The Farm at Walnut Creek

A farm with exotic animals is not what I would expect in Ohio Amish country. But two people highly recommended this place, talking about their recent visit and how enjoyable it was to pet the animals and ride in the wagon. The Trip Advisor reviews were excellent as well and people said it was great for all ages. I really enjoy farms and animals so it sounded like a fun adventure. I ended up spending half a day and was not bored. The countryside was beautiful with interesting animals and plenty to see and do.

Since it was spring there were a lot of new babies on the Farm. Here are a few photos of ones I enjoyed seeing. In the first photo are Jacob lambs, a British domestic sheep known for having four horns and piebald coloring.

As I was walking down a path I came upon this cockatoo who was hanging out by himself. He sat on my foot for awhile and could even say a few words like “pretty bird” and “hello.”

The Farm exhibits a number of exotic birds in aviaries as well as other animals in enclosures or in the fields such as camels, kangaroos, pot-bellied pigs, donkeys, goats, sheep, cows and horses. One of my favorites to watch were the ring-tailed lemurs. There was a baby who was very active jumping and climbing all over the adults, making a nuisance of himself at times. When I took this photo though he was taking a break.

The highlight for visitors is the horse drawn wagon ride to feed the larger free roaming animals in the hills above the Farm. People lined up for a turn but the wait wasn’t long as there were multiple wagons. Small buckets of pellet feed were provided for each person. Before we left, our driver gave instructions on how to feed the animals such as dropping the food in the mouths of the larger beasts and putting food in our palms for the smaller animals.

It was a bit of a crazy ride as some of the animals mobbed us, grabbing at the buckets. A few had long and rather dangerous looking horns and there wasn’t much protection from getting poked in these open wagons, but everyone was having a great time.

I decided to just watch others have fun feeding the animals and getting slobbered on by big tongues.

Not all the animals were mobbing us, some like the fallow deer below were relaxing and left us alone.

One option at the Farm is to drive the road in your own vehicle. I only saw one on the road, the rest were wagons. In front of us was a wagon of Amish, so the locals seem to enjoy this activity as much as the tourists.

When we reached the downhills on the road our elderly driver picked up the pace by trotting the horses and giving us a bit of a thrill ride.

Wagon riders were hoping to feed the zebras and giraffes but they ignored us, showing no interest in a handout or being petted. Our ride lasted about an hour and covered over two miles. After the ride I headed over to the house and barn area.

This is considered a working farm although a family was not living in the home. Visitors are allowed to wander in and out and see what a typical Amish farm house would look like. There is minimal furniture and household items though, so not much a tourist could bother. Around the house were gardens that had been planted but it was too early for harvesting. I was told that later in the summer they will be selling some veggies. Free cookies were a nice touch and there were also items for purchase such as homemade bread made in the kitchen on site as well as jams, pickles and canned goods. There were friendly locals to talk to and answer questions. I was told that the farm owners lived elsewhere on the property and there was a lot to keep up with. This was one of the more easygoing attractions I have visited. People were allowed to wander all over the property and enjoy themselves.

In the mid afternoon was a milking demonstration in the dairy barn. A cream separator was set up for visitors to see the old fashioned process. The cats seemed to enjoy milking time too as they hurried to lick up any spills.

I really enjoyed my time at the Farm and I hope you liked following along!