Mid-morning on Jan. 2, a pile of discarded Christmas trees, shedding needles and stripped of their ornaments and garlands, lay in the sunny pasture of Darrowby Farm Sanctuary.
But while the trees’ brief stints as holiday symbols were drawing to a close, they were about to spread holiday cheer to another crowd: the sanctuary’s goats, who were waiting impatiently on the other side of the fence, hungrily eyeing the trees.
Goats naturally eat many kinds of plant matter, and providing them with a varied diet is one important step to keeping them healthy, explained sanctuary co-owner Amanda Glenn.
In the wild, goats eat a wide range of plant matter, with their tough digestive systems able to derive nutrients from food sources ranging from grasses to moss, shrubs, twigs, and tree bark.
For Darrowby’s domestic goats, Christmas trees are a particularly welcome food source, said co-owner Andy Theriault. By this time of year, he said, the grass in the goats’ pastures has generally been depleted or covered with snow. The trees are also particularly rich in some essential vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C and magnesium, he added.
Health benefits aside, the goats seemed to crave the taste of the Christmas trees. As Theriault picked up a tree and approached the pasture gate, the goats waiting inside the fence watched him eagerly. Once the tree was within their reach, the animals went to town, pulling off needles and shearing twigs with gusto.
Some of the animals show more enthusiasm for feeding time during Christmas tree season than at any other time of year, said Theriault.
Merlin, a large white billy goat, seemed to enjoy head-butting the tree, which he did vigorously, scratching his forehead with its lower branches. Meanwhile, Lucy, Gibbs, and the rest of the crew chewed away at the more tender needles near the top of the tree.
As the goats chewed away, the smell of pine filled the air. Glenn said that one side effect of munching on Christmas trees is the freshening of the goats’ breath.
As grazing animals, the goats would continue to nibble on the tree all day to get their fill, eventually stripping it of its needles and twigs and recycling the discarded holiday decoration into a delicious meal.
The trees enjoyed by Darrowby’s goats are supplied by community members, whose donations the co-directors say both they and the goats appreciate.
“People have been really generous,” said Theriault, who noted that he was glad the trees could have “a second life” helping the sanctuary’s animals rather than winding up in a landfill or brush-burning pile.
Darrowby operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Many of its approximately 50 resident animals arrived after suffering abuse or neglect before finding their forever home at the sanctuary, according to Glenn and Theriault.
People with Christmas trees they would like to donate to the Darrowby goats may do so by delivering the trees to the sanctuary at 216 North Mountain Road in Jefferson, where a roadside sign points donors to the goat pasture.
“It’s a long winter,” and the goats will be grateful for trees to munch on as the cold months continue, said Theriault.
For more information about Darrowby Farm Sanctuary, go to darrowbyfarmsanctuary.org or call 248-2606.
