
In the Morning
The
goats are led from the barn to their yard at about 7:30 a.m. Their yard has already been prepared
with fresh hay and water. The goats also have grass
to graze on in their yard.
Keepers replace dirty shavings in the goats' stalls
with fresh shavings. Then they rinse the water buckets
and fill them with fresh water. Finally, they fill
each hay rack with fresh hay, and the stall
is ready! It takes
the keepers a little over an hour to prepare both the Nigerian
dwarf and Nubian goat stalls.
At the End of the Day
At about 4 p.m., the goats are led back into the barn for
the night. Once inside, their collars and leads are removed
and they are free to munch on their hay. Each stall
is also stocked with a salt and mineral block. The goats
lick or nibble on the block as needed.
Keepers go out to the goats' yard and clean up
any feces and leftover hay from the day. Cleaning the
goat yard takes about 45 minutes.
A Secure Barn
Goats can undo latches and escape through gates. Keepers
check all doors, locks, and fences to keep the goats
from getting out when they're not supposed to.
Hoof Trim
Goats' hoofs are like toenails—always
growing. The Kids' Farm goats get hoof trims at least
every three months.