Last Saturday was the perfect day to visit Crowe’s Nest Farm in Manor. The weather was perfect and the crowd was very small. Our tour started at 11am in the Big Red Barn with a short video about the history and purpose of the farm and about what to expect during our visit.
After the orientation, we got to see the educational exhibits on
farming and agriculture, and terrariums with geckos, frogs, and snakes
that can be found in Central Texas. Farmer Chris brewed some fresh
coffee for us parents and the kids explored the gift shop.
Then it was time for our hands-on cow milking demo and dairy lesson in the Dairy Barn with Farmer Dave and dairy cow Hershey.
We heard the story of why we eat turkeys for Thanksgiving and what the differences are between the male and the female turkey.
Farmer Chris took us on a hay ride to see the bisons and ostriches.
We then explored the rest of the farm on our own. We saw chickens, goats, ponies, donkeys, pigs of any size from 20-600 lbs, geese, llamas, alpacas, emus, rescued and rehabilitated Texas wildlife incl. porcupines, coatis, hawks, vultures, and owls, as well as organic vegetable gardens, the Faieriewood trail and other uniquely themed gardens.
But the highlight of the tour was the fact that we were fortunate enough to welcome sweet dairy cow Jesse’s brand new baby “Robbie” to the world, who was named after the Grandson of the person who witnessed and filmed the birth of little guy. This was only the 5th time in 37 years that one of the cows had her baby in front of a crowd visiting the farm. Welcome Robbie!
We highly, highly recommend visiting Crowe’s Nest Farm. These are probably one of the best $6 per person (age 3+) spent on any kids activities in and around Austin; both the kids and us parents learned a ton and we all had a blast.
We also want to mention that Crowe's Nest Farm is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization and exists because of the generous support of people who share their passion for helping children understand and appreciate where their food comes from, and for instilling in them respect for our natural resources and wildlife. For more information on how to make a monthly pledge or a one-time tax-deductible donation, please visit their website.
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