Habitattitude | Protect Our Environment | Do Not Release Fish and Aquatic Plants

Behind the rows of cats and dogs looking for homes, a "barn duck" and a peahen cluck and quack in outdoor pens at the Albuquerque Eastside Animal Care Center.

They're up for adoption, too.

So is a black chicken, several bunnies and 19 baby rats. Or they were during the last week of November.

Exotic animals - anything that's not a dog or cat - are some of the most sought after at the shelter. That could be due to the cost - $2 per for most native species and barn animals - or it could be due to the novelty of such pets, said Lt. Earl Baca, a supervisor with Albuquerque Animal Services.

Get them while they're cheap. Read the full story to get the details.

"A lot of people go to pet stores and adopt them as a little animal that's this big," Baca said, holding out his thumb and index finger. "But then it grows up to be this huge thing that can eat children."