If You're In Santa Barbara, Stop By the Zoo and Say Hello to the Four Prancing Pony Farm Zoo Goats!

​Growing up as a city kid in Memphis, Tennesse, one of my favorite places to go was the Memphis Zoo. Later as a mom of six kids, visiting the Zoo was a favorite family activity. As a Navy family, we have visited big and small zoos all over the United States. And as grandchildren started coming along, going to the Zoo with them was also lots of fun. Zoo memberships are a great way to support your local zoon and enjoy many visits throughout the year without breaking the bank. 

Undoubtedly my favorite part of any zoo is the petting zoo. I know most people go to the Zoo to see wild animals and I enjoy that, too. But since I wanted to live on a farm since I was a little kid and didn't achieve that dream until I was 50 years old, the petting zoo was an excellent way for me to get a little up close and personal time with the types of farm animals I hoped to one day own. And without a doubt, my favorite animals in the petting zoo were the goats. I could have spent hours watching and petting those fascinating creatures. Of course, my family usually had other ideas, so I didn't get to spend that long with the goats, but I took whatever time I could!

Now that I have a farm of my own and more goats and other farm animals than I can count, I tend to spend more time visiting the wild animals when I visit a zoo, but I still believe petting zoos are lovely places. Where else can city kids like me meet, pet, and interact with real farm animals? How many of those kids grow up, like I did, to own farm animals of their own?

As much as I love and value zoos and zoo petting zoos, I can not begin to describe how excited I was earlier this spring when I checked my voicemail to find a message from Dr. Julie Barnes, DVM, the veterinarian at the Santa Barbara Zoo! I listened in disbelief when she told me that the Zoo was interested in purchasing some of my Mini Nubian kids for their petting zoo. That was one phone call I returned in a hurry, believe me! The idea that so many people from all over would be meeting some of my goats at the Zoo was very exciting.

After much discussion, it was decided that the Zoo would purchase four Mini Nubian kids from my farm: two doelings and two wethers. The two doelings are sisters, and the two wethers are brothers. Maggie and Loki are the parents of the doelings, and Dixie and Loki are the parents of the wethers. So technically, all four kids are siblings! ☺️

Since the Zoo is accredited, specific processes and procedures had to be adhered to. The first is that biosecurity test results on the parents are required. Since we keep a clean, tested herd, that was no problem. The kids also needed to be bought from a herd enrolled in the USDA Scrapie ID program, and the kids needed to be properly identified with USDA Scrapie ID. Also, no problem since we are enrolled in the program and use USDA Scrapie microchips on our goats. A site inspection would also be done when the zoo staff came to pick up the goats, with some minor paperwork to be filled out.

A few weeks later, the exciting day arrived when two staff members, Kristen and Patrick, drove from Santa Barbara to pick up their new kids! Seeing the SUV covered in painted butterflies and Zoo signs pull into my driveway was beyond exciting. Then meeting Kristen and Patrick and showing them around my farm was so cool. We drove around on my golf cart so they could see the herd in the back pasture without disturbing our Maremma Sheepdog Livestock Guardian Dogs at work or risking biosecurity. Then we went to the pick up area near the Puppy Parlor, where the Zoo kids were waiting to head off on their new adventure. Kristen Facetimed Dr. Barnes so she could inspect the kids while Patrick got things set up and ready for them. Of course, I took lots of photos as we got the kids ready to go. Then they were loaded up for the trip and on their way back to the Zoo! 

Dr. Barnes let me know when everyone safely made it to the Zoo and updated me on how they were settling in. She told me that the kids would go through a quarantine and acclimation period for a while before they were put on public display in the petting zoo. I agreed that I would not post anything about them until I got the green light to do so by the marketing department. In the meantime, I was given frequent updates on how the goats were doing and how much of a hit they were with the staff. Finally, the day came when Dr Barnes texted me to say the kids were now on display, and I was free to share about them. 

So there you go; I am proud to announce that The Santa Barbara Zoo is now home to four Prancing Pony Farm Mini Nubian goats! So if you go to the Santa Barbara Zoo, stop by the petting zoo exhibit and say hello to my babies for me!

If you would like to become the proud owner of your own Prancing Pony Farm goats just click on the button below and reserve your kids today!

Reserve My Goats!