About Family Farm Chores at Appleton Farms
Every day has a full list of barnyard chores we need to accomplish to make sure our farmyard friends are happy and healthy. Let’s get to work!
Join us for our special, hands-on Family Farm Chores program! Get on your muck boots – your whole family will get to be farmers together! Help feed our rabbits, Violet and Vanilla, the goats, Morgana, Maeve, Merlin, and Mordred, and the dairy cows Gray and Jasmine. Collect eggs from our flock of chickens, muck and bed the stalls, scrub buckets, fill hay managers, and more.
This is a immersive, hands-on experience best suited for families—adults and children alike will get to try their hand at a variety of tasks. Be sure to wear sneakers or other closed-toe shoes when you join us in the barnyard. Family Farm chores is best suited for children and adults ages 3 and up who don’t mind getting dirty, and want to work in and learn about the barn. Younger friends may be more suited for our Befriend the Barnyard program.
Please Note: With the confirmation of the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Massachusetts, we are taking necessary precautions to protect visitors and our flocks. Although risk of transmission to humans is low, out of an abundance of caution, we are asking that staff only enter our poultry spaces. Thank you for understanding.
We will meet at the Carriage Barn, following signs from the Farms Offices parking lot, park at farm house lot and walk to carriage barn.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Program Refunds/Cancellations: If a program is cancelled due to severe weather, low enrollment, or other circumstances, we will notify you as soon as possible by email and issue you a full refund within 14 days of the cancellation. If you cannot attend a program as planned, contact appletonfarms@thetrustees.org at least 7 days prior to the start of the program to receive a full refund or transfer to another date/class. Refunds and/or class transfers will not be granted for registration cancellations placed fewer than 7 days before the start of the program. There are no refunds for missed classes. Appleton Farms reserves the right to change program locations, schedules, or instructors when necessary.
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Directions to the Farm: On 1A South, the farm is about two miles south of downtown Ipswich. When you see Presbyterian Church on your right, it’s a little more than a quarter of a mile to the farm entrance, on your right. If you reach downtown Hamilton, you have gone too far. On 1A North, the farm is about four miles north of downtown Hamilton. When you see the Entering Ipswich sign on your left, it’s about a quarter of a mile to the farm entrance, on your left. If you reach downtown Ipswich, you have gone too far.
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Where to Park: Once you’ve turned off 1A and entered onto the Farm property, continue following the road and bear to the right at the fork, following signs for the Old House/Offices.
