I’ve always welcomed visitors to my farm when more and more farms are closing to the public. For me, it’s important that kids and adults alike get to experience nature and understand the food system and cycle of life.
People visit for a variety of reasons. Adults like to visit and experience the animals and nature, often in silence. Families are usually looking to fill time and give their kids something to do for a short period of time. Some people want to help pitch in with chores for an hour or so and others want to donate money, food or supplies for the animals. The majority of people don’t help in any way but those who do make it worth the efforts and time farmers spend taking time out of their schedules for visits.
This weekend I had someone reach out who wanted to visit. I usually defer to someone else’s schedule for visits and asked when she would like to come. She said 1 PM, Saturday. I agreed knowing it would cut out doing much of anything for the day. When she didn’t show and didn’t bother to tell me she wasn’t coming I decided to write a long overdue post about farm etiquette.
I wanted to address a few common things that can help you, the farm owner and their animals:
- Pay attention to the weather and plan visits accordingly. I prefer visits during sunny days and cooler times of the day so the animals have the energy to interact.
- Respect the farmers/homeowners time. If you commit to a day and time to be there please don’t bail. If you’re running late or can’t make it be courteous and let us know.
- Dress properly. If it’s been raining you’ll want to wear rubber boots or shoes you don’t mind getting dirty. Closed toed shoes are always best. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had my toes pecked by chickens attempting to ruin my pedicure.
- Don’t bring your dog or any other animal. Many people ask if they can bring their dogs to play. This is always a bad idea. You put our prey animals at risk and your own dogs health at risk. Most farms have livestock guardian dogs that don’t play around with intruder dogs. It’s Luca’s job to protect his animals and he will do so at all costs. Please leave your pets at home.
- Talk to your kids about farm etiquette and being considerate to animals. Don’t chase the animals or attempt to hurt or scare them. This is abusive to prey animals. It scares them to be chased by a stranger and makes them distrustful and difficult to catch during health emergencies. Some animals love to play chase (like my buck and Luca) but the downside to this is they will turn the tables and go in pursuit in the spirit of play, possibly scaring a child. It’s best to have a respectful, loving energy with the animals and they will reflect your behavior. Talk to kids so they know animals communicate through behavior.
- Don’t wear red. This isn’t usually an issue but there are times and species who don’t react well to the color red so a little caution can go a long way.
- Animals are like people and highly individualistic. Some love people, others shy away from us. The calmer you are the more likely the animals will want to interact with you and that’s the best way to have a beautiful experience.
- Bringing animal treats is great! If it’s not prepackaged farm animal treats you can bring fresh fruits and veggies or something like unsalted sunflower seeds.
We love farm visitors and encourage kind interactions with the animals. Anyone wanting to bring a picnic is welcome to do so. Kids love to sit at the picnic table or swing on the tree swing.
Thank you to everyone who has visited and helped through donations or chores. You make it worthwhile! xo