It's All About Animals at East Hampton's Circle K Farm

The Circle K Kennel and Farm in East Hampton started out as hobby farm that entertained the occasional birthday party. After 25-plus years, it has expanded into a farm that holds between 50-60 animals.

Circle K grew because of the hard work, time and effort of owner Ted Krogh. He bought the small farm back in the 1980’s and from there things developed. Krogh built up a reputation as having a good variety of animals and doing a good job at events.

“It’s was just a matter of years … and working really hard to get quality animals,” Krogh said.

The farm is a busy one as a dog kennel and traveling petting zoo with 20 to 30 newborn animals during the year. Just in the last month about a dozen goats were born. Some of these were sold, but most were kept for the farm. Krogh likes the females best because they’re better to have working with children at fairs.

“Over years and years you learn about the different animals.” Krogh said. “The females are not as pushy … young males are more apt to buck.”

The animals of Circle K include llamas, mini horses, Welsh ponies, Shetland ponies and donkeys. Some of the more unique animals are African pygmy goats, Jacob four-horned sheep, a camel, two zebu cows and a zedonk.

The interesting facts about these animals? A zebu cow is a different type of cow from India that has a hump on its shoulders. The Jacob sheep is the oldest domestic sheep.

A zedonk is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. There are many different types of zebras so there can be many different types of zedonks. The zebra half of Circle K’s zedonk comes from a grevy's zebra which Krogh prefers because it is a larger breed of zebra.

It is these types of animals that give Circle K its uniqueness, Krogh said.

“We raise these animals because these are totally different,” Krogh said.

When he brings them to fairs or events he wants people to say, “Oh wow, I have never seen one of those.”

Circle K  is not open to the public but goes to many major fairs. They do events not just in Connecticut, but also in Rhode Island. For smaller events, 15 to 20 animals are brought and half a dozen staff. For bigger events, as many as 45 to 50 animals and a dozen or so staff are brought.

The number of animals depends on the size of the fair. The more people who attend the fair, the more animals are brought to give people the opportunity to pet and feed the animals and for children to ride the ponies.

There are plenty of events year-round to keep Circle K busy. The business stays busy up until Christmas with fall and winter festivals. Some of the events and places Circle K attends include the Essex Steam Train the last two weeks in July, the New Britain Winter Festival and the Connecticut Expo Center in Hartford.

For those interested in seeing some of the distinctive animals of the Circle K, the farm will take part in the Daffodil Festival this weekend in Meriden.

For more information on the Circle K Farm, check out their Facebook page.