Rudolph Ranch

I read on Facebook that there was a reindeer farm near where my parents live. I think their actual livelihood was a Christmas Tree farm, but they also had a gift shop, story telling, and a small herd of reindeer you could go see while you pick out your tree.


I called to see if they were going to be open Christmas Eve for a visit since my sister and her family, along with us would be at my parent’s for Christmas that day. They said they weren’t open, but would open up for us for a small fee. We decided to go and the trip did not disappoint.



When we got there, the owner drove us out to the “reindeer house” and sliced up a few apples. He actually let us get inside the pen with the reindeer and pet them and feed them! The kids had a blast and the owner was a wealth of information about the animals.


Did you know that reindeer are native only to Northern Europe, and they have no front teeth (so they couldn’t bite the kids when they fed them), they eat a diet so high in copper that it would kill most other animals (Purina makes special “Reindeer Chow” for reindeer herds, and there are no “wild” reindeer anywhere left in the world, all reindeer are owned by someone. Also reindeer grow a new rack of antlers every year and loose them every year. They are the fasted growing antlers in the world. The owner said for a season every day he comes out they look different because the antlers grow so fast. So there are your reindeer facts for the day 

So, if you get a chance, make sure you take time to visit the reindeer farm in Northern Ohio. We had a blast!