The Rural Voice, 1999-06, Page 16Other people's hobbies
Perth County farmer breeds animals to bring
pl e to _-y,ives of oto
Animals make people feel
good, as company, as objects
of affection, and as something
to look after. When people care for a
cat, hen or cow, they wonder about
what they eat and how much, the
state of their toenails, and the shine of
their coat.
"I think it's important to keep my
animals happy," said Jack Mantz, of
Newton near Milverton, who's been
farming so long he can't remember
when he started. "What's more
important, I like to do it." Other
people's hobbies almost become his
reason for living.
His assorted animals entertain,
which is maybe why Jack Mantz has
so many customers. T$ se animals
make old kids' eyes fall out.
From the road, the faraway farm
buildings on the Mantz farm looked
like an ordinary barn, house and drive
shed, surrounded by fenced pastures,
but Brahmin cattle were among white
or brown Aquitaine in the field and
chickens inhabited the house.
At the end of the quarter -mile
lane, an amazing plethora of animals
have gathered: ducks, guinea hens,
sheep, goats, a donkey and zebra.
Jack Mantz modestly stated his
farm was for hobbyists, people who
dicker over the price of a llama, about
$3,000.
He sells to other farmers who want
pets for their front pasture, or for a
new enterprise that will make more
money than previously, or to people
12 THE RURAL VOICE
Jack Mantz
(right) pets his
zebra while
llammas
(above), enjoy
lunch.
Customers are
looking for
something
different when
they come to
buy.
who live in the country, have a few
acres and want a few goats or an
exotic pony such as an Austrian
Haflinger, too stocky to ride but good
to pull a cart.
"If I don't have the right animal
for a customer, I know where to find
it," Mantz said.
Animals as pets are becoming
more and more popular, and they are
recommended as a way of improving
a person's emotional well-being, for
example those in nursing homes.
Large animals kept in the yard
outside work for those with an allergy
problem, since they're not inside
sitting on the bedroom pillow.
Jack's most remarkable animal
right now is the zebra. A zebra isn't
an average pet, since a female fetches
about $25,000. A zebra eats what a
horse eats, a mixed chop of molasses,
corn, oats, grains and nutrients, but it
is high-strung and temperamental.
But once it gets used to people, it
becomes quite friendly and you can
pet it. A zebra can't be ridden. A
saddle or bridle would torment a wild
animal.
The farmyards are filled with
roosters, assorted fowl, llamas,
miniature horses, mules and donkeys.
Canada geese hang around the stream
behind the barn at feeding time for
their ground chop, and then they
leave.
The pasture is rye grass, trefoil,
Kentucky Blue and Ladino
grass. Jack doesn't grow crops
but has haying equipment.
"Most sales are a single or a pair,
and the price is always negotiable,"
Jack Mantz mentioned.
His hundred -acre farm isn't a
petting zoo open to the public or a
curiosity showplace, but a place
where a buyer can go to purchase an
unusual animal to stock his farm. His
most unusual sale was several hump-
backed camels last year. "One was