Spring brings a few surprises at ‘Broken K’ ranch

When Duane Kotke told his wife, Bonnie, she could do whatever she wanted on their 10-acre North Church Street spread, that’s all it took to begin the Broken K range menagerie. What started with a few dogs, has now become more than 70 animals including horses, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, rabbits, ferrets, rats, cats, a skunk and raccoon. All collected in less than three years.
And the population continues to grow. A quarter horse named Izzy gave birth to a foal on April 4. Newborn rabbits have appeared in the last few weeks as well. Bien, a pygmy goat has given birth to two kids.
Bonnie tagged most of her pets with clever names such as Iza pig, Mia pig and Ima Iguana. Others are more direct, such as the skunk named Mr. Stinky. Echo, a Boer goat, got her name from the sound her bleating made as it bounced off the walls of their house during its construction.
Kotke’s animals have come from a variety of situations. Some are pets; some have been rescued from abusive situations and some from happenstance. With such a different assortment, there is a unique chatter that abounds from the
ranch.
One thing, however, they all have in common: They know when it’s feeding time. All ears perk up when Kotke approaches with the feed buckets, nudging each other out of the way so as to be the first one fed. Coonie, the raccoon comes out of his den and stands on his hind legs when it’s feeding time, and Iza sits on command for a pole bean.
Kotke hopes to open a petting zoo, and allow in anyone who would like to visit. She also intends to provide boarding in the future.
For more information about Kotke’s petting zoo, call (850) 267-3228.