Here are highlights from the much longer YOUR VISIT section at the website.
1. Admission is $10 cash for all ages. Tiny babies in arms that Farmer Mary will not interact with do not have to pay. $10 adults $10 teens $10 children except tiny babies in arms or confined to strollers. Cash ONLY-Farmer Mary has had way too many bad checks returned lately!. No credit cards. Please be ready to pay on arrival. No change is available. Please respect our admission price. No change is available. Please respect our admission price. Please be prepared to pay on arrival. No credit cards. Please do not plan to debate our admission fee at the gate.
😷 Masks required😷.
2. Our parking lot is small so park CLOSE together and pull in close to the plywood pig faces marking parking spots. The address is 12936 Ghoston Road, Wake Forest NC 27587. Located near Falls Lake at the end of Six Forks Road at Highway 98. Make an appointment to visit. Park at a pig.🐷Pull up close to the parking pigs. Park mindfully of others. Someone will be parking behind you. Please don’t leave trash in the parking lot. There is a trashcan right there. If the lot is full do not park blocking the gate. Park on the road in front of the farm with all four wheels OFF the road.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Do not go down the neighbors private road behind our barn even if your GPS says to turn!! This makes Farmer Mary’s neighbors very angry as it should.
3. How to make an appointment:Check open hours posted on website or facebook page or Instagram then TEXT your very specific request of how many people at what time on what date to schedule your visit. Please text only between 8am and 10pm. Farmer Mary will not return texts made at other times! Please keep in mind if you text Farmer Mary during posted open hours she will probably be too busy running the farm to text you right back. Farmer Mary likes to know when people are coming so she can be available near the gate. She doesn’t want to be ten acres back fixing a fence when you arrive!
Please don’t text “Hi can we come Thursday?” PLEASE BE SPECIFIC to avoid endless back and forth texts. For example you could text “group of five moms and six kids this Thursday June 12 at noon for picnic lunch and tour?” Farmer Mary is busy and cannot chat on the phone. Please text your very specific request of how many people at what time on what date to schedule your visit. Please do not message Farmer Mary on Facebook. She DOES NOT hang out on FB all day long. YOU will be very happy if she doesn’t spend all her time on the phone while YOU are visiting.
Please do NOT text to ask if you can visit the farm on a day the posted schedule says the farm is closed! Please read the schedule first. Text. Text. Text. 919-244-1800. Please text your very specific request of how many people at what time on what date to schedule your visit.Please text only between 8am and 10pm. Farmer Mary will not return texts made at other times. Once you have texted a specific time and size of group to visit on a specific day posted open occasionally Farmer Mary gets too busy to return texts so just come on unless it is raining. If raining she posts a update to the schedule at 8am.
4. BRING FOOD FOR FEEDING THE ANIMALS!
some general favorites are kale, collards, romaine lettuce, whole wheat crackers (ritz or saltines are best), parsley, cilantro, a few slices of whole wheat bread, peppers (red and yellow are more popular than green) plain cereal (plain cheerios are most popular), carrots ( if carrots are long and fat they will need to be cut into strips. Farmer Mary has knives or you can do this at home to get to feeding the animals quicker), leafy celery, green beans, thinly sliced apples, grapes. NO moldy bread, NO white bread, NO salty junk food like chips or pretzels, NO candy, NO lemons or limes , NO raw potatoes, NO French fries or other salty leftovers. NO junk food.
Farmer Mary tries to have $5 mixed buckets of food for sale and sometimes has sleeves of whole wheat crackers, cereal or corn in baggies available for sale. You will have more fun with more animal food! Please do not allow your children to take or beg animal food from other visitors buckets. If you choose not to bring or buy food please do not offer your fingers to the animals. Most visitors who choose to are able to meet, feed and hold bunnies, guinea pigs, chicks when available, chickens, baby goats and whatever else is small and cuddly.
Please keep in mind the size of the animal and don’t give a huge carrot to a baby goat or half an apple to an emu and expect them to be able to swallow it. We have had instances of choking and near death due to poor feeding choices made by visitors. Always simply think before you feed. And if Farmer Mary asks that you not feed baby goats and lambs while they are little and just nursing please do what she says!!!! No food is to be given to any dogs unless you bring real dog treats.
5. Of course there is a bathroom and hand washing. You will see the orange portojohn in the parking lot as of November 2019. Please accompany small children to the toilet and please CLOSE THE GATE if you leave the petting zoo area to use the toilet during your visit) and hand washing (sink and hot water at the barn)
6. Please plan to keep a very very very close eye on your children while you are here. Including while they are on our hammocks and especially while they are holding and feeding animals. Do not allow them to pick up animals or open or close any cages. Allowing children to open cages leads to animals dying. Watch your children at all times!