Mini-keeper experience
Inspire your little ones with our mini-keeper experience
Our mini-keeper experience is designed to give families with younger children an interactive hands-on experience with some of our animals at Pet’s Farm. You’ll get to cuddle our guinea pigs, brush our friendly Cameroon sheep and feed the cheeky pygmy goats – fun for all ages.
- 30-minute experience
- Family experience for ages 3+
- Maximum of five people (at least one adult per group)
- Guided tour of Pet’s Farm
On this half-hour experience at Pet’s Farm, you’ll get to meet a selection of our domesticated animals, learning about their care and what they eat, and getting a chance to pet and feed them. This is also a great option for those with learning difficulties or disabilities as it’s a very sensory experience.
We only offer one mini-keeper experience a day for up to five people. This is to ensure our animals stay nice and relaxed and aren’t overwhelmed by too many visitors. Although our Cameroon sheep are so friendly, we’re sure they wouldn’t mind being groomed all day!
Mini-keeper experience: what to expect
You’ll be hands on with a number of different animals, including guinea pigs, sheep and pygmy goats, so please remember to wear old clothes that you don’t mind getting messy. Here’s a sample of what you might be doing:
Cuddling the guinea pigs
You’ll spend 10 minutes petting our family of friendly guinea pigs. Listen out for their chirruping sounds – that means they’re enjoying themselves!
Grooming the Cameroon sheep
Your chance to get to know our charming Cameroon sheep. With hair instead of fleece, these characters are really friendly and will stand all day and let you brush them. It’s very therapeutic too!
Feeding the pygmy goats
Our cheeky pygmy goats are always a bit hit. You’ll help to feed them in their enclosure and there’s usually some baby ones to play with too. They’re always up to mischief.
Pet’s Farm – the main characters
Meet the Pets’ Farm family – it’s quite a mix of characters, so there’s never a dull moment down on the farm!
Leonardo di CapriGoat, Ryan Goatling and Vincent Van Goat
As well as having excellent names, our Anglo-Nubian goats are skilled escape artists and always planning their next mission.
Thelma and Louise
These two Kunekune pigs like nothing better than a scratch behind the ears. And who said pigs smell? Take a sniff, these ladies smell like maple syrup and celery!
Millie
Our beautiful donkey. She loves the alpacas and is always trying to join their gang.
Polly
She may be small but, at 25 years old, this pocket-rocket Shetland pony rules Pets’ Farm with a rod of iron.
Betty
Despite being a responsible mum, this pygmy goat likes to break the rules. You’ll often spot her climbing on her hayrack to reach her food.
Steveo and Pippa
Altogether now… ‘awwww’! These baby alpacas were born last year and with all that fluff they really are the cutest duo.
Why are Cameroon Sheep so hairy?
Cameroon sheep have a thick, hairy coat instead of a curly fleece. The thick undercoat helps to keep them warm in the winter months and they shed this in the spring. So when you groom them, you’ll be helping them to get rid of their unwanted winter hair. They really love this and will sometimes fall asleep whilst you’re brushing them!
Why do guinea pigs sing?
Like us, guinea pigs are very sociable animals and communicate with each other in their own language – a combination of chirps, chattering and whistles. Some of their calls even sound like they’re singing. They tend to get very excited and vocal around feeding time!
Our animal education team
All mini-keeper experiences will be hosted by a member of our education team. They’ll be able to give you lots of fun facts about our animals, and help everyone in your group to enjoy close-contact with some of our friendliest animals in this safe environment.