Setting Up a Side Hustle for Fall: Fun at the Petting Zoo

Photo by Vladislav Vasnetsov from Pexels

Petting zoos are a great family activity that is fun and educational. Parents always prioritize activities like this for their children because it is a way to have fun while learning something valuable.

Children of all ages love cute animals and would jump at the chance to pet them and feed them by hand. You may even find that many young adults and couples also come to the petting zoo. Cute animals appeal to people of all ages.

It is also a great way to ensure an income stream when your farm is winding down during the fall months. If the idea of utilizing your existing land into a petting zoo appeals to you, then it might be time to look into the details.

This is the best time to get started, as you still have time to designate an area and start building what you need.

Having enough land for the tourists to wander around is often the hardest part to find for people who don’t own farms. Since you have the land, you can concentrate on looking into marketing materials or investing in Bobcat construction equipment so you can keep costs low by keeping the building work in-house.

This can be a great community project as well. You can make deals with your neighbors to display their goods or offer their products at your petting zoo. Tourists will be delighted to purchase farm-fresh produce, and word of mouth and social media posts will draw even more people to the farm. This can only make the petting zoo more profitable.

 

Do You Need a License?

Check with your local farmers’ union or the local government to see if you need a license or permit to run a petting zoo on your land. You may need to pass an inspection and get permits to allow tourists on your farm.

This is also a good time to inquire into liability insurance as people are bound to get injured. No matter how many assistants you have or how much signage you put up, someone will do something silly and hurt themselves. To avoid this turning into a serious incident for you and your farm, insurance is vital.

 

Do You Need Help?

Most farm animals are social and enjoy interacting with people. But they can get tired and stressed out as well. In addition, not everyone who wants to interact with them will know how to treat them. Some people who come to the zoo may have wrong ideas about proper ways to interact with a strange animal who does not know them.

You cannot be everywhere at once, so consider getting enough help that there is at least one assistant at each pen. Give this person the full authority to decide who gets to enter the pen and how many people can interact with the animal at a time.

They should also be allowed to spend time with the animals to learn their quirks and signals. This will allow them to recognize when the animals need a break and some time to themselves before resuming meeting people.   If a tourist does not comply, you need to have bouncers on standby who are ready and willing to throw these disruptive elements out of the farm.

 

Do You Have the Animals?

You cannot have a petting zoo without enough animals to pet. How much variety do you have? Can you borrow or purchase more animals without too much expenditure?

These are all considerations you must have to ensure that your petting zoo is well worth the drive and admission fee to the tourists who visit. People love horses, sheep, goats, cows, and pigs. You can also showcase chickens, ducks, rabbits, and guinea fowl.

Small and gentle animals like rabbits and guinea pigs are great for younger children but can bite when stressed. Make sure they are supervised. The other animals are all also quite prone to stress if mishandled. Train them to get used to being handled regularly and being pet and fed by hand so that they can respond to the tourists.

As you can see, it is not that hard to set up a petting zoo. It is about the considerations of what tourists will expect. For example, designate areas where they can rest and an area where they can eat and safely dispose of garbage. Depending on the number of tourists, you may need to arrange for portable toilets. This will make it easier for tourists to rest between seeing the animals. It will also reduce the brunt of the heat on the animals, making them less likely to become irritable and tired.

It can sound like a lot to think about and maybe even a lot to do. At the end of the day, it is about sharing a gratifying experience with the children who interact with the animals.

Petting zoos are a great family activity that is fun and educational. Parents always prioritize activities like this for their children because it is a way to have fun while learning something valuable. Children of all ages love cute animals and would jump at the chance to pet them and feed them by hand. You may even find that many young adults and couples also come to the petting zoo. Cute animals appeal to people of all ages.

It is also a great way to ensure an income stream when your farm is winding down during the fall months. If the idea of utilizing your existing land into a petting zoo appeals to you, then it might be time to look into the details. This is the best time to get started, as you still have time to designate an area and start building what you need.

Having enough land for the tourists to wander around is often the hardest part to find for people who don’t own farms. Since you have the land, you can concentrate on looking into marketing materials or investing in Bobcat construction equipment so you can keep costs low by keeping the building work in-house.

This can be a great community project as well. You can make deals with your neighbors to display their goods or offer their products at your petting zoo. Tourists will be delighted to purchase farm-fresh produce, and word of mouth and social media posts will draw even more people to the farm. This can only make the petting zoo more profitable.

 

Do You Need a License?

Check with your local farmers’ union or the local government to see if you need a license or permit to run a petting zoo on your land. You may need to pass an inspection and get permits to allow tourists on your farm.

This is also a good time to inquire into liability insurance as people are bound to get injured. No matter how many assistants you have or how much signage you put up, someone will do something silly and hurt themselves. To avoid this turning into a serious incident for you and your farm, insurance is vital.

 

Do You Need Help?

Most farm animals are social and enjoy interacting with people. But they can get tired and stressed out as well. In addition, not everyone who wants to interact with them will know how to treat them. Some people who come to the zoo may have wrong ideas about proper ways to interact with a strange animal who does not know them.

You cannot be everywhere at once, so consider getting enough help that there is at least one assistant at each pen. Give this person the full authority to decide who gets to enter the pen and how many people can interact with the animal at a time.

They should also be allowed to spend time with the animals to learn their quirks and signals. This will allow them to recognize when the animals need a break and some time to themselves before resuming meeting people.   If a tourist does not comply, you need to have bouncers on standby who are ready and willing to throw these disruptive elements out of the farm.

 

Do You Have the Animals?

You cannot have a petting zoo without enough animals to pet. How much variety do you have? Can you borrow or purchase more animals without too much expenditure?

These are all considerations you must have to ensure that your petting zoo is well worth the drive and admission fee to the tourists who visit. People love horses, sheep, goats, cows, and pigs. You can also showcase chickens, ducks, rabbits, and guinea fowl.

Small and gentle animals like rabbits and guinea pigs are great for younger children but can bite when stressed. Make sure they are supervised. The other animals are all also quite prone to stress if mishandled. Train them to get used to being handled regularly and being pet and fed by hand so that they can respond to the tourists.

As you can see, it is not that hard to set up a petting zoo. It is about the considerations of what tourists will expect. For example, designate areas where they can rest and an area where they can eat and safely dispose of garbage.

Depending on the number of tourists, you may need to arrange for portable toilets. This will make it easier for tourists to rest between seeing the animals. It will also reduce the brunt of the heat on the animals, making them less likely to become irritable and tired.

It can sound like a lot to think about and maybe even a lot to do. At the end of the day, it is about sharing a gratifying experience with the children who interact with the animals.

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