There are few things as cute as a baby goat (kid) …
In southern Virginia, February’s kidding season at Caromont Farm (a goat cheese farm a few miles south of the University of Virginia) has usually been a harrowing, hectic time for owner Gail Hobbs-Page and her employees when her baby goats run wild and her staff is run ragged.
But this year, Gail, an accomplished chef for decades who transitioned to goat farmer in 2007, took the advice of her staff and decided to use social media to enlist the aid of volunteers who signed up for four-hour stints helping to keep almost 100 new baby goats (kids) warm, dry, clean and fed. Within a day the local NBC affiliate had a feature, and within two days the Washington Post ran a story on the “Goat Cuddlers”.
Gail, who is devoted to local agribusiness farming, was dubious about her staff’s suggestion of using the Caromon Farm’s Facebook page – but joyously overwhelmed when she had over 2,000 requests from people as far north as Quebec and far west as California! And all seventy-two of the four-hour slots were snapped up by young and old in just three days! People are already requesting the opportunity to cuddle and snuggle with the goats during next year’s kidding season.
“Every year we work our butts off with these baby goats, and everyone gets a little run-down,” says Gail Hobbs-Page, who started the farm in 2007. “I guess I really didn’t know how news works now,” says Hobbs-Page. “This—going viral—was never our intention. The phone is ringing off the hook.”
“What I tapped into is some sort of need that people have to connect…to connect with something so innocent as a baby goat, and to connect with where their food comes from.”
http://modernfarmer.com/2016/01/goat-snuggles/
Gail explained that having the volunteers work at keeping the kids warm, dry and fed was critical not only for their well-being, but also "When they become milkers for the cheese operation, they're easier to handle. If we didn't do this on some level, you couldn't get your hands on them. They'd just run away."
Caromont is a 120-goat farm that makes some 30,000 pounds of goat cheese each year to distribute up and down the east coast, as well as hosting gourmet dinners featuring … what else?
Consistent with what Hobbs-Page feels is her devotion to responsible, artisanal farming she does not use any GMO feed, pays her help a living wage, and extensively interviews anyone she sells her goats to.
But watching the volunteers in action this year helping to tend to her “kids”, Gail observed, "I'm not quite sure they need the cuddling as much as the people need to cuddle."
15 Responses to “Friday Fun – Fun Job: Goat Cuddler. I “Kid” You Not!”
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Wonderful story about young kids cuddling cute cuddable kids. I kid you not. lol.
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Sorry, but I just goata say that you goata be kidding me with all those puns!
😉
Posted to Care2 at Friday Fun – Fun Job: Goat Cuddler. I “Kid” You Not! (set to open in new window)
Simply wonderful and inspiring. I'd love to cuddle these kids!!
Thanks, Lynn for this. Sharing with others.
Thank you, Nameless for this wonderful post!
Soooooooooooooooooooo cute, Nameless!
Back in March 1985, I was assigned acting branch manager in a small farming community in northern BC for 1 month. I had no farm lending experience but was told that would not matter. About 2 weeks into the assignment I had to go out to a very rustic farm (a soddie with no running water, no indoor plumbing, no electricity) in the midst of lambing season and count the sheep, dividing the count into rams, ewes and lambs. Did I say it was about -30C (-22 F), but I was outstanding in my field!
I have to say that the little kid at the end, the one sticking his tongue out, is soooooooooooooooooooooo cute!
" … outstanding in my field!"
The oldies not only don't die – but like you and (hopefully) me, they just get better with age!
[PLEASE NOTE: There is a "Five Pun Per Person Limit" for this post!]
How adorable! Lynn, thank you so much for posting, I just got home (safely, thank you). You must be terrific with goats if you can sex that one from that picture! Nameless, thanks so much for this. I'd be happy to cuddle a baby goat any time. Or a kitten. Or a puppy. Or a baby ferret. Or ……
Have you ever tried to hold (let alone cuddle) a ferret (let alone a baby ferret)?
They're like the worst ADHD kids I ever saw … to the Nth degree!
There's not enough Ritatlin to get those guys calm. 😉
True, of course, if they're well. They only LOOK like "knee socks with eyes," they don't act like them. But I've been clicking for the sick and injured ones over in France, and I kinda forgot.
I was counting sheep, not goats and I only had to sex the adults, not the cute little lambs.
Thank you, Nameless. I am probably the only one on here who has actually "cuddled" a baby goat. Believe me, it is not easy. No "kidding". Since this is kitten season, I think I will share this with the local animal shelter. Maybe we can get some people in to 'Cuddele" kittens. 🙂
I'd give the giat an intesyinal massage!
You are absolutely right in saying kid goats are one of the cutest thing around, Nameless, but if they're put in knitted jumper to keep warm…you need to come up with a word for being able to melt someone into a little puddle. Those pictures had about the highest Awwww factor I've seen lately. Thanks for posting this wonderful story.