Celebrate Mom with Fresh Air, Good Food, and Farm Hospitality
Celebrate Mom with Fresh Air, Good Food, and Farm Hospitality
Dig Deeper Blog
The Joys of Livestock Cuddling: A Unique Farm Stay Experience
Scottie Jones
3 min read
Goat Yoga hit the big time a few years ago. Started on a whim by Lainey Morse in 2016 when a yoga teacher suggested offering a class in the field with Lainey's goats, her Original Goat Yoga craze took off not only across the country but around the world. It was one of those silly ideas that livestock owners have known like... forever. Some of our animals can be down-right affectionate.
Not into yoga, but looking for a farm with friendly animals and farmers that allow some hands-on interaction? Farmstay has search filters beyond just location. Try the Activities filter and check off Petting Paddock. You will find a number of farms or ranches around the U.S.. Or you can check off by the type of animal, recognizing that goats and donkeys are often used as ambassadors when they aren't on brush duty, some milk cows are friendly enough, and baby animals (usually born in spring) are always cuddly.
Grace Note Farm RI
Why do we even bring up livestock cuddling? It doesn't sound very 'farm-y' but can be a side benefit of staying on a working farm. Call it "farm therapy". A chance to relax and slow down, to laugh and connect in a nonverbal way, to be in nature and recharge with something warm and furry under hand.
The caveat: it's a unique farm (and farmer) that offers cuddling of their livestock, so don't expect this on every farm you go to. If this is the experience you are looking for, call ahead to make sure you read the information correctly. There are plenty of farm and ranch livestock that aren't treated like pets and will just as soon stomp on you as give you a kiss!
Rockn Rowdy Ranch TX
Just a sampling of farm stays allowing close-up-and-personal livestock interactions:
Bar SZ Ranch, Pacines CA. We figure when the description includes, "...walking a pig, snuggling a rabbit" along with photos of kids interacting with their horses, there's got to be some cuddling going on . The ranch is all about interaction and learning new things with their own house full of kids.
Rockn Rowdy Ranch, Leona TX. The photos say it all but so does this list of animals, "...horses, ponies, zebra, donkeys, Scottish highlander cattle, longhorn, buffalo, llamas, goats, kangaroos , deer and so many more." See some of these animals from horseback and you can take 'learning to ride' off your bucket list.
Mary's Land Farm, Ellicott City MD. Priding themselves on "beyond-organic standards and regenerative practice", this farm has chickens, cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and ponies. Since they show a photo of a lamb being held, it looks as if there is some excellent baby animal cuddling in season.
Heritage Farm, Flora IN. Specializing in alpacas, one of the softer woolly animals we know, this is the place to meet and learn all about them. The farm has other animals too, including a recent addition of KuneKune pigs. Cuddle up!
Grace Note Farm RI
Why do we even bring up livestock cuddling? It doesn't sound very 'farm-y' but can be a side benefit of staying on a working farm. Call it "farm therapy". A chance to relax and slow down, to laugh and connect in a nonverbal way, to be in nature and recharge with something warm and furry under hand.
The caveat: it's a unique farm (and farmer) that offers cuddling of their livestock, so don't expect this on every farm you go to. If this is the experience you are looking for, call ahead to make sure you read the information correctly. There are plenty of farm and ranch livestock that aren't treated like pets and will just as soon stomp on you as give you a kiss!
Rockn Rowdy Ranch TX
Just a sampling of farm stays allowing close-up-and-personal livestock interactions:
Bar SZ Ranch, Pacines CA. We figure when the description includes, "...walking a pig, snuggling a rabbit" along with photos of kids interacting with their horses, there's got to be some cuddling going on . The ranch is all about interaction and learning new things with their own house full of kids.
Rockn Rowdy Ranch, Leona TX. The photos say it all but so does this list of animals, "...horses, ponies, zebra, donkeys, Scottish highlander cattle, longhorn, buffalo, llamas, goats, kangaroos , deer and so many more." See some of these animals from horseback and you can take 'learning to ride' off your bucket list.
Mary's Land Farm, Ellicott City MD. Priding themselves on "beyond-organic standards and regenerative practice", this farm has chickens, cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and ponies. Since they show a photo of a lamb being held, it looks as if there is some excellent baby animal cuddling in season.
Heritage Farm, Flora IN. Specializing in alpacas, one of the softer woolly animals we know, this is the place to meet and learn all about them. The farm has other animals too, including a recent addition of KuneKune pigs. Cuddle up!
We pulled these few farms off the search results for Petting Paddock. There are about 25 more choices. Of course you can always just search on Goats or Sheep and be pretty much assured there will be babies in the spring to hang out with. Dairies will have cows. Some farms will have donkeys. The list goes on. Oh, and if you search on Yoga, it's likely there might be a goat or two on your matt.
Cover photo: Parkside Farm, Byron Center MI
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