Just a few days ago, I went with my cousins to Beech Hill Farm (a ice cream stand, farm, and corn maze facility), in Hopkinton, NH.  Beech Hill Farm has a petting zoo, which my cousins adored.

After consuming some delicious ice cream, we headed off to the petting zoo.  First we saw a pair of fluffy, little mini-lop rabbits.  My cousins (ages two and four) wanted to hold them badly.  Mini-lops are a very popular breed of pet rabbit in the USA.

Next, we passed a pen of goats. My cousins were wary of the goats, because they thought they would bite, but I petted a goat, and they relaxed. Then, we saw several Indian Peafowl, in this case one male and two females. My cousins loved them.  The male Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, resisted showing off his beautiful plumes unfortunately. Two pigs were napping in the next pen.  My cousins were highly amused by them, and wanted to pet them.  We also saw some cattle. My cousins were impartial to the cattle, as they had a less than pleasing smell and were asleep.  They were Hereford cattle, a common meat species.

Continuing our tour we saw another pen of goats that interested my cousins. I don’t remember exactly what breed, but they were for milking.  Finally, we passed a miniature donkey and a horse.  Unfortunately, my cousins were distracted by a sandpile and toy trucks, but my sisters loved these animals.

After visiting the animals, we used some waterless sanitizer.  It is important always to wash your hands after petting animals because these animals may carry potentially fatal bacteria. Petting zoos have been associated with infectious disease outbreaks in humans.  Contact with animals poses serious health risks, especially for young children who are prone to putting objects or their fingers into their mouths.   At Beech Hill Farm, sanitizer dispensers were provided to alleviate this problem.

Young children love petting farms, but give them some mature guidance.