FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Planning for our visit:
- What ages are Farm Tours designed for?
- What happens if it rains?
- What should we wear?
- What precautions are you taking for Covid?
- Who else could I enjoy the farm with?
- Is the farm accessible for all people?
- What animals will we get to pet/feed?
- Will we be able to sit on a horse?
- Will we be able to pet an alpaca?
- Do you really love your animals as much as it seems?
- Do you have any baby animals right now?
Farm Tour, Picnic with a 'Paca
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- What is the difference in “Dinner/Picnic with ‘Pacas” and “Eat and Greet?”
Farm Fun
Birthday Parties
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Planning for our visit:
1. What ages are Farm Tours designed for?
All ages! And if you like to ask lots of questions, we can handle it. (We actually love it!) We can even handle it if kids (or our most Senior of citizens, for that matter) have no filter & say whatever is on their mind! We will tailor the tour for ages (and also for interests.) Just know that the younger guests are, the more we’ll need your help with making sure their hands don’t go in their mouths after being with the animals and that their feet don’t take them somewhere unsafe.
2. What happens if it rains?
Our plants will be happy. Seriously, maybe you will be ok dancing in the rain. Please bring an umbrella and/or rain jacket for the walk on the wooded trail, and then we will hang out with animals in the barn with its glorious tin roof. If you would rather reschedule, we can totally do that too, ideally at least 2 days before your tour.
3. What should we wear?
We highly suggest wearing old shoes/boots and clothes that are ok to get dirty. There’s definitely no red carpet around here, just a lot of red dirt. And footprints. And slobber. And a lot of animal fur. And did I mention the red dirt?
4. What precautions are you taking for Covid?
- Even though we are outside, we wear masks most of the time. The only times we won't is when people are eating or when we are going to be further than 6' apart from each other. (Of course we understand masks are not possible for really young children or people who cannot wear a mask due to medical reasons.)
- We have hand sanitizer in various places around the farm.
- We limit numbers at our experiences.
- Finally, we make the dogs clean all the tables with sanitizing wipes before they can get any belly rubs.
2. What happens if it rains?
- Our plants get wet. Seriously, they are very happy with the liquid sunshine, but we know not all people are. If rain is in the forecast and you're scheduled for a Farm Tour, Birthday Party, or MeTreat, we understand if you want to reschedule. (There are quite a few things that won't really be impacted by rain, including the Movie Night/Picnic with a 'Paca and Farm Immersions.)
- And if you'd like to come dance in the rain, we're happy for that as well. Just wear boots that you don't mind getting muddy because we have mushier, squishier mud than you probably have at your house.
3. What should we wear?
We highly suggest clothes that can get dirty, especially shoes/boots. We have no red carpet here, only a bunch of red dirt!
Who else could I enjoy the farm with?
- your honey
- your kids
- your neighbor
- your BFF
- your homeschool group
- your Bunco group (is that still a thing?)
- your brother or sister
- your book club
- your mom & dad
- your church small group
- your grandparents
- your pod
- your writing buddies
6. Is the farm accessible for all people?
We want everyone to find happy at Walk Gently! So, we do our best to make as much as possible accessible to those who may have a hard time on uneven ground. We have step stones all the way from the gravel driveway to the barn. The Path would be tricky, as there are roots and stumps on much of the trail. We could bring some of the farm to anyone who had to stay at the driveway: the Great Pyrenees, the little farm dog, the chickens & ducks. And if that’s not enough, we could drive our John Deere trailer through the pasture and bring them to the barn, which has a level, cement center aisle.
4. What animals will we get to pet/feed? Will we get to ride a horse?
We have alpacas, horses, ducks, chickens, giant dogs and more! We will have treats to share with all of the animals on the farm, but we are not a "petting zoo" and can’t guarantee that everyone will take food & lovings from you. And no, sorry but since both of our horses come from rescue situations, they are not able to be ridden.
4. What precautions are you taking for Covid?
- Even though we are outside, we wear masks most of the time. The only times we won't is when people are eating or when we are going to be further than 6' apart from each other. (Of course we understand masks are not possible for really young children or people who cannot wear a mask due to medical reasons.)
- We have hand sanitizer in various places around the farm.
- We limit numbers at our experiences.
- Finally, we make the dogs clean all the tables with sanitizing wipes before they can get any belly rubs.
5.
The Animals
- What animals will we get to pet/feed?
- Will we be able to sit on a horse?
- Will we be able to pet an alpaca?
- Do you really love your animals as much as it seems?
- Do you have any baby animals right now?
1. What animals will we get to pet/feed?
- We have alpacas, barn cats, chickens (usually baby chicks, too), dogs, ducks, fish, goats, & horses. We will have treats to share with most of them, but we are not a petting zoo, so we can’t guarantee that everyone will take lovings from you. (They usually will though!)
2. Will we be able to sit on a horse?
Nope, but we will try to check in with & pet all of the animals above, including the horses. Our horses are rescues, and we are still working on their saddle skills. We would rather you be safe on the ground and not ride than to ride and not be safe on the ground.
3. Will we be able to pet an alpaca?
You can sneak a pat when they are eating out of your hand, but you will not be able to snuggle and squeeze them like you’ll want to. (They are so smooooshy!) They don’t even let Emily (who feeds them every day) pet them. In general, alpacas are pretty shy, and two of ours have a pretty rough background with neglect/abuse, so the fact that they will even get close to you is a huge compliment to your character.
4. Do you really love your animals as much as it seems?
- Nope. We love them more.
- We thank M&M Farm & Angels Equine Rescue for helping us rescue the alpacas and horses. They do amazing work to educate and care for animals with admirable dedication. We've also rescued most of our dogs & cats and many of the chickens. And the animals that we've adopted from kind fellow animal lovers, we thank those people too!
- We couldn't sleep at night if we also didn't thank our amazing care team of vets: Dr. Mark McGeough (Birkdale Animal Hospital) & Dr. Robby Whaley (Piedmont Equine Mobile Vet. Svc,)
Morgan Ridenhour (
5. Do you have any baby animals right now?
- We are expecting our new baby goats in the middle of March.
- Often, Emily has the incubator going with a variety of chicken breeds, so there are often chicks "cooking," hatching, or recently born.
- And while our Great Pyrenees girls weigh over 75 lbs. & dude at 115+, they are technically still puppies.
6.
- What is the difference in “Dinner/Picnic with ‘Pacas” and “Eat and Greet?”
If you just do Dinner/Picnic, you will be able to spend an hour at the barn. We will bring the alpacas close to you and give you some feed for them. (They will almost always go for that!) We may even be able to put a halter on one and let you hold the lead line. That experience will cost $60. We highly recommend you add on the extra $30 for the Meet & Greet experience. We alsogive you a one hour Farm Tour (with a chance to get up close to all of the animals) for half price.
What question did we miss? Send us an email & let us know!