In April 1924, Holmes began buying the parcels that became the Feather Hill Ranch as part of a plan to make money raising chickens.

[1] In 1925 the 62-acre (0.097 sq mi; 0.25 km2; 25 ha) ranch had 12,000 free-range White Leghorns, kept Rhode Island Reds and Light Brahmas for sale as capons, and offered holiday turkeys.

[4] The animal collection included foxes, ringtail cats, monkeys, a mountain lion,[2] an orangutan,[4] a pair of leopards, hyenas, bobcats, raccoons,[3] a black panther, a spotted panther,[5] camels, springboks, alligators, snakes, a Gila monster,[6] a kangaroo, a wallaby, coatis, fennec foxes, two cheetahs, "four huge lions,"[4] assorted bears (sun, cinnamon, black[4]), an elephant, and chimpanzees named Pansy and Violet.

[8] Later the same year the Feather Hill Zoo bought three Bengal tigers and a sacred Indian baboon from Al G. Barnes Circus.

[4] In 1930, Holmes offered the collection to the city of Santa Barbara but they declined, so the animals were purchased by Herbert Fleishhacker and moved to the San Francisco Zoo.