Waterloo Region Museum

Farm Animals

Doon Heritage Village features farm animals on a seasonal basis from May through September. Local farmers supply our animals through Rare Breeds Canada, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the conservation of endangered breeds of domestic livestock and poultry.

Please note only trained staff are allowed to feed the farm animals. When visiting please do not feed or touch any animals for your own safety.

Cattle

Typicall a Galloway cow and calf will come to stay at the museum for the summer. The Galloway is a very old beef breed from Scotland and was first imported to Canada in 1853 by the Graham brothers of Toronto. The breed's thick fur coat makes them ideal for Canadian winters. Cows weigh 1,000 to 1,500 pounds while bulls can weigh up to 2,300 pounds. Galloway cattle come in a range of colours including: black, dun, red, white and belted.

The Jersey breed was well known in England as early as 1771. They were first imported to Canada in 1868. The Jersey is one of the smallest dairy breeds and its average milk production is 22 L per day. About 5% of dairy cattle in Canada are Jersey. The Angus breed, originally from the counties of Aberdeen and Angus, is thought to have existed for centuries. The breed was brought to North America in 1873, and has been a popular beef breed since. Neither Jersey or Angus are considered a rare breed, but both are of importance to Canadian agriculture.

Swine

Pigs and piglets live at the Bricker barn and the Martin farm on a seasonal basis from May through September.

Typically the piglets will have just been weaned away from their mother. Piglets are much like puppies in that they enjoy playing, eating and sleeping.

Sheep

Normally two Dorset ewes stay at the village for the summer. They are usuall ewes (female) and are polled. This means that they are naturally born without horns. The Horned Dorset is still a popular breed in England. Ewes grow to be almost 175 pounds each when they are full-grown. The fleece is pure white, with a strong, close fiber.  An average fleece can weigh between 2.25 and 4 kg. The Dorset is a very old breed, brought to North America from England by the Hudson Bay Company in 1860.

Chickens

Three breeds of chickens are typically on display at the village for the summer: Rhode Island Red, Silver Gray Dorking and Cochin. The hens and roosters enjoy scratching for grain and bugs in the yard, but always return to the coups for water. Eggs are laid in the coups and can be different sizes and different shades of brown or white depending on which breed of hen the eggs are from.

For more information on rare breeds of farm animals visit www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds  or www.agriculture.technomuses.ca