People are buying more teeny-tiny farm animals

If your answer to the question, “If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?,” is Li’l Sebastian from “Parks and Recreation,” we get it.

We also have good news: Mini farm animals are everywhere right now, per The Associated Press.

For being so tiny, these animals are driving some big numbers:

• Animal breeders have registered 8.3k+ mini goats with the Miniature Dairy Goat Association in the past year, a 73% increase from the 12 months ending July 2021.
• Mini Moos, a mini-cow breeder in Missouri with 737k+ TikTok followers, sold ~190 calves last year priced between $2k-$30k.
• Tractor Supply Co. has increased its selection of treats for mini pigs and goats as customers increasingly buy farm animals.

To put these cuties in perspective: A regular horse weighs 1.2k-1.5k pounds while a mini is only ~175-200, and micro-miniature cows are under 3 feet tall.

Where’d this trend come from?

Like many trends these days, this one took off on the tail of the pandemic when, before mini animals, many people were adopting puppies and raising backyard chickens.

Plus, mini pets of all kinds are having a moment: American homes had 12.7m gerbils, hamsters, lizards and other small pets this year, up nearly 7% YoY.

Others have more entrepreneurial goals, breeding mini animals to sell them or opening their farms for tours.

• Seven Oaks Farm in Ohio, for instance, has 13 mini horses and offers on-site animal therapy, hospital and nursing home visits, and online training for others looking to do the same.

Even though they’re mini, farm animals are still animals and can be aggressive and hard to handle.

If you’re just starting out with pets, may we suggest a goldfish?