Our Story
Who We Are
We're the Bradts! Thirty-somethings with two boys - scratch that - three boys (as of April 2014) and a crazy dream to start a petting zoo in Jerad's hometown of Alva, OK. Although, we didn't realize that dream until February 2012. Here's our story...
The Beginning
It all started with a box of two dozen chicks purchased in September of 2009. That and a turkey named Gobbler (who survived Thanksgiving the previous year) were an effort to create a few farm chores for our kiddos, who were obsessed with video games, to help them learn responsibility and have an interest in the farm. Through those chickens, our oldest son found his passion.
Fast forward to Spring of 2010. Our boys started an egg route with the eggs that they gathered from their hens, and we decided to order more chicks, doubling our poultry overnight. That summer, we toyed around with the idea of getting a few goats from a friend who needed to sell some. Later that same night, our lives changed with the devastating reality that Jerad's dad had a tragic accident. Dealing with that loss put a hold on life in general, but after about six weeks, we were ready to add the goats to our farm. We discovered that through the animals, Jerad was able to escape and have a way of coping with losing his dad. Once he expressed this discovery to me (JoDe), I was able to embrace the animals. That's when more animals than we had ever imagined joined our family on the farm. With several hatched eggs here and a few more furry friends there, our animal collection grew by leaps and bounds. On the day that we planned to look at the llamas, we realized that we had a petting zoo. Thus, Bradt's Menagerie was born.
We have a zoo.
Our farm has consisted of a plethora of chickens (including multiple breeds), in addition to turkeys, ducks, peacocks, geese, goats (including fainters), miniature donkeys, llamas, rabbits, Southdown babydoll sheep, highland cattle, a water buffalo, a yak, an Indu-Brazilian/Watusi steer, angus cattle, a longhorn, a pony, a mini horses, a Beligian draft horse, alpacas, a zebra, micro-pigs, emus, camels, a sulcata tortoise, Jacob's sheep, and a zedonk. When you visit, you never know what we'll have! Each one has a story as to how they came to our farm, so be sure to ask when you are on your visit!
We built a maze.
It was in our minds for quite some time, but in September 2015, the dream moved from just an idea to reality when we built our first big round bale hay maze that opened in October 2015. It’s now a tradition to have a Haunted Maze the last weekend of October.
And now we have laser tag!
In the Spring of 2017, we wanted to add to the fun! That fun comes in the form of live action gaming. Jerad did an awesome job of finding top of the line equipment that is unlike any other laser tag experience you've encountered.
And a farm-themed playground!
Jerad is constantly coming up with more fun things to do on our playground so you can make more memories with your families! We have games like Chuck the Cluck, checkers, and Jenga, as well as a tractor tire swing, a hay ring merry-go-round, and a truck bed slide made from a 1948 Ford wheat truck that was a staple to our farm for decades. Plus, our big swings are a crowd favorite!
We hope that you will continue to visit often as we expand our operations. Lots of exciting plans are in store for the future of Bradt's Menagerie!
Follow us on facebook if you'd like to see our day to day activities.
We're the Bradts! Thirty-somethings with two boys - scratch that - three boys (as of April 2014) and a crazy dream to start a petting zoo in Jerad's hometown of Alva, OK. Although, we didn't realize that dream until February 2012. Here's our story...
The Beginning
It all started with a box of two dozen chicks purchased in September of 2009. That and a turkey named Gobbler (who survived Thanksgiving the previous year) were an effort to create a few farm chores for our kiddos, who were obsessed with video games, to help them learn responsibility and have an interest in the farm. Through those chickens, our oldest son found his passion.
Fast forward to Spring of 2010. Our boys started an egg route with the eggs that they gathered from their hens, and we decided to order more chicks, doubling our poultry overnight. That summer, we toyed around with the idea of getting a few goats from a friend who needed to sell some. Later that same night, our lives changed with the devastating reality that Jerad's dad had a tragic accident. Dealing with that loss put a hold on life in general, but after about six weeks, we were ready to add the goats to our farm. We discovered that through the animals, Jerad was able to escape and have a way of coping with losing his dad. Once he expressed this discovery to me (JoDe), I was able to embrace the animals. That's when more animals than we had ever imagined joined our family on the farm. With several hatched eggs here and a few more furry friends there, our animal collection grew by leaps and bounds. On the day that we planned to look at the llamas, we realized that we had a petting zoo. Thus, Bradt's Menagerie was born.
We have a zoo.
Our farm has consisted of a plethora of chickens (including multiple breeds), in addition to turkeys, ducks, peacocks, geese, goats (including fainters), miniature donkeys, llamas, rabbits, Southdown babydoll sheep, highland cattle, a water buffalo, a yak, an Indu-Brazilian/Watusi steer, angus cattle, a longhorn, a pony, a mini horses, a Beligian draft horse, alpacas, a zebra, micro-pigs, emus, camels, a sulcata tortoise, Jacob's sheep, and a zedonk. When you visit, you never know what we'll have! Each one has a story as to how they came to our farm, so be sure to ask when you are on your visit!
We built a maze.
It was in our minds for quite some time, but in September 2015, the dream moved from just an idea to reality when we built our first big round bale hay maze that opened in October 2015. It’s now a tradition to have a Haunted Maze the last weekend of October.
And now we have laser tag!
In the Spring of 2017, we wanted to add to the fun! That fun comes in the form of live action gaming. Jerad did an awesome job of finding top of the line equipment that is unlike any other laser tag experience you've encountered.
And a farm-themed playground!
Jerad is constantly coming up with more fun things to do on our playground so you can make more memories with your families! We have games like Chuck the Cluck, checkers, and Jenga, as well as a tractor tire swing, a hay ring merry-go-round, and a truck bed slide made from a 1948 Ford wheat truck that was a staple to our farm for decades. Plus, our big swings are a crowd favorite!
We hope that you will continue to visit often as we expand our operations. Lots of exciting plans are in store for the future of Bradt's Menagerie!
Follow us on facebook if you'd like to see our day to day activities.