I thoroughly enjoyed my Sunday at The Gentle Barn. Learning about all the animals and their stories, getting close to them and loving on them and supporting a beautiful sanctuary for them. Just a few things you can do there: Hug cows Cuddle roosters Rub pig bellies Pet goats Brush horses Watch Luke plume (in season) Enjoy learning from the wonderful volunteers Buy stuff at their gift shop (shirts are so comfy!) Enjoy a snack and a drink (I had warm apple cider) Just overall an excellent experience. Everyone was nice and welcoming. Take yourself, take a friend, go with your family. You will not be disappointed. Not only that, you're going to feel A LOT better afterwards. I mean how can you be mad when you're hugging a cow? read more

The Gentle Barn - Luke Skywalker - Attraction Farms Near Me - Christiana, Tennessee

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Go visit the animals ! Loving life like all creatures should Enjoyed the shop and vegan treats read more

We had a wonderful experience at The Gentle Barn! We were visiting on a private family tour and the staff were informative and made all of us feel comfortable as we interacted with the beautiful animals. It was amazing to get to snuggle, brush, pet and love on so many of them. read more

Took our Girl Scout troop here for a learning experience and it was eye opening! Highly recommend donating to them and taking a tour. read more

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I had the most beautiful time here! Definitely coming back to volunteer!! The sheep are amazing!! read more

The Gentle Barn - Sheep! - Attraction Farms Near Me - Christiana, Tennessee

Took my super gentle animal-loving toddler for a morning to be near some animals. Love the stories on these rescue animals, but most every person we spoke with on-site came off rude. I am glad the staff are standing up for the animals with their rules, but to tell me that these animals deserve certain respectful interactions and to not apply them to an interaction with my child seemed strangely bizarre and my sensitive child was made to feel nervous around animals and embarrassed rather than learn a respectful love for these animals. If you are encouraging families to visit, I hope you'll provide better training to help communicate with the next generation of animal lovers. read more

What an Amazing experience. If you love animals, this place is a must. Interacting with all the beautiful animals and learning about there own personal rescue and how they became part of The Gentle Barn family was very touching. The staff and volunteers were Amazing. You can defiantly feel the love they all have for the animals. Will be going back again very soon. read more

My wife and I came from an hour away to bring our 1 year old for a visit. We had such a great day. The beauty and kindness of all of the farm animals will stick with us forever. We are already a vegan family but it helped us reinforce the belief that these friendly, gentle creatures deserve all the love and respect that we show to our house pets and each other. The world needs more people like the Gentle Barn farmers and staff. We will continue to return. read more

What a wonderful experience for anyone! I enjoyed learning about the animals, visiting with volunteer staff, and of course loving on all the animals. This is a great place to learn about how animals are mistreated right under our noses and help us to connect with the animal world around us. read more

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Oh Gentle Barn, how you fill my heart! Sunday was just as close to perfect as you can get...we arrived shortly before 11am...parking was easy and we were greeted by a few nice people who happily addressed the entire group of visitors. We learned the history of The Gentle Barn and were encouraged to walk around and engage with all the sweet animals. Honestly, I think I had the biggest grin on my face the whole time! I just love this place and all the positivity they put out into the world. After hugging, petting & scratching all the furry & feathered ones, we got a delicious field roast hotdog with all the fixings at the gift shop. The Gentle Barn is such a lovely & happy pl read more

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Having been a follower of the Gentle Barn for several years, my love and compassion for them is strong. Visiting them is a HUGE bonus. What an incredible place of love they have here. I got to hold a rooster. Come on, who doesn't want to hold a rooster. Growing up on a farm, we always ran from those guys. I hope to visit all the GBs in the US and look forward to expansion. read more

Where to begin? Nothing I say will justify my experience at the Gentle Barn! It is truly magical. I would definitely get there 5-10 minutes before 11 so you can get yourself parked and situated in the barn for the short talk/speech they give you. They then release you to pet/visit with the animals. You are able to go wherever you want on the farm, it's very open. There are volunteers/workers with each animal there to tell you their story, and assist you in cuddling and petting them! The workers/volunteers are informative, kind, and passionate about their job. Somehow, 2 hours flew by faster there than it has in my entire life - so quarter til 1 we headed to the gift shop where they are selling vegan hotdogs with all the fixings, chips and pop. Of course there is merch available too. I live 5 hours away, out of state, but I plan on going back someday. It's worth the drive. read more

The Gentle Barn - Attraction Farms Near Me - Christiana, Tennessee

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My wife and I went to the Gentle Barn for one of my birthdays. We really love animals but aren't vegan, or anything like that. For those who might not know, the Gentle Barn is a rescue for many types of animals-mostly farm type. The one in Tennessee was founded around a cow named Dudley, who needed a prosthetic foot to survive. As a means of fundraising, outreach, and education, they sell tickets for weekend tours. The tours are a bit expensive at $20 per person, however, they do offer a meal consisting of vegan hotdogs with each ticket. The volunteers are knowledgeable about the animals, most of which can be petted. We did meet Dudley and gave him a big hug. Sadly, we attended his funeral, later that year...an event that they also sold tickets for. Overall, it was a fun tour and we enjoyed learning about the different animals, petting most of them, and speaking with staff. I would not recommend the vegan hotdog meal...unless you really want to try it. If you do try it, place yourself near a trash can. read more

The Gentle Barn is a sanctuary for people and animals alike. It feels so peaceful and magical to get to spend time with the animals and hear their stories of hope. read more

