Animal magic on Dr Harry's farm

FANS of popular TV vet Dr Harry Cooper are able to get touchy-feely with the animals on his hobby farm in Tasmania, writes Philip Young.

Inside story ... the tours, hosted by Harry or his wife Janine, show visitors the inside workings of a real farm

HARRY Cooper found it almost impossible to keep fans away from his home just outside Launceston, so he decided to invite them in.

The Tasmanian-based star of Harry's Practice and celebrity vet on Better Homes And Gardens said visitors would even drive half way up his lengthy driveway to get a better view of the 26ha farm.

"They would stop at the top of the hill midway along the driveway and take photographs of our home," Dr Harry said.

"Then they'd send us the photographs when they got home and ask me to sign them.

"So we thought, 'Let's do something about it. Let's open it up'."

It's taken two years, and tours of Dr Harry Cooper's Hobby Farm had a low-key opening in April.

The original concept has grown somewhat and now includes a restaurant.

The tours, hosted by Harry or his wife Janine, run from Thursday to Saturday because Dr Harry usually has filming commitments in the first part of the week.

And the good news for the fans is that Harry off-screen is exactly like Harry on-screen. He makes them feel they are part of the show.

Sit next to him on the hay bale where the opening sequence to his show was filmed, meet Scarlet the border collie, meet the horses, meet the ducks ... meet the confused turkey.

Actually, the lone King Island turkey that thinks it's a duck came along too late to be on Harry's Practice, which was cancelled by Channel 7 a few years back (too soon, according to Harry and his fans). "It's very hard to get turkeys to eat anything when they are on their own," he told a Thursday-morning tour group.

"So I put it in with ducklings, because ducklings are voracious feeders: they'll eat anything. I left it with the ducklings probably too long ... about four weeks.

"So it grew up thinking it was a duck." (Cue chuckles in his little audience.)

"What happened was, at about eight or 10 weeks, when the ducklings were big enough, I took 'em down to the dam, and I let 'em go. So the ducklings, in a line, march down to the dam. 'Here's the water, boys – let's get into it.' You know.

"And the turkey's right behind ... until it gets up to about here (indicating water up to his chest) and goes, 'I don't really think I should be here!'" (Cue gales of laughter from the crowd.)

It's all good stuff.

There's a fabulous punchline that can't be printed here.

You should also know, before arriving at the manicured grounds and buildings of the property, that Harry's place is a real farm.

"We breed Welsh ponies and we take the tour to a spot where they can pat and feed the horses," Dr Harry says.

At present there are several foals on the farm and just recently one tour group was lucky enough to see a foal being born.

"We can't guarantee an experience like that," Harry laughs, "that's up to Mother Nature, but you can't buy an experience like that.

"They got to see this little foal stagger to its feet."

The favourite part of the 1 ½-hour tour is the hands-on experience.

The Touch and Feel Nursery allows visitors, and especially children, to pat, feed and even cuddle animals.

There are miniature pigs and their piglets, lambs to be bottle-fed and a section where children can sit and hold small animals.

"The idea is to allow children to feel what an animal is like," Dr Harry said.

"It is very important to me. I hate to see children who are frightened of animals."

Dr Harry said it gives children the chance to learn that when they are happy and relaxed, then so are the animals they are handling.

Small creatures including rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, chickens and ducklings are brought out for the children to hold.

"Some of the children can be quite frightened, so we take our time," he said.

Other lessons include how to look after fish, and a tour of the farm's commercial cat boarding and breeding centre where there is a chance to cuddle kittens.

A chook house containing 40 rare breeds of chickens is part of the trip (including a look at the Transylvanian naked-necked chicken).

Visitors are also shown the growth stages of a chicken inside eggs.

A walk down to the dam will often feature a clutch of wild ducks with their ducklings and you also get to meet Wilma the resident 260kg sow.

The tour finishes with the chance to enjoy lunch or afternoon tea at the Clucky Chook Cafe run by Dave and Mal Streeter (formerly the owners of Launceston's Posh Nosh cafe).

The cafe recently gained a liquor licence and now features locally produced wine and beers.

Mr and Mrs Streeter met Harry and his wife, Janine, 20 years ago, soon after buying Bonney's Inn at Deloraine.

Harry signed his first deal with the Seven Network in the inn's front parlour.

The Streeters opened the Clucky Chook in late October – and they are delighted to be working with the Coopers again. "I wake up and think, 'Oh, joy – I can go to work!' " Mrs Streeter said.

The food is down-to-earth, rather than posh, but be warned: $3.50 for a double-shot latte.

That said, it's good coffee. Good tour, too.

The Sunday Tasmanian