Critter Barn

You can watch sheep run (stampede? skip? some saunter, even…) to the pasture. If that’s not enough reason to pay a visit to the Critter Barn, I don’t know what is.
Yes, if you arrive around 11am, you too can stand on either side of the path and watch the sheep run into the pasture for the day. It’s the cutest thing ever, especially when you see the dog nudge them along. Beyond the sheep, though, the Critter Barn has a whole host of animals that both adults and kiddos can enjoy watching (and petting!)…
–Horses
–Chickens (hens and roosters)
–Cows
–Turkeys
–Goats (loved the goats jumping from «house to house»)
There are plenty of porta potties, hand washing stations and drinking water (for humans!) to ensure a comfortable experience for all. Every staff member we chatted with was friendly and super knowledgeable about their animals. This is indeed a full functioning animal farm!
I also read on their site that there are a handful of education programs/​series available, so if you have a little one who is of proper age, I’d certainly look into that. The barn is free, but do yourself a favor and stick a few bucks per person in the donation bin. This farm is a real gem.

This place is awesome. Definitely a more intimate experience than even the Indiana State Fair. A must to visit if you have younger children and are visiting the holland area, and especially if you are on a budget. I am glad we went here rather than the dutch village.

Animal lovers would love this place but for the average person looking for a little visit with some furry friends this place is a bit much! Not hating. It’s just super smelly and a little dirtier than I thought it would be… I guess that’s what living in a barn is like? Either way it wasn’t for me but it would be a good time for animal enthusiasts!

We were here 2 years ago with our playgroup and had a pretty disturbing experience. First stop was the cat area where our children found a cat that was dead and had obviously been there for awhile. The only person we could find to notify was a «student worker» who was maybe 12 years old at the most. Luckily our children were too young to know what was happening. Most of our group left right then and there and I wish I would have done the same. It set a terrible tone for the rest of our visit.
It makes me sad that the cat area is not inspected on a regular basis to where no one would notice a dead cat. This cat had been there for awhile.

This is a great place to visit with kids. They learn about the care and responsibilities of owning animals. It is free, but they accept donations.

Lovely barn. The turkey followed my husband and son everywhere. My kids are 1 and 3 and they both loved being able to feed the animals (without buying the food) and pet them too.
All the staff are friendly. Definitely will be back if we pass through here in the future.

The Critter Barn is a great place to let your kid pet some things you will never own.
On our visit my daughter pet ducks, held a baby chick, held a rabbit, pet a baby goat, snorted at pigs and tried to lick her hands numerous times. There are signs everywhere saying «no hands in mouth» but this crazy kid just doesn’t listen (she can’t read). Luckily there are sinks for just that purpose.
Even as an adult this place is pretty cool. When was the last time you snuggled a little bunny? It’s fun.
Wash your hands, Don’t let the animals lick your hands & make sure you leave a little donation for them since it’s run on donations.

I took my nieces & nephews here because they all really like animals & I really appreciated the hands on aspect.
We watched a pot bellied big do tricks, pet lots of different animals. Missed sheep shearing & goat feeding this time so I guess we will have to go back!
They have a picnic area if you want to bring a lunch and make a day of it. The staff is very friendly and willing to answer any questions.
Please remember to leave a donation — anything helps if you can give! I love that it is free! There are always people who can’t afford to pay and it’s just awesome that they have this place to go!
Highly recommend a visit!

What a great place to bring the kids! We came to see the early tulips with our 4 and 2 year old daughters. Knowing that the flowers wouldn’t keep the girls attention for the whole day, I found the Critter Barn online. My girls loved it here. There were bunnies on perches just waiting to be brushed and pet. My girls would have moved into the cat room if we let them. The cat room had several perches with giant, docile barn cats all sleeping and hanging out. We also loved the chick table. It was the first time we’ve gotten to hold a chick. There were pigs, goats, chickens, sheep, and much more. We stayed for about an hour and a half. This was an awesome addition to seeing the tulips and we’ll definitely go back if we’re in the area. The only thing I was confused about was if there was an entrance fee. There were signs stating that there was but there were also signs saying that they take donations. So we left a donation since there wasn’t anyone at the ticket booth.