New arrivals on the farm this Easter Weekend

Meet our two Pygmy goat kids, their names are Heidi (black one) and Maria (brown one). They are eight months old, extremely fun and friendly. They can be taught their name and to come when called.

The Pygmy goat is a breed of miniature domestic goat and was developed from the West African dwarf goat, a landrace of Central and West Africa, found most commonly in the Cameroon Valley. They were taken to Europe primarily by the British during the colonial era and gained popularity as pets and exhibition animals due to their good-natured personalities & friendliness.

Females are called does or nannies, and males are bucks.

Unlike domestic goats, which are usually kept for their milk and their meat, the pygmy is kept for the amusement of itself and those around it. As a herding animal, they are best kept in a pair or more.

Not only do they enjoy human contact, but they have also proved to be good companions for other animals, such as sheep.

As a regular meal they eat goat mix twice a day and as a treat they will eat fruit and veg – many people feed them organic scraps from the kitchen, which does them no harm at all.

Pygmy goats bear one to four young every nine to 12 months after a five-month gestation period. Does are usually bred for the first time at about 18 to 24 months. Newborn kids will nurse almost immediately, begin eating grain and roughage within a week, and are weaned by ten weeks of age.

Any interesting facts? The Italian word for goat is capra; a desire to change direction and a short attention span were traits always attributed to the goat.

Goats’ pupils (like many hooved animals) are rectangular. This gives them vision for 320 to 340 degrees (compared to humans with 160-210) around them without having to move and they are thought to have excellent night vision.

Come and meet the Pygmy goats! We are open every day (except Thursdays) from 14th April until 30th September between 2pm-6pm.