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A herd of 21 Nigerian dwarf goats resides at Hokaheh Farm in Housatonic, where they are employed in a mutually beneficial act of community service in which they help ease post-holiday blues by disposing of difficult-to-dump Christmas trees, and get a snack in the process.
To donate a leftover tree to the goats, people simply drop their tree off at a designated area at the farm. The goats may be small in stature, but they can chow through up to six Christmas trees a day, said 61-year-old John Condon, animal caretaker and farmer at Hokaheh Farm.
The goats typically eat hay, alfalfa pellets, and sunflower seeds and graze on the farm's pasture and woods. Their diet is supplemented with plenty of treats including banana, a regular favorite, said Condon.
For the past four years, the goats have been getting fed special post-holiday treats of used Christmas trees.
"It's great for the goats," Condon said. "The trees are full of vitamins and a natural dewormer that helps keep their digestive systems going. So it's a win-win all the way around."
The goats eat the tree needles and chew on the bark, Condon said, and love rubbing their heads on the trunk.
The first year that Condon promoted the tree disposal on the farm's Facebook page, the farm received about 100 tree drop offs. Condon says he's scaled back his announcements in the following years in order to allow other farms to get their fair share of desirable cast-off trees.
"Put a post on your local community page on Facebook," Condon advised anyone looking to dispose of a Christmas tree. "Ask if anyone has goats and wants trees. I'm sure they will, and the goats will be very happy for it."
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