BOULDER, Colo.—If you’ve ever wanted a goat but didn’t have the farm to go with it, Boulder County 4-H has a solution—rent one.
Boulder County 4-H, which provides educational programming for kids 8 to 18, is starting a “Lease-a-Goat” program.
The program, which will be open to any members of Boulder County 4-H, will provide more than a dozen Angora goats for youth to care for and exhibit at this year’s Boulder County Fair.
“The Lease-a-Goat is supposed to be an opportunity for kids who don’t have farm ground, or maybe even their grandparents don’t have farm ground,” said Nicolette Ahrens, who works with Boulder County’s 4-H youth development in equine and livestock. “Maybe they’ve not ever even had an interaction with an animal, except for maybe a dog or a typical house pet.”
Ahrens said that fewer and fewer youth in Boulder County have the chance to work with livestock, as once-rural areas increasingly fill up with coffee shops and townhouses.
“There’s just a lot less access or exposure,” she said.
That’s where Sue Struthers comes in.
Struthers lives on her family’s ranch along North 63rd Street, about halfway between Boulder and Longmont.
The family has 13 Angora goats now—along with an alert llama named Checkers for protection against predators—with many babies due early next year. It’s the baby goats that will be used in the 4-H program.
“You want the kids to be able to learn how to take them from little babies up to show goats,” Struthers said.
Angora goats are a common sight at the Boulder County Fair, both as show animals and in the fiber competition for their fluffy white and brown wool.
Struthers said she got the idea to provide a place for youth to learn about goats by talking with families at the fair.
“Kids who come by just fall in love with the goats, and then you say, ‘Well, why don’t you do 4-H and goats?’ And they always say, ‘Because I live in town, so I don’t have the opportunity.’ We do have the land; we do have the opportunity.”
The baby goats will be leased to 4-H members for $5 each per year. That gives the kids a stake in the animals, Struthers said. Lessees will have to keep detailed records about the animals and put in at least six hours of work at the ranch each month before showing off the animals at the 2012 Boulder County Fair. They must also meet 4-H requirements, such as completing a community service project.
Kenzie Struthers, 11, is a veteran with the animals at her house.
She rattled off the names of the family’s goats—Onyx, Comet, Marcie, Molly, Ashley, Boo, Obie, Destiny, Minty, Pearly, Ivory—and showed off her three-ring binder full of details from last year’s goat projects.
Her friend, Sarah Smith, 11, will be leasing one of the forthcoming baby goats for the first time this year.
“I think it’s going to be fun,” Sarah said. “Babies are so cute. I’m looking forward to being able to see them—often, if I can.”
Her mom, Karen Smith, of Firestone, said the Lease-a-Goat program offers the kind of access that’s just not available in town.
“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “We are animal lovers and have a lot of pets, but we can’t have livestock. It’s a wonderful opportunity for (Sarah) to see what’s involved, other than just coming over here and petting them and feeding them hay.”
