Know whether it is a public attraction
Some farms publish regular visitor hours. Others accept private groups or scheduled tours only, while mobile operators bring animals to another location.
Wisconsin Animal encounter directory
Petting zoos across Wisconsin
Compare permanent petting farms, mobile animal programs, walk-through parks, and hands-on zoo areas. Each listing explains the setting, visiting arrangement, and animals or experience advertised.
24 places listedPermanent locations · mobile programs · seasonal encounters
Wisconsin petting-zoo directory
Find an animal encounter
Open a listing for the petting-zoo type, visiting arrangement, address, and official website.
Check before visiting.
Animal availability, seasonal hours, reservations, and feeding rules can change. Mobile operators may not have public drop-in hours.
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Animal Gardens is a 40-acre petting zoo where visitors can pet, hold, and feed animals. The grounds house familiar farm animals and exotic species, with an interactive petting area and walking trails through the larger animal exhibits.
Admission includes animal feed, a train ride, and a pony ride for eligible children. The petting zoo operates from May through October, with a reduced schedule after Labor Day.
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Bear Den Zoo & Petting Farm has interactive areas with goats, llamas, calves, chicks, rabbits, kittens, and other animals present during the season. Admission covers the zoo, petting areas, children’s play area, and a weather-dependent hayride.
The family-operated zoo is open from May through early November on its published schedule. Hours can change for rain or extreme heat, so visitors should confirm conditions before leaving home.
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Busy Barns Farm Adventures includes a petting farm with goats, sheep, rabbits, kittens, and baby animals. The animal area is part of a larger outdoor property with wagon rides and hands-on agricultural activities.
Public dates are concentrated in spring and fall, and the farm also accepts field-trip and private-event reservations. Its website lists a 2026 fall season and current event dates.
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Cattail Critters brings staffed animal enclosures to private parties, schools, community events, and other sites. It offers several indoor and outdoor packages, from a compact group of animals to a larger petting-zoo setup.
The service is based in Berlin and advertises weekday and weekend availability. It is a traveling operation rather than a regular walk-in attraction, so all visits require an advance booking.
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Country Bumpkin’s petting farm houses goats, alpacas, donkeys, peacocks, chickens, ducks, and a miniature horse. Guests can feed and pet the animals while visiting the adjoining Lil’ Bumpkin Play Village.
The petting farm is open during the market’s seasonal public hours, with a separate admission charge. Birthday parties and field trips can also include animal feed and time in the petting area.
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Cristo Rey Ranch brings goats, sheep, rabbits, llamas, chicks, and other gentle animals to schools, fairs, and special occasions. The ranch’s traveling program is built around supervised, hands-on interaction and animal education.
The Mount Calvary ranch also welcomes visitors during posted hours and offers scheduled group programs. Mobile appearances and organized ranch visits should be arranged directly with the program.
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Eugster’s operates a 15-acre petting farm with goats, sheep, a miniature horse, a miniature donkey, cats, kittens, and other farm animals. Optional activities include bottle-feeding baby goats and feeding pellets to goats and sheep.
The regular season runs from early June through Halloween, with lambing and kidding events on select spring dates. Admission and hours can change during special events, so visitors should check the farm calendar.
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GEE Funny Farm provides educational, hands-on programs with farm and zoo animals. Presentations introduce animals individually and may include birds, reptiles, small mammals, and familiar barnyard species, depending on the selected program.
The business primarily brings animals to schools, senior communities, parties, and public events. Its website lists bookings Monday through Saturday rather than regular walk-in hours.
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Glacier Rock Farms maintains an on-farm petting zoo where guests can meet and feed a broad collection of farm animals. Its animal program also includes opportunities such as pony rides and cow-milking demonstrations on selected dates.
The farm opens for limited spring Sundays and a fall season rather than maintaining daily year-round hours. The current website posts 2026 dates and advises visitors to check the event calendar before traveling.
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Grampa’s Farm operates a mobile petting zoo with sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, chicks, chickens, rabbits, and other farm animals. During its fall weekends, visitors can enter supervised animal areas and pet goats, ducks, and rabbits at the farm.
Mobile bookings are generally available from late April through Labor Day. The Merrill farm has separately scheduled public fall weekends, with 2026 dates posted on its website.
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Green Meadows is a walk-in petting farm with animal buildings, pony rides, hayrides, and scheduled feedings. Visitors can meet farm animals throughout the grounds, and the daily program includes access to the small-animal building and kitten barn.
The farm is open seasonally from Tuesday through Sunday, with walk-ins welcome and advance tickets recommended on busy dates. Its calendar includes current 2026 events and daily operating information.
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Hankins Farm brings miniature cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, alpacas, pigeons, rabbits, and other animals to events. Guests can pet and feed the animals with food supplied by the farm while learning about their care and behavior.
The petting zoo is a mobile service based in Solon Springs. Its current website accepts event inquiries and does not advertise routine public hours at the farm.
