What Animals Can Visitors Touch At The Petting Zoo?

I like the compact, no-nonsense visits where I can actually feel what I'm seeing. The petting zoo offers a tidy lineup of touchable animals: goats (both full-size and pygmy), woolly sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs, piglets, miniature horses and ponies, a couple of donkeys, chicks and ducklings, and occasionally an alpaca or llama. There’s also usually a calm tortoise you can gently stroke under supervision. Staff are strict about feeding only the provided food and demonstrating how to approach each animal safely.

Practically speaking, I always wash my hands before and after, keep my fingers flat when feeding, and avoid crowding mothers with young babies. If you’ve got little kids or allergy concerns, the place hands out sanitizer and has a shaded bench for breaks. Photo-wise, animals are cooperative but don’t like bright flashes. I appreciate how the staff balances fun with animal welfare—short, supervised interactions mean everyone goes home happy (and slightly furry). Ended up leaving with a grin and a pocket full of hay hair—totally worth it.

Walking up the wooden steps to the petting area, the first thing that hits me is a mix of hay, warm fur, and the excited squeaks of little ones—it's impossible not to grin. At this petting zoo you can reach out to a pretty broad cast of animals: friendly goats (including miniature breeds), Suffolk and Jacob sheep with wool you almost want to bury your face in, a handful of soft rabbits and bouncy guinea pigs, and a clutch of fluffy chicks and curious ducklings. There are also mini horses and ponies you can stroke under staff supervision, plus a couple of patient donkeys and lop-eared sheepdogs lounging nearby. For the more unusual tactile experiences, there’s often an alpaca or two (their fleece is silkier than sheep), a gentle llama that likes chin scratches, and sometimes even a calm tortoise whose shell you can feel—firm and slightly ridged.

Feeding and hands-on moments are highlights here: you can bottle-feed tiny goat kids or give a carrot to a pony, but everything is done with approved feed and an on-site attendant watching to make sure the animals aren’t overwhelmed. I love pointing out how different textures are—goat hair can be coarse and wiry, sheep fleece is dense and springy, rabbit fur is luxuriously soft, and piglets have that warm, bristly feel that surprises a lot of kids. The staff also shows how to approach properly: flat hands, calm voices, and no quick moves. They’ll put a little band on the visiting toddler’s wrist if the venue does photo IDs for bottle-feeding shifts, and they’ll kindly ask anyone with peanut or animal allergies to take precautions.

Beyond touching, there’s a gentle educational vibe: quick talks about where milk and wool come from, what a mini horse needs, and why llamas sometimes hum. I always end up staying longer than planned just chatting with volunteers while helping a shy kid meet a rabbit. It’s a warm, tactile place that’s more about connection than spectacle—soft noses, sticky hay, and a surprising number of relaxed, friendly animals. I leave smelling faintly of hay and feeling unreasonably joyful, like I’ve hit a small, fuzzy reset button.