Cousins Dawn East and Heather Matthews may not own all the animals that Old MacDonald has on his famous farm — but with four horses, two ponies, four goats, a pair of pot belly pigs, a barn cat, a guard dog, a whole host of chickens and ducks, and a baker’s dozen worth of rabbits, they are pretty darn close.

After spending years raising and caring for a litany of feathered and fuzzy farm critters, East and Matthews have recently begun sharing their love of animals with the rest of the community.

The two opened their new petting farm, Hidden Acres, earlier this month. The business is located at 50582 Pleasant St., Dowagiac, near Magician Lake.

The business is currently open Wednesdays through Saturdays. The cousins offer tours for children around their five-acre property, in which children get a chance to pet the many different animals inside the barn and pens on the property.

In addition, the owners host regular “camps” for children, where they are given an opportunity to learn more about how to care for farm animals, from small creatures like chickens to horses and ponies. The business also offers pony rides and private riding lessons.

“We wanted to give children — and adults — the opportunity to come out and experience what it’s like to be around farm animals,” East said about why she and Matthews opened the business. “Most people don’t get the opportunity to do so these days.”

While Cass County is rich with farmland, most families, especially those living in the city, never get a chance to actually interact with the horses, cows and other livestock they see roaming the fields while driving through the area, East said.  The children who travel to Magician and other parts of Sister Lakes from the Chicago area with their families are also often not familiar with these kinds of animals, making the location the perfect place to open for business, East added.

“It’s a way to make kids happy, and make parents happy because their kids are happy,” Matthews added.

The pair are both longtime animal lovers, owning horses, chickens and other farm creatures long before they imagined opening a petting farm, they said.

The idea of opening the property to the public was inspired in part after a visit by a family looking to purchase some eggs from the farm’s chicken coop a while back ago, East said. While normally they have eggs ready for sale inside the fridge, on this occasion they were all out, so East’s husband escorted the visitors to the coop to grab some fresh eggs themselves, which the children got a huge kick out of, East said.

East and Matthews allow children to pick up one egg during their business’ farm tour, one of the many ways they share the wonders of farm life with youngsters, they said.

“The looks on children’s faces are priceless,” Matthews said. “It’s quite something to see a child feed or pet a pig for the first time, for instance.”

Locals may get the opportunity to visit fuzzy residents of Hidden Acres outside the farm soon as well. The owners said they plan to visit some local festivals during the fall, bringing plenty of animals in tow.

In the meantime, they welcome children and parents to come out a experience everything Hidden Acres has to offer.

“Come out and enjoy a fun day on the farm,” East said. “There are a lot of animals to see.”

The business is open for public tours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays. People may book appointments for camps, rides and birthday parties by calling the business at (269) 377-9759 or online at facebook.com/farmgirlsx2.