BUSINESS
Like kids? Start a petting farm
I
f you have a mixture of
livestock on your smallholding, and are good with
children, an avenue for
earning some additional
income that might be open to
you is to start a petting farm as
an educational facility, to
provide the opportunity for
town dwellers, particularly
young people, to learn about
the realities of farming animals
and the need to take good
care of them.
All children should be realistic
about livestock farming. Many
children from the towns and
cities grow up knowing little
about where their meat, wool,
milk and eggs come from.
Many aren't able to tell a
sheep from a goat ~ so you
would be serving a good
purpose, along with making
money out of what you
already have on your
smallholding.
Some individuals have ethical
issues with zoos and petting
farms, as they feel that this
constitutes exploitation and
abuse of animals. More of a
focus on education, rather
than the (mis)handling of the
various animals, might
nonetheless justify the activity.
There are of course some
factors that you need to
address to be able to establish
a petting farm.
K Location. A rural petting
park miles from an urban
setting may be too far for
visitors to travel and thus not
generate the revenue
necessary to justify the
activity.
K Size. A petting farm
generally requires the use of 4
ha or more for proper
planning. The more animals
you plan to have, the more
room you will need.
K Livestock. Then you will
have to decide what animals
you will display. Petting farms
should include a wide variety.
Common choices include
horses, ponies, sheep, goats,
cows, donkeys, alpacas, giant
tortoises, potbellied pigs,
rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens,
ducks and geese.
Larger animals will need to be
separated from guests behind
fences, and they will require
close monitoring when
interactions take place.
Some petting farms also
feature free flight aviaries
(where tropical birds interact
with guests) and fish ponds
with koi.
Animals should be purchased
from reputable breeders or
farms. It is important to give
each animal time to adjust to
its new surroundings, and to
be sure that the animals
selected for the farm are
Continued on page 39
A pony ride at a petting farm may
well be a child’s first encounter
with a horse.
38
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