Review of Doonies Farm in Aberdeen the rare breeds and model farm with animals, facilities and photographs:
Doonies Farm Aberdeen is a rare breeds farm and model farm at the village of Cove just outside Torry, Aberdeen, Scotland. Doonies Farm is the home to the largest collection of rare breeds of sheep, goats and cows within Scotland and works with the Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST) to preserve many rare breeds such as the Gloucester and White Park cow and bull. Doonies Farm in Aberdeen breed their livestock to either keep at the farm or sell throughout the United Kingdom so that farmers can continue to breed from the rare stock.
There are about 23 rare breeds at Doonies Farm and this also includes Large Black pigs, Tamworth Boar, Norfolk Horn sheep, Golden Guernsey goat, Eriskay pony, Beef Shorthorn cows and bulls and Whiteface Woodland Rams. The animals are mostly friendly and enjoy the company of adults and well behaved kids. Other animals include Large Black piglets, a Highland Calf and poultry and birds like hens, cockerels, chickens, ducks and swans.
Prices
Aberdeen City Council own and run Doonies Farm both as a working farm and an animal sanctuary tourist attraction. Admission costs only £1 for an adult and 50 pence for a child. A family ticket is only £2 and children aged under 5 years can get free admission to Doonies Farm. Season tickets to Doonies Farm and nearby Hazlehead Park Pets Corner are available to buy.
Maw Broon fae the Sunday Post has published a cookbook full of her favourite Scottish and family recipes.
Read More About It Or Buy Now!
Facilities
Facilities at Doonies Farm Aberdeen include two free car parks with the lower car park having a picnic area with great views of the cliffs and North Sea. The upper car park is much nearer to Doonies Farm and is more suitable for disabled visitors. Wheelchair users and those pushing buggies or prams can make their way round most of Doonies Farm which has marked out paths though these can get water logged in really heavy wet weather.
There are toilets and disabled toilets.
There is no guide book for Doonies Farm but there is a small leaflet for Doonies Farm produced by Aberdeen City Council.
There are no catering facilities at Doonies Farm but packed meals are welcome to be eaten at the picnic area and the children's play area also has picnic tables and chairs.
Visitors are encouraged to feed the animals such as the horses, sheep, goats and cattles but are asked to only give the animals at Doonies Farm fruit or vegetables. Visitors are asked to wash their hands after their visit to Doonies Farm.
Dogs are not allowed at Doonies Farm Aberdeen.
How To Get To Doonies Farm
How to get to Doonies Farm - It is found between Nigg and Cove on the old coast road. Directions from Aberdeen City centre is to go down Market Street and stay straight ahead until you cross the cobbled Queen Elizabeth II Bridge into Torry. Take the first left and then at the end of the road turn right then left and then right by the golf course. Follow the old coastal road and Doonies Farm is signposted to the right.
Opening Times of Doonies Farm
In the summer Doonies Farm is open from 10am until 6pm. The opening times of Doonies Farm in the winter is from 10am until 3:45pm.
Contact Address Telephone Number and Website for Doonies Farm
Doonies Farm Aberdeen has no official website but does have a page at myspace.
It is particularly recommended to visit Doonies Farm at Easter when the chicks and lambs are around.
We also run the
www.findextrawork.co.uk website where there is information about earning more money from a
range of part time and full time jobs which can be done at home or out and about. Visit for more information.
Doonies Farm Closure
Sadly Aberdeen City Council announced the Doonies Farm closure in February 2008. It still remains open whilst homes are found for the rare breeds but will close on the 1 April 2008.
Many local companies are helping Doonies Farm and the Save Doonies group whilst charity status is organised. For example the Sainsbury's supermarket in Garthdee donated spoiled fruit and vegetables for the pigs to eat to help Doonies Farm save on their feeding costs.
Doonies Farm Animals Sale
During the May Bank Holiday there was a Doonies Farm animals sale were money from the sale of 60 lots of pigs, poultry and sheep was given to Doonies Farm. The bidding took place at Aberdeen and Northern Marts biannual rare breeds sale at Thainstone Centre, Inverurie.
Doonies Farm Petition
There is an online Doonies Farm petition at the gopetition website which went live in March 08 and within a few days the Doonies Farm petition already attracted over 1000 signatures. Visit and sign the Save Doonies Farm petition at www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-doonies-farm.html or type Save Doonies Farm into your search engine.
In addition there is a public meeting about the closing of Doonies Farm
at the Thistle Hotel in Altens, Aberdeen on Thursday the 13 March 2008 at 7:30pm.
On Saturday 5 April 08 many Aberdonians and Save Doonies campaigners will march down Union Street in Aberdeen City during the Aberdeen Against the Cuts rally. Supporters
of Doonies will wear fancy dress animal costumes.
Though Doonies Farm was due to be closed on the 1 April 2008 it was kept open for another 60 days to allow campaigners to present a business plan to Aberdeen Council.
In September 2007 Doonies Farm at Altens in Aberdeen had a foot and mouth scare and the farm was closed to visitors. Fortunately vets tested the farm animals and found that the Portland sheep were suffering from the disease Orf which has similar symptoms. It was easily treated with antibiotics.
There had been a recent foot and mouth outbreak in England at Surrey in August 2007 and the farmers and Doonies Farm manager Mr Graham Lennox had been keeping a close check on the animals and reported the mouth lesions that the sheep at Doonies Farm had.
