Reindeer what could be more synonymous with Christmas?
Reindeer hire – Alongside mulled wine, mince pies, holly and of course Father Christmas himself, the Festive Season is traditionally a time for family and friends to come together and celebrate. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t actually snowing outside, as our very own Reindeer will create an atmosphere like no other whether you are a shopping centre, town centre lights switch-on, corporate party or family gathering or even full film or TV crew, our teams of head collar trained reindeer will add some extra magic.
Trained Staff
All of our staff are trained reindeer hire professionals who work with our reindeer all year round (they are not just for Christmas).
So as well as understanding their husbandry and welfare needs, they understand each individual animal in depth.
The Reindeer
Our reindeer all live here on our farm with us and we are lucky enough to have established a breeding herd; indeed we are now on our third generation of reindeer with some nine calves born here in the early summer. The original reindeer were imported out of the meat market in Scandinavia and they are well adapted to live here in this country. They have a double lining of fur in the winter which they shed in the spring and summer.
We send out our teams in pairs, which is two members of staff with two reindeer and we bring everything we need for them. They are situated in a high welfare pen which is lightweight but easy to see into and we have a gazebo over the top. Astro-turf goes underneath (which helps with hygiene) and the reindeer are free roaming inside the pen for the duration of the booking to a maximum of 4 hours and have free access to food and water at all times.
Reindeer Welfare
We feed the reindeer a mixture of specialist feed (milled from moss and other good minerals) and they have bright barley straw and hay to browse. Living as they do on our farm on the Essex/Suffolk border the reindeer are used to being part of a busy working farm life.
Our reindeer hire travel on a domestic license issued by DEFRA and we also use transportation suitable for moving livestock and we are licensed to Display our Animals under the new legislation.
We will supply a comprehensive Risk Assessment for every booking and we hold insurance cover to £10m.
Reindeer Fact Sheet
We have an availalbe reindeer hire herd of 36 Reindeer which live all year round with us on our farm on the Essex/Suffolk Border – they are not ‘just for Christmas’
- We have a herd of 36 Reindeer which live all year round with us on our farm on the Essex/Suffolk Border – they are not ‘just for Christmas’
- As such they are very used to the comings and goings and noise of a busy working farm – but we are not open to the public
- We have had 20 calves born to our senior females which is testament to our husbandry and welfare skills
- Reindeer are not wild animals – they are all owned & herded (rather like hill sheep) and the Sami People use them for meat, milk, shelter, weapons and tools and to a lesser extent, transport
- We don’t actually eat our Reindeer. But we could…
- Reindeer are the earliest known mammal to be domesticated by man, between the Bronze and Iron ages
- The clicking sound you may hear is made by a ligament in their lower leg and this enables them to communicate with each other in conditions where they cannot see one another within the herd
- Reindeer can survive in temperatures as low as -21, but in warmer weather they simply moult
- Their coat is made up of two layers – a dense inner layer and the outer layer which is made up of hollow individual hair shafts which can trap air, which their body heats
- Reindeer have hair in their nostrils (and ears), which they can also close up to prevent their internal organs from freezing
- They eat a mixture of grasses, tundra (moss we which have in pelleted form) and mushrooms, depending on what is available and time of year
- We supplement their diet with carrots and parsnips and sugar beet pulp which they like very much, but we have to be very, very careful with their diet as they are only able to digest low level, or simple fibres
- Both male and female reindeer grow antlers every year and shed them every them every year – females tend to keep them on for longer as they have practical uses including protecting the calves and digging in the snow and ice to get to food.
- Antler is one of the fastest growing materials in the animal kingdom and research is being done to see whether this can be harnessed for medical uses in humans
- Antler gets covered with ‘velvet’ a furry substance, which feeds it and helps it to grow every year. Once this sheds off (which looks a bit horrid but doesn’t hurt the reindeer) it can be used for fighting – males, and protecting their young – females.
- They can see in ultra-violet light – so they can see white (against white predators such as the Polar Bear) and yellow (the urine of a potential predator)
- They are fast runners (up to 50 miles per hour) and good swimmers
- They have a split (or splayed) foot (similar to a camel to whom they are related) in order to spread their weight across the snow and ice
- In some cultures reindeer antler is used as an aphrodisiac
- You cannot see their wings as they are only allowed to fly on Christmas Eve, if Rudolf (up at Father Christmas’ yard) feels they have passed flying school…