We started with 2 cows, Heather and Dee-Dee. Both had done several events. Unknown to us, the cows had been housed in a shed with bullocks (castrated bulls) the night before coming to live at Crazy Critters. While Luke was so soft with the cows, wondering if he was feeding them right as he was new to cows, Heather was getting bigger and bigger to the point he thought he may have been overfeeding them. On January 12th, 2022, Rab was born. Dee-Dee started to show some signs she wasn't too keen on attending events, while Heather loved the spotlight.
Due to be at an event, Heather's first calf Rab walked straight into the halter, showing he already had such a strong bond with us as handlers. In no time, Rab attended this event with his mother, Heather.
Soon after, Rab became even more of a star than his mum Heather. We have had several calves since from Heather and Dee-Dee, although Heather is way too busy attending events to be having babies now.
As we were the first to really push this market and set a trend for Highland cow hire, we get inundated with bookings to the point on peak days we have 3 sets of cows going out daily! And of course, even the stars Heather and Rab need a break from the travel and events, as much as they love it.
So we now have the main stars, Heather & Rab, who are so popular they have even starred in movies (can't wait to share the details), and it's no wonder — with their horns grown in perfectly, they add such a bold and charming touch to photos & events.
Derek & Delilah, black and dunn in colour — these were the colours you most often saw historically until Queen Victoria made comment on how much she liked the reds, then they became the most popular colour of Highland cow.
And of course our newest additions, Maggie & Morag — another set of red Highland cows.
We have since expanded our herd, hoping to add some baby Highland cows in the future to attend weddings and events, adding even more cuteness to your big day!
As the business has developed (yes, we have many other services and animals), Highland cow hire, especially for weddings, has become one of our main branches of the business, employing up to 6 staff, 3 trucks & trailers just to keep up with demand, nearly fully booked 2 years in advance with little availability.
If you would like experienced, trained Highland cows to attend your event, Crazy Critters Experience is the first choice, leading the wedding & events industry on animal hire. They have a great understanding of the changing environments of weddings & events, experienced in advising the best poses with the cows to get the best photos. Using positive reinforcement training makes them the most recommended supplier of Highland cows.
We of course have a performing animals licence (required for any public interaction with animals), continuous public liability insurance, and hold a high standard of animal welfare, using positive reinforcement to ensure the animals enjoy their experience as well as you and your guests.