This year is the Small Breeds Farm Park’s 35th anniversary!

To celebrate, we are having a Country Anniversary Fete that we would love you all to come to. This event will take place on Saturday, July 5 from 10:30am to 5pm at The Small Breeds Farm, near Kington (HR5 3HF).

It’s going to be a family fun day! This means not only can you see all the animals like a usual day, but there will also be bouncy castles, a classic vehicle collection dating from 1991, which is when the farm first started, lots of craft stalls, food caterers, face painting and much more.

We want to thank every single person who has supported the farm throughout the years. From visiting the farm, purchasing a season ticket, eating in the tea room or adopting an animal, it has all enabled us to get where we are today. We put our pride into our animals and as a team we love seeing the smiles on visitors’ faces - it’s what makes the job so special, being able to share those moments with the public.

The Small Breeds Farm is home to more than 500 animals, including rare breeds such as red squirrels, black swans and miniature donkeys, all with unique personalities. It is based in 10 acres of gorgeous Herefordshire countryside and is perfect for all ages, come rain or shine. The farm has a special touch where you can have personal interaction with the animals and go into enclosures with them, whether it’s for 5 minutes or 2 hours. The pygmy goats are a visitor favourite as they are sure to climb all over you and love a fuss. The farm has an amazing tea room on site that offers a variety of both hot and cold food with lots to choose from, including cakes such as gluten-free, vegan or full of chocolate, so everybody gets to enjoy a slice of cake and a hot drink. You can sit in the picnic area and have a stunning view of the greenery, watching all of the animals playing and even some free-roaming the farm.

Throughout the 35 years, we have been able to do so much for our animals. One of the most recent programmes we have joined is the Red Squirrel Breeding Programme. We were able to build a brand-new enclosure for our red squirrels, which they are thoroughly enjoying. This enables us to contribute towards increasing the number of red squirrels in the UK, which is something we are proud to be a part of.

One of our biggest achievements in the past 35 years was Small Breeds Farm winning an award from the Herefordshire Tourism Awards for Best Attraction in Herefordshire. This was a huge achievement for us, and we were honoured to receive it.

Over the past 35 years, we have also been able to breed rare animals, such as our Royal Golden Guernsey goats, which is really special to us as there are only 1,500 Golden Guernsey goats in the world and we are home to 10 of them. This year one of our girls, Cybil, had two gorgeous boys that are cheeky and full of character.

We have also been very lucky to breed a variety of our owls. Emily, who has been on the farm for 10 years, is very passionate about hatching rare owlets to help keep the species going. Emily has recently started owlet feeding, which is something you do not get to see every day. The owlets are hand-fed around four times a day. Emily was able to hatch a Rusty Barred Owl in 2022, which was a massive achievement as they are a rare owl species. In the last 35 years, the owl garden has increased its numbers significantly and we now have more than 75 owls for visitors to see. They are such majestic birds, each with their own individual differences. If you are a bird lover and have supported us over the past 35 years, then we thank you for helping us keep our beautiful owl collection. Recently, we have had an amazing opportunity to join the Zoo and Wildlife Conservation CIC’s Chaco Owl Project, which aims to gather research for effective conservation planning for the species. We hope to raise money towards important research equipment that will help contribute to the project.

We have also been working on a new enclosure by the squirrel pen that we are preparing, as we have a brand-new animal coming to the farm. If you don’t already follow our social media, then we recommend you do as it is an announcement you won’t want to miss.

In recent years since Ella and Lewis took over the farm, Small Breeds Farm has held more events, which have been a massive hit. Last year, for the first time, we organised Halloween Fest on the farm, which ran every weekend in October. The event immediately sold out. It was amazing to do something different on the farm and give visitors a spooky experience with actors on a walk-through trail. By the time Halloween was over, we then organised the Christmas lights with the animals, which was also a success. This event has taken place for the past three years. The farm looks magical at Christmas time with the lights flashing, the animals tucked inside and Father Christmas greeting visitors. It really helps get everyone into the Christmas spirit.

Please note we are closing June 19–21 for a private event and will reopen on Monday, June 22.

More information about Small Breeds Farm Park can be found at: www.owlcentre.com