To further its mission to create farm-based educational opportunities, LexFarm helps care for a small herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats. Goats are ideal for teaching about sustainable land use and how farm animals make a food system complete.The six goats in our herd are Ionia (the queen),  her triplets Ella, Naya, and Sapphire born in 2011, and her twins, Salt and Pepper, born in March 2012.

When you “adopt” a goat for a year in someone’s name, you are supporting farm- based education programs at the goat yard and the care needed for the goats’ optimum well-being. When you “adopt” or give the “adoption” to someone special, you or the recipient receives:
• a LexFarm “Adoption” Certificate with a personal message from you
• a picture and biography of the goat
• free entrance to goat yard visiting hours
• quarterly updates

A gift of $50 supports one of the kids, while $75 supports the queen, Ionia, a reflection of the additional care that she needs as the milking doe.

Which Goat would you like to adopt? Each goat is different…read about each of them below

Ionia provides a cautious maternal energy to the goat yard. She is the mother of our three doelings born in 2011 —Naya, Ella, and Sapphire, and mother to two new kids, Salt and Pepper, born in March, 2012. While she is new to her role as queen, she has taken full responsibility and is ever vigilant to protect her herd from any threat. Ionia knows a good maple branch when she smells one, and she will teach her children what her mother taught her: eat green juicy leaves, produce milk (the girls) and manure, get a nice scratch behind the ears and under the chin, and hit the hay when the sun sets.

Ella brings curiosity and friendly energy to the goat yard. She is always the first to cozy up to new people and very curious about exploring every corner of any pasture she visits. She might not be the fastest eater but she has a knack for discovering new and exciting forage around every corner.

Naya is our most grounded goat. She brings solid middle-sibling energy to the yard. She has her priorities straight—eat leaves, ruminate, relax. While not always the first to stray from the herd, she will still happily follow either of her sisters to a healthy patch of clover and is never opposed to a good rub down.

Sapphire is the softest and some say the smartest of the triplets. She brings a calm focused energy to the yard—she seems destined to be a future queen. Following in her mother’s hoof-prints, she can often be seen neck in neck with Ionia eating the same leaf from the same tree. Never pushy, never crying, Sapphire is in line to be one of the strongest most beautiful goats any of us will ever have the pleasure of knowing.

Salt was born on March 11, 2012 to Queen of the herd, Ionia. True to her name, Salt has brought a special flavor and excitement to the yard: she is very curious and happily approaches visitors sitting on benches or stumps, often surprising them with a nudge from the back. Salt has the same black and gray coloring as her mom and her buckling brother, Pepper. Her coloring includes a black mask extending around her face and eyes that accentuates the impression that she is always up to something. Salt is currently the smallest member of the herd, so she’s easy to identify now. As she grows up, visitors will be able to distinguish her from her brother and mom by her long black front legs and black areas that extend to her tail.

Pepper is the youngest member of the herd, born a short time after his sister Salt on March 11, 2012. He is also the only buck, and so he will be able to remain with the otherwise all female herd as a wether. From day one, Pepper has been practicing his climbing and jumping skills, first learning to climb over his mother, and soon thereafter jumping over anything in his path in the yard, especially and including his sister Salt. From a distance, Pepper appears to look exactly like Salt, just a little bigger. However, when he jumps over and climbs up for a closer look at you, you’ll see that his mask is actually dark brown, not black. That coloring is the only reminder that his father, Hamlet, is a chocolate brown buck.

We  remember Jasper June 25, 2011 – January 19, 2012This spring, 2012 we will plant a tree in memory of Jasper, a beloved member of the herd who passed away earlier this year.