'Goofy And Fun Pets:' Adoption Fee Waived For 40 Surrendered Goats

AYER, MA — Dozens of goats are now available for adoption at Nevins Farm in Massachusetts after more than 160 farm animals were rescued from an Ayer property earlier this year — and the adoption fee has been waived for many of them, the MSPCA told Patch Wednesday.

The animals' previous owner, Ruth Maxant-Schulz, 77, was arraigned on 30 counts of animal cruelty and surrendered the animals in April, months after police discovered them living in unsanitary conditions without adequate access to food and water.

Among the animals rescued and set to be available for adoption are 91 chickens, 11 ducks, eight geese, and two ponies, plus many goats, the organization said in April.

For now, those looking to add a "kid" to their family can attend the MSPCA at Nevins Farm's second-ever fee-waived open house for all goats aged one year and old on Saturday.

"We ended up with 49 goats from the Ayer case, and it's taken some time to get them all ready for adoption," Kaycie McCarthy, equine and farm animal outreach and rescue manager at Nevins Farm, said Wednesday. "We had to wait until the pregnant goats had babies, and we also had many males that needed to be castrated."

In total, 40 goats will be available to adopt fee-free this weekend, McCarthy added. Among those are a few goats from a recent surrender in Owego, New York.

"We don’t often waive fees for goats as they’ve historically been adopted pretty quickly after coming to the farm," according to McCarthy. "But given the number of surrenders we’ve had in the last few months, our population has swelled, so we need to pull out all the stops to get these animals into the loving homes they deserve."

The goats at Nevins range in age from five months to 10 years old, but only those aged one and older are available to adopt fee-free during the open house, according to the organization. The goats are various breeds, including Nigerian Dwarfs, La Manchas, and Alpines, and all of them have horns.

"People often think that they need to be experienced farmers to adopt goats, but that's not true," McCarthy said. "If they have adequate shelter for goats and are willing to learn, that's all that matters."

Just be prepared for some kidding around.

"Goats can be goofy and fun pets. They play together and climb things. They sometimes try to sneak food like a puppy might," according to McCarthy. "We know that they’ll bring a lot of light and love to their new homes!"

Registration is recommended, but not required for the open house. Those interested may visit the MSPCA's website for more information and to sign up.