It’s the beginning of January, which means that the holiday season is winding down. People everywhere are taking down the tinsel and tossing this year’s Christmas trees to the curb.
But what if there was a way to give your old tree a second life? One farm has found a way, reusing old trees to give some animals a holiday gift of their own.
Every year in the days after Christmas, Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo, in New Era, Michigan, asks locals to donate their old trees to be recycled in a very unique way: to feed their goats!
Goats have hard mouths, which makes them able to enjoy the sweet taste of pine needles. The gift of old Christmas trees serves as sort of a special treat to get them through the winter.
“Animals get the winter blues kind of too, so they like anything new and unusual,” Jenny Ferels, brand ambassador at Lewis, told FOX 17.
“It’s exciting for them.”
She adds that the trees are actually quite nutritious as well.
“Pine needles have a lot of Vitamin C in them, so they’re getting some vitamins there, and it’s a natural de-wormer for goats too.”
Of course, they need to be real pine trees, and it’s important that they don’t have any leftover decorations or garland in the branches — no one wants a goat choking on a glass ornament.
Otherwise, these goats will happily chow down on your old tree. It’s been a tradition at the farm for 15 years, since the farm got their first goat.
Now they have a herd of 40, so the more trees the better — and neighbors are happy to oblige.
“We hear from so many people in the area that this is now a little bit of an addition to their after Christmas tradition,” Jenny Ferels told 9 & 10 News.
“It’s been really fun seeing families come out year after year donating their trees to the goats that they then come back and see during the summer.”
It’s a great idea all around. Our Christmas trees bring us so much joy during the holiday season, only to end up tossed to the curb.
This way, our trees get a very special send-off — recycled and giving some happy goats a tasty treat.
Hopefully more farms start doing this. We know the goats would love it!
Share this story if you love this idea, and be sure to donate your trees to some hungry goats if you can!