Discover Delmarva: The Little Farm
WYOMING, De- The Little Farm in Wyoming, Delaware, has quite the lineup of furry residents you can meet during your visit. Owner and “Barn Mama” Tricia Hawryluk showed us around and told us how this idea came to light. “One day, one of my friends asked me, “Hey, do you ever take your animals to people’s houses for like parties for kids or anything?” and I was like, no, not really. But then I thought, wow, that would be a nice way to pay for all this food, vet care, and everything else. And that’s kind of how it happened.”
The animals aren’t the only fun on the farm, Hawryluk keeps adding experiences piece by piece! She tells us, “Our barrel train, pony rides, petting zoo, we usually do a craft, we have an awesome party room where people can just hang out and enjoy the farm environment.”
The nurturing environment of the farm is shown through the individual care for the animals. Most tenants here have been given a second shot at life. “We’ve rescued lots of animals here. Cows, camels, horses, and alpacas, you name it, we’ve been there.”
Walking through the property, we had no clue what each pasture would bring. We found the camels that couldn’t have more different personalities. Stella came up and let us pet her. Would anyone believe me if I said I got to pet a camel at work today in Delaware… probably not- Stanley, however, showed no interest, and I don’t think he liked all the attention his girlfriend was getting from us. The pastures continued as far as I could see, with alpacas and emus following our every move, to the retired horses who just wanted us to show them some love.
So, just how many residents are on this farm? Hawryluk says, “I don’t think I’ve ever actually counted them. But if I had to guess, including our feathered friends. I’d probably say about 200.”Their largest pasture couldn’t have had a funnier cast of characters- The friendly giant Frank, the water buffalo, had just as large a personality. It was hard to focus on Frank with the chaos of the goats and sheep in the background. Hawryluk says while the entertainment is great, “It’s fun just to see the excitement in the kids’ faces and them learning about what these animals are.”
Hawryluk says the one thing the farm does differently here is how you’ll interact with the animals. “Something that sets us apart from other petting zoos in the area is that we don’t just set up gates, and you reach your hand through a gate. You’re going into this little pasture caral we set up, and you are up close and personal with these animals.”So we got an up-close look at one of the newest residents who had a severe case of the zoomies, Frannie! What a star and ball of energy-
Frannie ran right up to us as we entered the enclosure and said hello with plenty of pets, scratches, and falls, too.
Hawryluk tells us that she is a big believer in developing her staff and inspiring them to look into a career in agriculture. The farm plans to offer camps throughout the summer and continue their educational programming that’s available to the public.
For more information on those programs and to plan your visit, check out their website.
