In the Fall of 2006, the College of Agriculture began a free petting zoo on our farm at our beef barn facility. What began as a once per year event has now become a seasonal staple of our community.
Prior to the official petting zoo’s opening, schools randomly contacted the farm and were given tours primarily of the swine and sheep areas. The petting zoo was created to allow for more interaction between our young visitors and a larger assortment of animals.
A Growing Endeavor
The zoo is now open twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. Animals on display in the zoo have been sheep, miniature donkeys, miniature horses, deer, ducks, chickens, pigs, llamas, bottle fed calves, turkeys, cats, dogs, goats, and rabbits, just to name a few. We try to have as many young offspring of the animals as we can, so the children can pet both the adult and baby animals. A hayride throughout the farm is available on zoo weekdays. Long lines also wait outside the chick, duckling, and baby bunny petting areas.
A new name
In the Spring of 2008, the name was officially changed to the Bill and Alice Nix Petting Zoo. The Nix’s children have created an endowment to assist in supporting this endeavor. Their generosity has helped raise funds for general improvement of the facilities and expanded public relations for the petting zoo.
In the Spring of 2023, the name was officially updated to the Bill and Alice Nix Farm Day.
For information about the Bill and Alice Nix Farm Day, please contact the College of Agriculture at 870-972-2085. To get our fall and spring operating dates, please email us at CoA@AState.edu.
