The Farm Is Expanding

Hermoine poses gracefully for her maternity photoshoot.

Cultivate Care Farms is expanding this spring with the arrival of our new baby goats!

We are anxiously anticipating Angora and Nigerian Dwarf kids to greet the world starting in late February. Our maternity ward is set-up in the lower level of the barn and our clients visit the mommas for extra brushing and back scratches while we wait. This impending event allows clients to participate in the Life Cycle in a way that is comfortable and meaningful. Clients have created posters to hang in the maternity ward encouraging the moms to “push through”. There have been many maternity shoots, complete with flower crowns and draping cloths. 

This close-up look at the Life Cycle through Farm-Based Therapy allows our clients to practice patience, to release control and practice flexibility when it comes to the timing of the new arrivals. It also gives clients the opportunity to practice perspective-taking and empathy when it comes to the biological changes these goats are going through and the way it impacts the goats’ behavior–a goat may be more territorial around feeding time, may be easier to approach and brush, or may just want to rest in the hay more than usual.

Waiting for these births also has clients reflecting on their own origin stories. They talk about the details they’ve heard about their own births, or share the experience of welcoming a new sibling into their families. They talk about what they think these goat moms need in order to have a healthy labor, and how these clients can contribute to the raising of happy and healthy goats. They talk about the possibility of a mom rejecting her baby and ask questions about how the farm community will step in to help this baby goat. We also prepare for the possibility that something could go wrong during the births, or that a baby may not live long after it’s been born.

We are excited to share the stories of our farm, and the goat moms and their babies who help us provide Farm-Based Therapy. We hope that these stories about the Life Cycle at Cultivate Care Farms will be both educational and therapeutic for our readers. Join us as this adventure unfolds!