About this puzzle
Most kids can make the sound of a cow before they can read the word, which is what makes farm animals such a good first theme. This list sticks to animals you'd really meet on a farm or at a county fair, plus a few babies like the calf and lamb, and a couple of curveballs such as the mule and the alpaca.
Use this farm animals word search before a field trip to a petting zoo, alongside a picture book like Click, Clack, Moo, or as a calm activity for a rainy afternoon. The short words make it a confidence builder for early readers. Below the puzzle, each animal has a note with a real farm fact, many of which surprise grown-ups too.
The 24 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Cat
- Barn cats help farmers by catching mice and rats that would otherwise eat stored grain and animal feed. Many farms keep a few cats for just that reason.
- Chicken
- Farm chickens descend from the red junglefowl of Southeast Asia. A hen lays eggs with or without a rooster, but only fertilized eggs can hatch into chicks.
- Cow
- Strictly speaking, a cow is a female of the cattle family that has had a calf. Cows chew cud and have a stomach with four compartments to break down grass.
- Dog
- Farm dogs have real jobs. Border Collies herd sheep and cattle, and big guardian dogs like the Great Pyrenees live with flocks to protect them from coyotes.
- Duck
- Ducks spread oil from a gland near their tail across their feathers to keep them waterproof. A male duck is called a drake.
- Goat
- Goats have rectangular pupils that give them a wide view of their surroundings. They are curious nibblers that love shrubs and leaves, but they do not really eat tin cans.
- Goose
- Geese honk loudly at strangers, so some farms keep them as feathered guards. A male goose is a gander, and a baby goose is a gosling.
- Hen
- A grown-up female chicken. Many hens lay about one egg a day when the days are long in spring and summer, and fewer eggs in the short days of winter.
- Horse
- Horses can doze standing up because special tendons and ligaments lock their legs in place. They still need to lie down for short periods to get deep sleep.
- Pig
- Pigs are among the smartest farm animals. They roll in mud to cool off and protect their skin from sunburn, since they have very few working sweat glands.
- Sheep
- Most domestic sheep grow wool that never stops growing, so farmers shear them about once a year. One fleece can be spun into yarn for sweaters and blankets.
- Turkey
- Farm turkeys descend from wild turkeys native to North America. The fleshy flap hanging over a turkey's beak is called a snood.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Bull
- A grown-up male cow. Bulls do not actually get angry at the color red. They cannot see red well, and they react to the waving movement of a cape instead.
- Calf
- A calf is a baby cow or bull. Most calves stand up and take their first wobbly steps within about an hour of being born.
- Donkey
- Donkeys descend from the African wild ass. Their reputation for stubbornness really comes from caution, since a donkey will stop and think before walking into danger.
- Lamb
- A lamb is a young sheep, usually under a year old. Ewes and their lambs can pick out each other's calls in a noisy flock.
- Llama
- Llamas come from the Andes Mountains of South America, where people have used them as pack animals for thousands of years. They sometimes spit, usually at other llamas.
- Pony
- A pony is not a baby horse. It is a small type of horse that stays under about 58 inches tall at the shoulder even when fully grown.
- Rabbit
- Some farms raise rabbits, and a baby rabbit is called a kit. A rabbit's front teeth never stop growing, so chewing hay helps keep them worn down.
- Rooster
- A rooster is an adult male chicken. Roosters are famous for crowing at sunrise, but they crow at other times of day as well.
Added in Hard (4)
- Alpaca
- Alpacas are smaller cousins of llamas, raised for their soft fleece rather than for carrying loads. Their fiber is warm and contains no lanolin, the oil in sheep wool.
- Ewe
- A grown-up female sheep, pronounced just like the word you. A ewe usually has one or two lambs at a time, often in the spring.
- Foal
- A baby horse, pony, or donkey. A healthy foal can usually stand up and walk within an hour or two of being born.
- Mule
- A mule's father is a donkey and its mother is a horse. Mules are strong, sure-footed work animals, but they are almost always unable to have babies of their own.
A few facts to share while you solve
- Sheep can recognize the faces of at least 50 other sheep and remember them for around two years.
- Horses cannot vomit, because a strong muscle at the entrance to the stomach only lets food travel one way.
- A group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle, while a group flying in formation is called a skein.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 9 × 9 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 12 × 12 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 24 | 16 × 16 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 10 × 10 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard farm animals word search: all 24 words on a 16 × 16 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print farm animals word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 10 × 10 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
What age is this farm animals word search for?
It is designed for preschool through about second grade, roughly ages 4 to 8. Short words like Cow, Pig, and Duck give beginners quick wins on easy mode. Older siblings can switch to medium or hard and race to find longer names like Rooster and Alpaca.
What's the difference between a llama and an alpaca?
Both come from South America and are related to camels. Llamas are larger, with long banana-shaped ears, and were bred to carry loads. Alpacas are smaller, with short pointed ears, and were bred for their soft fleece. Both can spit when annoyed.
Is there an answer key for this farm animals word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 24 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
