Petting Zoo

[JurgenG]

We have this 20 rais piece of land we don't really use at the moment. We don't want to make any big investment but we were thinking of using this land to make a petting zoo for both local kids and tourists.

We are looking for low maintenance animals, obviously kid friendly, a mix of local and more "exotic" animals.

What kind of animals would you recommend ?

[MikeyIdea]

Goats and cows, chicken and ducks, pigs (pink domestic type) and the "wild" dark hairy type

[bina]

Goats and cows, chicken and ducks, pigs (pink domestic type) and the "wild" dark hairy type

first off, i ran a petting zoo as part of a very large commercial amusement park for parent and children here, owned by my kibbutz .... and daughter is now working in the large jeruslame zoo petting zoo section..ive worked with domestics and wild (including primates yuck yuck... ) including foxes, coatamundis, raccoons, fennecs, sand and desert cats.. the list is endless.

if u need info, pm me with your email and i can give u a running outline, but before u begin, u have to answer this list of things:

do u have any experience whatsoever with any kind of animal other then a dog or cat?

do u have lots and lots of money for the beginning, problems, vet bills,

can u do your own vetting,

are u willing to put in 24 hours 7 days a week and never ever go anywhere? do u have more then yourself and family to help out?

do u have extreme patience?

sinc eyour wife is the one having to work there (farangs cant work in agriculture remember?)how are u planning to run it?

do u know all the rules and regs for keeping animals, wild and domestic , for thailand?

are u aware of zooneses from all these animals?

do u know who your audience is? (in israel, they are not rule followers and tend to harrass, mishandle, and enter forbidden areas, so need constant patrolling, double fences, signs, and the ability to handle lawsuits when someone does get bitten even by a rabbit)...

do u have a way to dispose of all the shit, old feed, do u have constant sourse of fresh water? food sources...?

im not talking about the thai style throw some animals in a pen type thing.... if u want to do a petting zoo then a bunch of chickens and a pig are not too interesting to most thai. u would have to have animals that they dont have access to on a daily basis, (besides rabbits) like goats, pony, a handleable snake (corn/king), small mammals, hadn raised birds (theres a member or two that actually raise and breed hand reared beautiful birds and he could probably guide u in that area, birds are not my thing except for doves of various sorts. i did snakes, horses, donkeys, ferrets, goats/sheep, small mammals (dego etc) and also israeli natural species (with liscenses for them)and animal rescues...

as far as making real money? forget it. its iether a 24 hour hobby that u break even and enjoy as a way of life, or a time consuming money eater with a lot of heart ache.

bina

israel

[JurgenG]

So many questions ... but I'm afraid all the right ones.

First I want to clarify we don't intend to start a "real" zoo, more a side attraction. Beside I can't imagine staying in Isaan without having anything to do.

first off, i ran a petting zoo as part of a very large commercial amusement park for parent and children here, owned by my kibbutz .... and daughter is now working in the large jeruslame zoo petting zoo section..ive worked with domestics and wild (including primates yuck yuck... ) including foxes, coatamundis, raccoons, fennecs, sand and desert cats.. the list is endless.

if u need info, pm me with your email and i can give u a running outline, but before u begin, u have to answer this list of things:

do u have any experience whatsoever with any kind of animal other then a dog or cat?

I used to work in my uncle farm during my holidays so I've some basic knowledge about how to take care of cows, pigs, rabbit, chicken, pigeon ....

do u have lots and lots of money for the beginning, problems, vet bills,

No, and you're right, vet can be really expensive, so better to start with low maintenance animals

can u do your own vetting,

Very basic stuff

are u willing to put in 24 hours 7 days a week and never ever go anywhere? do u have more then yourself and family to help out?

No Yes

do u have extreme patience?

People ,not much, animal, yes

sinc eyour wife is the one having to work there (farangs cant work in agriculture remember?)how are u planning to run it?

Haven't think about that yet

do u know all the rules and regs for keeping animals, wild and domestic , for thailand?

No

are u aware of zooneses from all these animals?

No, actually first time I hear about this word

do u know who your audience is? (in israel, they are not rule followers and tend to harrass, mishandle, and enter forbidden areas, so need constant patrolling, double fences, signs, and the ability to handle lawsuits when someone does get bitten even by a rabbit)...

Yes, that why I want to focus on low maintenance animal at the beginning

do u have a way to dispose of all the shit, old feed, do u have constant sourse of fresh water? food sources...?

Can be arranged, water we have, but you're right waste disposal is important too

im not talking about the thai style throw some animals in a pen type thing.... if u want to do a petting zoo then a bunch of chickens and a pig are not too interesting to most thai. u would have to have animals that they dont have access to on a daily basis, (besides rabbits) like goats, pony, a handleable snake (corn/king), small mammals, hadn raised birds (theres a member or two that actually raise and breed hand reared beautiful birds and he could probably guide u in that area, birds are not my thing except for doves of various sorts. i did snakes, horses, donkeys, ferrets, goats/sheep, small mammals (dego etc) and also israeli natural species (with liscenses for them)and animal rescues...

Agree with that, but low maintenance is still the key point

as far as making real money? forget it. its iether a 24 hour hobby that u break even and enjoy as a way of life, or a time consuming money eater with a lot of heart ache.

It's a side activity, it's not supposed to make money, but shouldn't cost too much either

bina

israel

Actually the idea would be a mix of animals people can play with and others just look at. Anyway most Thai kids are shy with animals and it's better this way.

Beside the animal selection, there is the legal side I haven't given much thought about so far. I'm not so sure in Isaan it really matters but it wouldn't harm to learn more about it