babby farms

Recently I took my 10 year old granddaughter to visit Babby Farms. I had seen an advertisement for the farm and thought it would be a fun end-of-summer excursion. It was fun, but needs some polishing up to make it worth a return visit.First the positives: Lots of unusual animals! Kangaroos, wallabies, camels, Japanese otters, bintarongs, and more. All of the animals can be viewed close up, and some can even be brought out for the visitors to touch and pet. The animals are obviously used to being handled and appear to like their handlers. The tour guides are all friendly and ready with info about each animal. (Some guides were better and more enthusiastic than others). The farm environment was clean and organized. There are discount days when admission is half price with a non-perishable food donation to the Idaho Food-bank. I especially liked this idea!Negatives: No Shade! No grass in or around the animal pens, or the open areas where guests walk. It gets really hot in Idaho and the heat radiating off the concrete walkways and bare ground definitely effected our overall experience. Each animal pen has at least a small lean-to or water feature for the animals to cool off. The guests need a covering over the walkways or misters to help make them more comfortable. Also, grass and trees would make the farm more pleasant to look at and invite guests to stay longer. Next, some of the animals can be hand fed by guests. It's a fun thing for kids to do, but has resulted in some really obese animals. The owners might want to rethink the hand feeding policy to try to keep their animals healthier. Last negative: the farm is in the middle of nowhere and hard to find. Their website lists their address as Caldwell, but they are actually well beyond that town. Our drive from the west edge of Boise took us more than 45 minutes, and without GPS we would have become lost more than once. I know this kind of farm needs a remote location. Just be honest about that fact on your website.Overall, my granddaughter had a good time at Babby Farms. She loved seeing the animals, and where else can you pet a kangaroo in Idaho?! I imagine we will be going back again next summer, but will go in the morning when it is cooler. It will likely be a once a year adventure due to the long drive. Babby Farms is a great idea with great intentions. It just needs some polishing to live up to those intentions.

It is a great petting Zoo. It great place for family's because you are lead by a guide who is very knowledgeable about the animals. There are many different animals and most of them can be hand feed.Thursdays are discount days. I took my grand kids ( ages 2 and 5).