They taste good, too. Sprinkle ground flax seeds over your cereal or in whatever you’re baking — you’ll notice a pleasantly mild nutty taste. (Don’t use too much if you’re not used to a high-fiber diet, though!)

You’ll also be enjoying part of our goats’ diet. At the LexFarm Goat Yard, we regularly give flax seeds to our goats. In fact, we vary the amount we give to our goats based on their temperaments, stress levels, physical condition, etc. For example, goats with more anxious personalities or greater nutritional needs (e.g., due to pregnancy) benefit from larger amounts of flax seeds.

So, next time you see flax seeds or flax seed products, think of our goats!

So what do the goats do in winter? In winter, we feed our goats hay and dry tree leaves (some of which generous visitors brought to the yard for us this fall)…and fresh green leaves in the form of eastern white pine!

Our goats would welcome your contributions of pine. Please feel free to bring fresh eastern white pine branches to Visiting Hours (Sundays 1-3pm). Just be sure it’s the correct variety of pine (with long needles, as shown in photo), with no pesticides or other chemicals. Thank you!

If you visit the goat yard, you will notice that our goats have thick winter coats now, with three layers of hair to protect them from the elements:

• Ground hair, the bottom layer, is dense and downy. It helps them regulate their temperature to stay warm.
• Awn hair, the middle layer, helps protect the ground hair from the elements and provide further warmth.
• Guard hair, the top layer, is coarser, longer, and more pigmented (colored). It helps keep snow and ice away from the lower layers.

With these layers of hair, our goats are well adapted to be happy and active in the cold winter months. They love to browse around the yard, and the kids love to play with each other in the snow. Sound familiar?

See you at the Goat Yard!

Goats are prey animals. Vigilance and reactivity are part of their nature. One might think that these traits aren’t necessary in a fenced in goat yard, but think again. There is a lot of “nature” around. Hawks can be seen on chimneys and telephone poles, waiting for an opportunity to strike. (In fact, hawks stole a couple of chickens before we covered their yard with netting.) In the soil, mud, and snow we find tracks from other predators, such as coyotes.

As Queen of our goat herd, Ionia’s job is to keep a watchful eye out for danger and react as needed to protect her herd. If you observe her carefully, you will notice when she goes on alert: she focuses intently on the potential danger, adopts an alert stance, and communicates nonverbally in a way that brings the rest of the herd in formation behind her. She is stressed, and lets her guard down only when sure that danger has passed.

What does this have to do with dogs?

Dogs, small and large, are predators. In fact, attacks by dogs – including mild-mannered pets – represent one of the biggest health threats to goats. Domesticated dogs have been known to decimate entire herds of goats.

Therefore, even if your dog is small, sweet, and outside the fenced yard, Ionia and the kids will perceive him or her to be a potential threat. We don’t want to bring this type of stress to our goats when they are in their own home. So, for the comfort of everyone, we ask that you not bring dogs to the LexFarm Goat Yard.

We and our goats thank you!

At this stage, Ionia’s new kids look like little baby goats, with eyelids separating, nostrils opening, teeth beginning to erupt, and hair beginning to grow around the eyes, muzzle, neck, and chest. They are tiny: roughly 4 inches long, and weighing less than a pound. Without an ultrasound (which is not a routine part of pregnancy care in goats), we cannot tell how many kids she is carrying. Any guesses?

• Relationship between breed characteristics/adaptations and diet
• Effect of dominance structures in the herd on goat care
• Wild food versus concentrates, and protein requirements at different developmental stages
• Logistics of feeding the Queen, the triplets, and Jasper

With Ben teaching from experience and an obvious affection for the goats, the participants learned a great deal about goat care — including much that could not possibly be conveyed in a textbook. After this first class of the 8-week session, participants commented:

“Ben, it was fantastic learning from your experience.”
“I learned so much. Ben is a great teacher.”
“Ben conveys his knowledge and experience eloquently and effectively.”

Another Goat Care Skills session will begin on January 28 (six Saturdays, 7:00-8:00am). We have just one space left, so visit the Programs and Group Visits page for more information if you are interested in registering.

* * * * * *

An unexpected bonus was seeing animal tracks in the fresh snow. One participant saw deer and rabbit tracks, and all of us saw what we think are coyote tracks!

We hope you will join us for this Saturday’s Learn & Work Project, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Together, we will jumpstart the revitalization effort by moving the goats’ large climbing structure closer to the barn and aerating the soil in the areas that will become the growing paddocks.

What: Learn & Work Project
When: Saturday, January 14, 10:30-12:00
Where: LexFarm Goat Yard (park at Busa Farm and walk back to red barn)
Cost: Free!
Bring: Digging forks (pitchforks) or shovels if you have them

The Tuesday Goat Care Skills session remains eight weeks: January 17 to March 6.

Many thanks to the Patch for publishing these stories about the LexFarm Goat Yard!