My Favorite Baby Animal

With Spring in full swing (even if its been a bit wet) we now have lots of new arrivals on the farm!

Including lots of baby goats (called kids).

The little kid goats are my favorite of all the newborn animals. They are always running and jumping, doing twists in the air, or prancing on their mothers. 

They are just so much fun!

As an ecological part of the farm the goats prefer thick brush, thorn trees, and rose bushes. So instead of using harsh chemicals to control these in our pastures we use goats and sheep to eat them. 

But before they turn into thorn tree connoisseurs they start as really cute little kids.

Most goats are born in the winter months. But because they are actually born with a summer hair coat they require barns, heat lamps and individual pens which get dirty really quickly. 

Also their mothers require a high quality diet just before kidding and just after. But with no high quality grass available in the winter time many are fed grain which is not good for ruminant animals (cows, sheep, goats). 

We refer to this kind of a system as "working against nature."

On our farm we much prefer working with nature. Our kid goats and lambs are born in May with warmer temperatures and abundant high quality forage. 

They live their livest from start to finish on pasture with no grain, barns, or individual pens needed!