On Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 1:57:33 PM UTC-8, David P. wrote:
> It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year—for Goats (No Kidding)
> By Joel Millman, Jan. 17, 2023, WSJ
> PHILADELPHIA—Teddy is on a diet, but for two Saturdays this month he’s delighted to eat his fill.
>
> The 200-pound Nubian breed goat needs to be at 180, his handlers say, to prevent arthritis pain in his knees. Yet, he recently munched contentedly on a buffet of pine needles and twigs at what has become an annual postholiday event here—the recycling of hundreds of discarded Yuletide trees into goat feed and, later, mulch.
>
> “Balsam fir is his favorite. It’s like the Godiva chocolate of pine trees,” says Karen Krivit, 59, the social worker-turned-animal activist who oversees the Philly Goat Project from a farm in Philadelphia’s Germantown section.
>
> Christmas trees, it turns out, are good for goats. Pine needles are rich in Vitamins C and A, say handlers, as is pine tree bark. Then there’s the tannin content, which can help deter parasites in ruminants, such as goats (although, to be sure, it’s complicated).
>
> “Condensed tannins work indirectly by binding with protein in a goat’s rumen. More protein therefore makes it to the goat’s abomasum and small intestine,” farm blogger Gail Damerow posted last year, adding “protein in the lower digestive tract strengthens the intestinal lining to make it more resilient to parasite penetration. The extra protein also gives the goat’s immune system a boost.”
>
> The average goat doubtless is unaware of this science. Yet wearing their colorful waterproof “goat coats” and matching name tags, the goats seem to mingle easily with donors and volunteers during the Christmas tree collection, generally chewing all the while.
>
> Nearly 100 goat lovers volunteer for these Saturday tree drops, which keeps “Folxherder” Leslie Jackson, the volunteers coordinator, on her toes. Goats can be pretty relentless around feeding time, she says, which means it’s up to humans to watch for stray Christmas ornaments or bits of twine or wire a goat could choke on.
>
> Ms. Krivit says trees donated in January will feed her goats well into late spring. Around 600 arrived the first Saturday of the month’s tree drive. What the goats leave behind—branches and tree trunks—will be shredded into mulch to be spread over the Arboretum’s 56 acres. In coming months, the goats will also serve as Arboretum landscapers, munching through stands of poison ivy and Japanese knotweed.
>
> Other area goat herds also sought Christmas tree donations this month, including Fox Chase Farm, a Philadelphia school with 20 goats, and Copper Kettle Farms in Gettysburg.
>
> The Philly Goat Project’s next donation Saturday is Jan. 21.
> Or the 22nd, if the weather turns ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ad.
>
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/discard-christmas-trees-recycling-goats-eat-11673968934?mod=itp_wsj

Funny!