Aulson Explains Goats Stay Warm and Amuse Themselves with Discarded Christmas Trees

Merrimack Valley Newsmakers

Those looking for a different way to dispose of a Christmas tree, have some fun with goats and help the homeless at the same time, Goats to Go in Georgetown has a solution.

As WHAV reported earlier, Goats to Go is collecting Christmas trees and making a party of it for the seventh year on Saturday, Jan. 11.

Michelle Aulson of Goats to Go last week visited WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, and noted how goats and Christmas trees are good for each other.

“So goats, especially if they are eating, they are staying warm. Think about fueling a fire. Their little bodies will stay warm if they have a warm place to eat. We give them free range hay all winter and minerals, but the Christmas trees, goats need excitement. They need something fun to do. They use as scratching, rubbing their fur, rubbing their horns on it and nibbling. They nibble on the greenery of the trees, and the greenery is actually a natural dewormer,” she explained.

Aulson says the goats like Douglas Fir trees the best.

There is a suggested donation of $20 per family or tree that will go to Emmaus, a Haverhill based charity helping adults and children transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency, while the tree goes to the goats.

The goats actually have a pretty busy schedule.

“It started back in 2017, with the small goats coming home for the summer, and we thought we’d like to do a class with the yoga teacher. Goats like to jump on things, so they jump on people during classes—babies only we use because they’re small and they learn to jump right up there with some goat treats, just like a dog. We kind of train them a little bit. And, everyone loves it. The smiles on the goats’ faces—oh wait, maybe that’s the smile on the people’s faces, a little bit of both. Goats actually like people who are smiling and that definitely rings true when you see the classes,” she explained.

But, when it’s time to work, Aulson says the goats and sheep at the farm, have their grazing specialties.

“They do. I like to say goats like to jump up and eat things that are high off the ground. The goats have a little bit more fun with what they eat. Stonewalls are a specialty. They can get in hillsides where people can’t really mow. Sheep, on the other hand, eat grasses mostly, but they will eat poison ivy if it’s on the ground cover. Sheep won’t eat off a tree, they won’t eat brush and shrubs. They mostly will eat the ground. So, depending on that, they’re really good with our solar field grazing, where they have panels that goats have a reputation of jumping up. That’s why goat yoga is so good.”

Aulson says their sheep and goats also enjoy working at the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace in Haverhill, as well as a number of backyards and cemeteries around the area.

Goats to Go seventh annual Christmas tree drop off takes place Saturday, Jan. 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Great Rock Farm, 201 Pond St., Georgetown. There is a reservation fee of $5 per car and suggested donation of $20 per family or tree cash or check. Venmo is available in advance. Checks may be made out to Emmaus. More information is available at GoatsToGo.farm.

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