The small animals and Birds

Cute and Cuddly, the farm is home to many of these farm favourites, we have some interesting breeds and species, to come and visit, check the timetables to see when our small animal petting sessions are on, to meet these guys.

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Least Concern – IUCN Red List

Rabbits have always been a popular animal at Barleylands and it’s easy to see why; they are cute, fluffy and come in a multitude of colours. We have a beautiful array of bunnies including lionheads, albino, harlequins and Dutch.

As one of the nation’s favourite pets, rabbits need much more than a hutch. We’re here to help showcase these lovely animals and teach how to make a bunnies life as rich as possible. You’ll find our rabbits in the animal barn or nibbling grass in their outside runs.

Keep an eye on our timetable for your chance to meet, pet and feed our rabbits.

Continental giant Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Least Concern – IUCN Red List

Meet Bob and Judo our Continental Giant Rabbits.

The Continental Giant is a very large breed of rabbit also known as the German Giant.

They can often grow larger than some dogs. The longest rabbit was 1.3m and the heaviest is 24 kgs. Their average lifespan is 4-5 years. They are usually friendly with other animals and are easily litter trained to live inside as a house rabbit.

Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)

Least Concern – IUCN Red List

As a popular pet, no small animal area would be complete without a few guinea pigs. These are not actually pigs, but rodents, and they spend their days eating hay, chirruping and squeaking at one another and seeking out crunchy vegetables to keep their teeth trimmed.

At Barleylands, our guinea pigs live in a herd of 5 and love to come over to the fence, especially if  a member of staff walks by with a treat. They are very inquisitive creatures so make sure you stop by to say hi.

Keep an eye on our timetable for your chance to meet and feed our guinea pigs.

Poultry corner

At Barleylands were have an exciting array of poultry, from chickens that lay green eggs, to African guinea fowl and not forgetting the bright blue and yellow budgies.

Elsewhere, the quintessential crow of our friendly cockerels can be heard, whilst down in poultry corner you’ll discover the strange looking guinea fowl; one of the oldest known land-based birds in the world.

Keep an eye on our yearly events such as chick handling and meeting the ducklings.

Skinny pigs (Cavia porcellus)

Least Concern – IUCN Red List

Have you heard of the skinny pig?
These unusual animals are simply guinea pigs with no hair, whilst you may take some time to warm up to “naked” look, you’ll find that our two skinny pigs, named pinky and pixie love a good nose rub and plenty of snacks.

To catch a glimpse of these guys ask a member of staff to see if they are out one of our animal petting sessions during the day at the farm.