Michelle Humphries’ love of animals and of children led her to open the Dutch Creek Animal Farm in Appling.
“We opened on August 1. We’ve been living on the property for about nine years,” said Humphries, a retired schoolteacher. “I’ve loved animals all my life.”
Humphries lives on about 40 acres with nine of it used for pastures. There’s a barn and other enclosures so the animals can be brought into a central location for a few hours a day to meet with visitors.
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Humphries has an assortment of animals, including a horse named Sundance, who is probably the impetus for her animal farm.
“I bought him before I had a place for him and I boarded him,” she said.
The horse is one of the farm’s stars among the older visitors to the farm.
Small children prefer shorter animals, such as the donkey or miniature horse, but adults and older children love to touch Sundance or brush him. He enjoys the attention as well.
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After Sundance came the llamas, goats, rabbits, chickens and pigs. A Polish rooster is named Rod Stewart because his feathers resemble the rocker’s wild hair. There’s a cow, who likes to gently nudge people with her head, and Oliver the French donkey who got his first taste of theater on Palm Sunday, when he was enlisted to play a role in a church program.
Humphries has several young animals on the farm, including a couple of baby goats who like nibbling on shoestrings and pants’ legs, and a llama who stays close to her watchful mother.
The farm provides a great socially-distanced activity for families, said Jenna Loging, who is the farm’s marketing director.
“We’ve had homeschool groups, moms’ groups and birthday parties,” she said.
They try to limit the size of the groups to make the experience relaxed and enjoyable for the visitors as well as the animals. They don’t want to overstimulate the animals, so the longest day they’d ever have would be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., but most days are shorter than that.
In addition to the birthday parties, the farm is the site of other types of activities including an Easter egg hunt. Humphries said one was initially scheduled for April 2, but because of demand, a second date was added for April 5.
Not only is the farm fun, said Humphries, it’s designed as a learning experience to teach people about the different types of animals and how to care for them.
A two-hour trip to the farm is $10 per person including children older than one-year-old. Military and senior citizens receive a $2 discount. Reservations are required.
To learn more about Dutch Creek Animal Farm, visit dutchcreekanimalfarm.com or call (762)-354-7008.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
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