Visitors and volunteers

Two kinds of people show up at this barn: the ones who come to meet the animals, and the ones who come to work. This is where we keep the pictures of both.

We are a working sanctuary on a private farm, so all visits and tours are by appointment only. Email us and we will find a morning.

Took a picture out here? Tag us and we will share it. We love sharing the love. Instagram @sweetbombdiggityfarms · Facebook

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Visitors

Families come out all year, with summer being our busiest stretch by far. The animals do most of the entertaining, and our ambassadors are seasoned pros at it. Every one of them has a story, something to teach about how animals are cared for, and at least one fact that surprises people.

For a lot of our visitors this is the first time they have stood next to a horse, held a hen, or watched a goat decide whether to trust them. They leave knowing what these animals eat, how they are kept, what each species needs to be comfortable, and why the ones who live here needed somewhere to land.

What visitors go home knowing

How these animals are actually cared for, day in and day out: feed and fresh water, clean bedding, hooves, coats and vet care.
What makes each species tick, and why a goat, a donkey, a pig and a goose each need something different from you.
How to read an animal before you touch it, and how to ask first.
Where rescued farm animals come from, and what it really takes to keep one for the rest of its life.
That winter means mud. Wear closed-toe shoes you do not mind messing up, whatever the season.
That farm animals poop. All of them. Enthusiastically. It is part of the tour.

And every animal here has a story. Ask about any one of them and you will get the whole thing, usually with a fact you did not see coming. Read what the animals have to say, or meet the residents before you come.

Jules in overalls in the barn aisle holding a black and white Polish hen while goats crowd in — Every visit starts with an introduction. Our Polish hens volunteer for the job, and the goats never let a photo happen without them.

Two young visitors on a bench, one holding a hen — New friends on the bench. The hens put up with a lot.

A visitor in overalls holding a barred hen while a toddler reaches out to touch it — One hand at a time, gently. This is usually somebody's first chicken.

A visitor crouched at the fence reaching out to a Kune Kune pig while three more pigs come up behind — Our Kune Kune pigs are basically puppies. They are loud, but that is excitement, not complaining, and a belly scratch will put one flat on its side.

A girl reaching out to a horse in a fly mask over the pasture fence — A quiet hello at the fence, the way we teach it.

A small boy surrounded by goats crowding in for attention — Arrive in clean clothes. Leave with goat prints.

A girl cheek to cheek with two mini donkeys in the grass — Face to face with the minis, which is exactly how they like it.

A family group posing together in the pasture — Whole families come out, which is how we like it.

A man and a small girl standing with goats in the barn — Grown-ups and little ones, same barn, same goats.

A visitor smiling while holding a hen — Some visitors leave holding a hen. Most of them, actually.

A boy standing beside a goat in front of the red barn — Goats will follow anybody who looks interesting.

A family walking through the pasture gate — The walk down to the pasture, before anybody knows what is coming.

A girl carefully holding a white goat — Goat holding is a skill. She had it on the first try.

Children gathered at the fence to meet a horse — Everybody meets the horses over the fence first.

Children meeting young goats in the barn aisle — Baby goat introductions in the barn.

A girl feeding a mini donkey from a flat hand in the grass — Flat hand, soft nose.

A girl and two women looking into the chicken coop — At the coop, where the questions start.

A man showing two children around inside the barn — A tour of the barn, at kid speed.

Children crouched at the chicken run watching the flock — The chicken run holds attention longer than you would think.

A laughing boy with a goat on the hill behind him — Something funny happened. It usually involves a goat.

A woman reaching over the fence to a mini donkey — The donkeys take their time deciding about you.

A boy scratching a goat on the hillside — Scratches are the whole currency out here.

A woman in the barn with two mini donkeys leaning on her — Two minis, one visitor, no personal space.

A girl leaning in close to a horse at the fence — She waited. The horse came to her.

An adult and children holding young goats in the barn — Somebody always ends up holding a kid. The four-legged kind.

Children watching a goat standing on stacked logs — The goats use the log pile as a stage.

Two visitors by the farm Gator holding greens for the animals — Visitors bring greens. The goats have trained us all.

Two toddlers standing at the chicken coop — Short people, short chickens, immediate understanding.

A mother and children at the fence with the goats — Snack break, interrupted by goats.

A boy reaching toward the chickens in the run — Reaching in to say hello to the flock.

A girl feeding hay to a mini donkey — A handful of hay makes you very popular.

A family posing while a mini donkey walks into the shot — The donkeys consider every family photo an invitation.

A girl sitting on a bench holding a hen — A hen, a bench, and nowhere else to be.

Two adults and a child at the chicken run — Three at the fence, watching the flock sort themselves out.

Children petting a horse along the pasture fence — Saying goodbye to the horses on the way out.

Children petting goats along the fence line with an adult helping — Goats at the fence line, where every visit seems to end up.

Volunteers

Barn Hands give a few hours and leave the place better than they found it. This section grows every time somebody pitches in. New to it? Start with the volunteer guidebook.

Graham and Clayton, our first Barn Hands

Two University of Tennessee students gave up a Saturday to rework the education coop, start to finish. They wrangled chickens, leveled and graded the ground so it drains the way it should, set the border, and laid the pea gravel.

The chickens are thrilled. They told us so, loudly, all afternoon.

Two volunteers breaking up packed clay inside the covered chicken run with hand tools — First pass: breaking up hard-packed clay inside the education coop run.

A volunteer swinging a mattock while another rakes the loosened dirt — Mattock work. The ground had to come down before it could go back level.

Volunteers raking the run smooth, checking the slope — Raking it out and checking the grade, so water runs away from the coop instead of into it.

The chicken run graded smooth with a wood border set around the edge, ready for gravel — Graded and edged. The unglamorous part nobody notices once the gravel goes down.

Two volunteers pulling bags of pea gravel off a pallet beside the farm Gator — Pea gravel comes by the pallet, and somebody has to move it a bag at a time.

A volunteer carrying a bag of pea gravel past a curious mini donkey — Supervised. There is no job on this farm a donkey will not oversee.

The finished chicken run with fresh pea gravel down and the flock back inside — Gravel down, and the flock moved back in before the tools were put away.

Two volunteers in the finished run, each holding a Polish chicken — Chicken wrangling, which was not on the schedule but turned out to be necessary.

Jules and Lane with Graham and Clayton at the end of the work day — The crew at the end of it: Graham and Clayton with Jules and Lane, all of us filthy.

Graham and Clayton kneeling with two mini donkeys in the barn aisle — Payment for a long Saturday, collected in donkey.