We came to Knoxville specifically to visit the gentle barn. We were definitely not disappointed!! I successfully hugged Miles the cow, which was on my bucket list. We fed cookies to all the cows, scratched piggy bellies, gave some love to a rooster named Rosie, and visited with the horses and turkeys. Bring some cash to spend on t shirts in the gift shop, cookies for the cows, and vegan food on the patio. read more

I've followed the Gentle Barn for years, my daughter visited the California location about a decade ago. I was so happy to hear they started one here in Tennessee. The Gentle Barn is a rescue for farm animals that have been abused, injured and/or are headed to slaughter. Some of the animals rehab here and are found new homes, others will spend the rest of their days in the pastures of the Gentle Barn. They offer Sunday tours, we bought our tickets online. When you arrive at the farm you'll park in a large field and wait for the gate to open at 11am. Remember to dress appropriately for being on a farm and cuddling animals- meaning boots or shoes you can get mucky, old clothes, and a hat and sunscreen. Everyone meets in one of the buildings and has an introductory talk about the Gentle Barn and their mission. We were so fortunate to have the originator Ellie Laks on site to give the introduction, we could all feel her passion for her life's work. After the intro you are released to wander around and visit the animals. Each animal has a volunteer docent to share its story with you and show you the correct way to approach the animal. We spent an hour and a half being able to interact with pigs, cows, horses goats, chickens and more. My daughter gave a cow a massage and put it right to sleep! They have a small gift shop on the property and you can order a vegan hotdog with all the toppings, which made a delicious lunch after our time with the animals. If you care about animals and want to know more about how the farm industry really treats them, make a visit to the Gentle Barn read more

What a magical place! A haven, respite, a real sanctuary for farm animals that have been abused and neglected. This is a HAPPY place though! The only crying you'll experience is tears of joy. Adults, children and animals alike ALL benefit from their time spent here, whether it be for 2 hours (a Saturday visit) or the rest of their lives (lucky animals!). I'd been following The Gentle Barn TN on Facebook for several months prior to my visit. They are only open to the public on Saturdays (or for private tours and parties). Book well ahead--it can fill up a month in advance. $20 per person donation goes towards your visit and includes a delicious lunch. I can honestly tell you I believe 100% of the money they receive goes towards the care and well being of these animals, all of whom receive the necessary veterinary care and non-traditional methods of healing such as chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage, that go above and beyond--really whatever it takes! Not to mention the enormous generosity of the volunteers who spend countless hours with these animals, ensuring they transition well and are happy and comfortable in their forever home. Finally getting to meet the precious animals I'd followed for so long--watching their progress through photos and videos--was really life changing. I got to hug Henry & Horton (two pigs) and give them belly rubs, kiss the beautiful horses (Indie, Chris, Worthy and Daisy) and take a few selfies with them (I think they stole the show, ha), and rub Dudley the Ambassador into a slumber. If you've ever wanted to interact with farm animals, you know a zoo just isn't the place. The Gentle Barn rescues and rehabilitates animals that come from abusive or neglectful backgrounds and helps bring them back to health and encourage them to trust and love humans again. Their volunteers' work is nothing short of miraculous and serves to prove that all animals, even those once most ill-treated, have hearts and souls and want nothing but to trust and love, just like humans. I recommend this experience to anyone and everyone. From their website: 'Ellie Laks founded The Gentle Barn in Tarzana in 1999; it was a dream of hers since she was seven years old. Animals were always very healing and nurturing to her as she faced the challenges of growing up, finding herself, fitting in, feeling understood, etc. She majored in special education and psychology, and with her special love of animals and children, The Gentle Barn was a perfect way of putting all her talents and passions into one. Jay Weiner joined The Gentle Barn in 2002 as a volunteer, but fell in love with the place and the two joined forces to heal even more children and animals. Like Ellie, Jay also turned to animals for the support, love and nurturing he needed as a child. The Gentle Barn started on a half-acre property in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, CA. In 2003 Ellie and Jay moved The Gentle Barn moved to a six-acre paradise in Santa Clarita, CA. The property is complete with large horse and cow pastures, a red and white barnyard for the smaller animals, an organic vegetable garden, lots of shade trees, and a panoramic view of gorgeous mountains. Our over one hundred and seventy rescued animals are safe and happy at The Gentle Barn, and there is plenty of room to welcome our visitors and the children we host. The ultimate goal is to open Gentle Barn's across the country so that every animal and child can have a place of healing and safety and where they can be seen for the perfect beings that they are. Since its inception, The Gentle Barn has been home to hundreds of animals and host to over 400,000 people.' read more

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So the whole point of going there, and the biggest selling point they have is hugging cows. Not only did we not hug cows, but most of the other animals we wanted to touch, we couldn't. We were told they were stressed out and couldn't be touched. There were no Llamas like the recording said there would be. I feel like that was a lot of money to be able to hold one chicken. They sell it like a petting zoo, but it's a traumatized animal sanctuary. Don't sell it by saying you are hugging cows when you can't hug them. At a regular petting zoo you get to interact with more animals and for cheaper. Feels like a rich people just trying to get richer. read more

incredible what they do here !!! i can't recommend a visit enough. kind people & beautiful animals

This place is amazing! We surprised my daughter when a tour to meet Dudley, her favorite animal ever and we were blown away by the level of kindness, compassion, care shown by our lovely tour guide and all involved in the organization. They have taken animals who have been neglected, used, abused and discarded and provided them sanctuary. They have healed and renewed their spirits and souls. Thank you Gentle Barn for the inspiring work you do and for making this world a better place. read more