by Brynna Williamson
You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen; Comet, and Cupid, and Donner, and Blitzen… but do you recall Cookie, Tootsie, Ginger, Holly, Molly, Xena, Marilyn, and Bing?
You wouldn’t – at least, not yet. Yes, they’ve got antlers. Yes, they’re labeled by the word “deer.” But see… you can’t level your gun and shoot them. You just can’t. Why not, you may ask?
Because Santa would put you on the naughty list.
This particular deer, and the 7 like it out in a small, family-owned farm in Golden, East Texas, are not normal deer – they’re reindeer.
Reindeer? In the Piney Woods of East Texas?
Oh yeah. You’d better believe it.
Their Story
The unusual idea to have a reindeer ranch in Golden, Texas became a possibility in 2021, when Jason and Amanda Mullins went on a trip to Alaska with Amanda’s parents, Sheila and Rocky Parker. While they were up there, the group saw some reindeer.
Yes, the story starts out that simply, although it escalates quickly: while many of us would never have thought to find out if reindeer can “even survive in Texas,” the enterprising group not only thought of it, but did “lots and lots of research to find out.”
They discovered that yes, if kept properly and provided with the necessary adaptations, reindeer can indeed live in East Texas. So, the four got reindeer, and became “Fly High Reindeer: Texas Premier Reindeer Ranch.”
All because they thought, as Amanda said with a smile, “Hey! This might be something that we can do.”
“It was just an adventure we wanted to take!” chimed in Sheila.
I respect their “brrrrr-avery!”
Now that they have the reindeer, the Mullins and Parkers do just what you’d expect with them – they “take them out on display” for some Christmas events so other people can enjoy them, too.
“We go to tree lightings, we go to festivals, we go to parades, Breakfast with Santa,” Amanda said. “We also do long-term leases. They go right before Thanksgiving, or the day after Thanksgiving, and they stay through Christmas.”
The Process
Okay, so here’s one of the parts we’re all interested in – how in the world can reindeer survive in muggy East Texas? And what do the Mullins/Parkers do to keep their eight reindeer not only alive but also happy?
Well, Amanda says that they have tons of fans that they run year-round, as well as a misting system, a system to help keep flies off of the reindeer, and something to keep ticks off.
“We had to do lots of things,” she said.
Another thing that the group had to do was adjust their existing cattle pens into pens for reindeer – pens that wouldn’t hurt their wide horns, and would be extra tall.
“It’s really for their protection from something getting in, not from them getting out (by flying),” said Amanda wryly.
Before any of that, though, the first step in even acquiring the caribou (it’s a different name for the same animal, I found out) was to “see what regulations Texas had, (and) what license we had to get,” said Amanda. That in itself was a long process, with tons of paperwork to fill out, an ever-changing list of rules limiting “what we can and can’t do, where we can and can’t go,” and having to bring a state vet out to inspect the Fly High Reindeer ranch facility.
The group also had to find out where they could even purchase reindeer, since – as one would guess – there are not a ton of local breeders. In fact… there aren’t any. Even after they got their license to keep and maintain the reindeer, the group went all the way to Minnesota to purchase the first few of their new “livestock.”
As for feed, Fly High Reindeer can’t just give the animals something that would be sold at any local feed store, either: according to Amanda, these complex caribou need a specialized diet of specific alfalfa and proteins that they “can’t get made here.” So where do the four go to get that? The closest place, they said, is in Missouri – so they make the trip three times a year, with a big trailer, to get a literal ton, or a ton and a half, of food in pellet form.
“It was (a serious commitment),” agreed Amanda.
As you can see, keeping reindeer isn’t just a hobby for the Mullins and the Parkers – it’s really a lifestyle. But the group wouldn’t change their path even if they could, they say.
“No (regrets),” said Amanda. “No, I don’t think so.”
Inquiring Minds Want To Know
I feel like the Mullins and Parkers need to host an episode of “MythBusters” about these reindeer. As it turns out, there’s a lot the public assumes about these Christmas animals that just isn’t true – and some super cool stuff that I had no idea about.
For instance, here’s one that Amanda says they’ve heard from a surprising amount of people, adults and kids alike: “I didn’t know reindeer were real animals!”
“Most people are surprised… we have a lot of people that didn’t even know reindeer existed,” said Amanda. “We hear that all the time: ‘We just thought it was a fictional character!’”
Here’s another one: while these (very real) animals do enjoy a good snack, Amanda says that movies have actually done her furry friends a disservice in making everyone think they like carrots. Actually, she says, caribou/reindeer don’t like them.
Get this – they do like raisins, though. Raisins, animal crackers, and gingersnaps, say the group.
I did learn something else really neat about these creatures that I did not know: with each footstep, reindeer’s tendons audibly click. Why did God design this? So that if the big furry animals, who often travel in a pack in the wild, are caught in a blizzard, they won’t lose each other – they can locate one another by the sound of their own footsteps.
To me, that’s awesome.
There’s another secret about reindeer, too: Sheila says that all of Santa’s reindeer are probably girls, because “the guys have already lost their antlers by (Christmas).”
“If you really want to know the truth, they’re the ones pulling that fat guy around… women are doing all the work,” she teased.
Of course, there’s one last rumor surrounding reindeer for Amanda to address.
Do reindeer actually fly?
“Just on Christmas Eve,” she said.
So, this Christmas, when you’re thinking about Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, and the rest… spare a thought for Holly, Molly, Bing, Ginger, and the Fly High Reindeer friends. Look up in the sky: maybe you’ll see them up there, too.
