Insemination. Even try your arm at A.I.

Goat:

Workshop 1: You’ve “Goat” to be Kidding! – “This is your chance to maneuver a kid through the pelvic cage for a safe delivery, learn to bottle feed a kid and get ready for kidding!” Youth will use the dystocia crate to learn how to identify kidding positions and deliver toy kids. We’ll explore some different equipment for bottle feeding kids and work on bottle sanitation. We’ll discuss kidding supplies and how to identify a chilled kid.

Workshop 2: Goat Nutrition: Fueling your future - “Learn to eat like a goat and how to judge hays. We’ll work together to use the internet to check out our goats’ food choices and come up with healthy meals.” Youth will learn about some of the unique features of goat lips and how goats use them to be selective eaters. We’ll do some hay judging and also use the Langston Nutrition Calculator to come up with some goat diets for specific types of goats described by the youth.

Poultry:

Workshop 1: Poultry Health: Just How Disgusting Are Germs???? - Play the Germ Tag Game and use Glow Germ to find out!!! This workshop will help youth understand how disease spreads, especially in light of the current Avian Flu situation.

Workshop 2: Chicken Guts Relay - Learn about the internal organs (internal anatomy) of chickens and then play, “Pin the Organ on the Chicken” in a fun relay game. (We hope to include a fun prize, like rubber chickens).

Rabbit/Cavy:

Workshop 1: What’s Wrong with my Rabbit/Cavy? - Learn about common diseases/conditions that can affect your rabbits and cavies and how to keep them healthy!

Workshop 2: Baby Bunnies!!!! - Learn some basics about rabbit kindling and then engage in a fun genetics activity to create your own bunny!!

About:

The annual Animal Crackers program provides New York youth with fun, hands-on, science-oriented learning experiences on Animal Science topics. This workshop is for 4-H members interested in learning more about their favorite livestock, companion or pet animal species; emphasis on different species groupings and activities varies annually. Participants will learn about different aspects of animal care, interact and exchange information with faculty, staff, students, professional producers, industry experts, and more, utilizing the unique facilities of Cornell University. Hands-on workshops are planned for each species group.

Each year an opening presentation kicks off the event with a welcoming statement or remarks related to the annual theme. Livestock production and companion animal themes are offered every year, Dairy topics in odd years, and Horse topics in even years. A noon-time demonstration and closing program is also typically featured.

Workshop presenters and topics are selected by a planning committeethat looks at trends and current issues. Youth input on topics is also solicited through statewide advisory committees and educator feedback.

Examples of some of the fun things participants have experienced in the past: The holey cow, dog first aid basics, goat milk soap, wool felting, poop soup, chicken anatomy, farrier tools, and more!