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Havens Petting Farm lets visitors enter animal pens, hold chicks, meet rabbits and pigs, and spend time with other socialized farm animals. It also brings mobile setups with goats, lambs, poultry, alpacas or llamas, miniature equines, and a calf to off-site events.
The Blue Mounds farm is open Wednesday through Sunday from April through October. Mobile petting-farm packages are available throughout the year by reservation.
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The Goat Yard at the Milwaukee County Zoo’s Northwestern Mutual Family Farm allows guests to enter the yard and pet Nigerian dwarf goats. The zoo describes the goats as even-tempered and accustomed to children.
The Goat Yard is included with regular zoo admission and operates daily from late May through September, then on October weekends, weather permitting. It is one petting area within the larger county zoo.
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Mulberry Lane is an educational petting farm where guests can touch and feed cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, geese, donkeys, and other animals. Activities can include milking a cow, catching a chicken, cuddling a kitten, and taking a hayride.
The farm is open from May through October for self-guided visits, organized groups, and seasonal events. Its website maintains a dated 2026 calendar with the last entry time for each operating day.
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Pony Acres offers a mobile petting zoo with gentle farm animals for birthdays, community gatherings, and other events in the Kenosha area. Pony rides can also be arranged through the same family-operated business.
The zoo travels to the event site and does not advertise regular public walk-in hours. Hosts should contact the business in advance to confirm the available animals, service area, space requirements, and date.
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Pony Parties Express provides mobile petting pens with goats, rabbits, chickens, a miniature donkey, and other small animals. Packages range from a petting zoo paired with one pony to larger staffed setups for schools, fairs, company events, and community gatherings.
The business is based on a family farm in Clayton and serves western Wisconsin and the Twin Cities region. All programs require advance booking; recurring visits for schools, daycares, and senior communities are also offered.
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Shalom Wildlife Zoo includes a petting zoo alongside its four-mile wildlife route. Visitors can spend time with the friendlier animals in the petting area before or after walking the grounds or renting a golf cart.
The zoo posts seasonal hours and admission periods throughout the year, including a 2026 spring-through-fall schedule. Petting-zoo access may close earlier during winter events, so guests should review the day’s details.
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Spring Creek Farm offers a mobile petting zoo for private celebrations, businesses, schools, and community events. It also accepts reservations for private animal visits and field trips at its Abrams farm.
Mobile and on-site visits are arranged in advance rather than offered as daily walk-in admission. The current event pages and booking forms provide the available visit types and required agreements.
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T & B Mini Acres brings goats, sheep, and other small farm animals to birthdays, schools, churches, festivals, and family events. Its packages provide a staffed enclosure where guests can pet and interact with the animals, with optional pony rides.
The mobile zoo serves Portage, Wisconsin Dells, and surrounding communities. Packages are booked online in advance and can be adjusted for the event length and requested setup.
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The Farm is a hands-on animal attraction where visitors can bottle-feed goat kids, lambs, and piglets; pet farm animals; cuddle kittens; and try milking a goat. Its animal collection includes goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, rabbits, poultry, and cattle.
The Sturgeon Bay property operates seasonally as a walk-in living museum and petting zoo. Milk bottles and corn for approved animal feeding are sold on site, and demonstrations run during public hours.
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Wildwood Wildlife Park has an interactive petting-zoo area with goats, pigs, rabbits, skunks, armadillos, ferrets, chinchillas, tortoises, and other animals. Guests can also purchase approved food for goats, sheep, deer, camels, and aoudads in designated areas.
The encounter area is part of the larger seasonal wildlife park and is included with park admission. The official site posts 2026 spring, summer, and fall operating periods.
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Wisconsin Deer Park describes itself as a hands-on educational petting zoo. Visitors can walk among more than 100 deer, feed them by hand, and pet animals along the paths; the park also houses elk, bison, llamas, horses, emus, game birds, and lemurs.
The park generally operates daily from mid-April through late October, with longer summer hours. Approved deer feed and feed cups are sold separately from admission.
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Wilderness Walk Zoo pairs its wildlife exhibits with hands-on animal areas where guests can pet goat kids and see young farm animals. Animal encounters and the species available can change through the season as the zoo’s young animals mature.
The Hayward zoo operates seasonally and posts current daily admission hours. Its 2026 site updates confirm that the zoo remains open during nearby road construction.
Planning an animal visit
The setting changes the experience
A small appointment-based farm, a ticketed attraction, and a mobile petting zoo operate differently. Confirm whether the listing welcomes drop-in visitors, requires admission, or travels only to booked events.
Follow the staff’s feeding rules
Use only approved feed, supervise young children, and let animals move away when they choose. The available species and contact level can change during the season.
Wash hands before eating
Use the handwashing station after touching animals or enclosure surfaces. Food, drinks, pacifiers, and toys should stay outside animal-contact areas.
This directory focuses on places and services that expressly advertise hands-on animal contact. It includes traditional petting farms, mobile programs, and designated interaction areas within larger zoos or wildlife parks.
This directory is part of our guide to Wisconsin farms. Visitors can also learn about alpacas, understand different farm experiences, or browse farms across the United States.
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