Ähtäri Zoo Farm

Our finnsheep Mymmeli, Tuutikki, Hilda, Kutitus and Kikatus love to cuddle and always look for the visitor's attention. The sheep grow a thick wool layer, which is shorn twice per year. You can see shearing done at the Farm in May and in October.

Finngoats are typically used for milking since they are very good at that despite their small size. Unlike other goats, the finngoat -both male and female- grow horns. Here at the Farm we have a three generation goat family: the matriarch Lyyra, her daughters Lysti and Lempi, and her grandsons Hippa and Jekku.

Before the 1960s you couldn't find other cattle breeds from the farms than fincattle. But due to the introduction and sudden popularity of foreign cattle breeds that were more productive and bigger, this original breed was almost extinct. Our finncattles Tytti, Muurain, Lahja and Taika are guaranteed to charm anyone with their beauty and kind eyes.

Our bunnies Muru and her daughters Olga and Oili spend their summers outside, between the barn and the blacksmiths work area. But during the colder months (which is most of the year here in Finland) they live cozily in the barn. 

A farms isn't really a farm if you can't hear a rooster sing at the crack of dawn. Our hens keep themselves busy taking good care of their eggs, so you will probably get to see some tiny chicks in the summer months.

Before there were any machinery used in farms, horses used to do most of the heavy lifting. In English finnhorse is sometimes called "the Finnish Universal" as the Finns consider the breed capable of fulfilling all of Finland's horse needs, including agricultural and forestry work, harness racing, and riding. At the Farm you can see our finnhorse Tullaus, who is happy to greet a friendly face anytime. 

We believe a farm absolutely needs a cat -so we have two, Alpo and Toini. Cats have traditionally kept mice and rats away from barns, and Alpo and Toini are known to have caught a mice or two over the years, but they definitely still prefer canned food. 

Rilla and Pörri keep company to our finnhorse Tullaus. On summer months they have a third pony friend called Joonatan who visits them from a close by farm. The more the merrier! During the summer our farm workers have organized some pony riding for the little ones.