Goats

Our goats truly steal the spotlight with their charming and distinctive personalities! From mischievous troublemakers to gentle souls, each goat has their own unique spirit that captivates and delights our visitors. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand how much space goats need, how secure the fencing needs to be to keep them safe and especially how much mischief they can get into!

Whether they're playfully butting heads or simply basking in the sun, our goats bring an infectious sense of joy to the sanctuary. Come meet our delightful goat stars and experience the love and laughter they bring to Hope & Serenity!

Meet the Nigerian Dwarf goat family!

These goats came from a local farm where they were lovingly cared for as pets. One of their owners suddenly passed away and his elderly spouse was unable to care for them anymore.

Not wanting to see her husband’s beloved pets separated or slaughtered, these 10 goats now have a new home at Hope & Serenity Farm Sanctuary!

These new kids on the block need a lot of lovin’ (and sponsors!) since they’ve just been moved to their new forever home. Check out the roster below:

Rosie

Charlotte

Sponsored by Laurie Campbell

Louie

Sponsored by Laurie Campbell

Dixie

Bella

sponsored by Martha O’Brien

Magnum

Sponsored by Kyle Rash

Pete

Sponsored by Kathie Keller and Laurie Campbell

Waylon

sponsored by Brett Small

Daisy

Gracie

Sponsored by Jeff Martinez and the McNemeny family

Meet Our Main Herd

  • Butters and his brother Rusty were given up because they needed more space. Many new goat owners don’t realize the space needed to keep their goats happy.

    Sponsored by Linda Coleman

  • Mowgli is a Nigerian Dwarf goat. He came to our farm with his brother Gatsby. They were from a breeder who sells the bucks at auction. These boys would have likely been bought for meat or breeding does.

    Sponsored by Gretchen Buckler

  • Micah is a Nigerian Dwarf goat and was sold by a breeder. We purchased him so that he would not go to auction. We wish we could do this for all goats.

    Sponsored by Alyssa Burns and Linda Coleman

  • Tundra was surrendered because their previous owner believed they had a disease that was contagious to other goats in the herd. After examination, Tundra has no such disease and has been very healthy.

    Sponsored by John Drake

  • Noah is a Nubian goat. These are a British breed used for milk, meat and hide. Our sweet Noah was given to us by a breeder whom raises them for milk, cheese, soap and lotion. He has the kindest personality for being one of our largest goats.

    Sponsored by Sherri Schooler and TaYah Barnett

  • Apollo is a mischievous, smart character. He came from auction to be sponsored by one of our special volunteers for her birthday. Our volunteer has moved on and now others have a chance to sponsor this sweet boy.

    Sponsored by Molly Lynch and Susmit Panjwani.

  • Marta came to live with us with her family herd of goats Piper, Tori, Cinamon, Gus, Stella, Buddy and Grover. Her owner was no longer financially able to care for her animals so we adopted them.

    Sponsored by Kelly Ballard

  • Brothers Vincent and Pablo came to the sanctuary in 2024 when they were 3 weeks old. They were taken from mom for her milk and were on their way to slaughter when we rescued them.

    Sadly, Pablo passed away a few days after he arrived for unknown reasons.

    Lamancha goats will grow to be very tall and have small ears that look like tortellini.

    Sponsored by Julie Phillips

  • Alfie and Ivan are brothers. They came from a breeder that raises them for milk, cheese, soap and lotion. He was not very well when he was a baby and needed help. We weren't sure he was going to make it. Thankfully he thrived with some support. He is a sweet, boy who loves to be loved.

    Sponsored by Linda Coleman

  • Grace

    Sponsored by Karen McGirk

  • Woody is a Boer goat bred for meat. He was a 4-H project. Children raise animals, show them and then sell them for food. A young girl who raised him begged us to buy him so that he would have a life. Woody is a happy boy with a great life!

    Sponsored by Susan, Bill and Annelise

  • Comet is Starr's baby. She was rescued from auction and had this beautiful boy. He was born on January 19, 2021. He is a clever escape artist. He is the only one that knows how to get out of our fence and torment my neighbors. He takes his mother with him because they do not like to be separated. They are still very close and rarely separate. We like to keep him in our farm yard to keep him out of trouble.

    Sponsored by Katie and Finn Dugan

  • Gatsby is Mowgli's brother. They are both incredibly smart and affectionate. Gatsby likes to rub his horns on you to get you to pet him. He is also a scoundrel that loves trouble.

    Sponsored by Lindsay Drake and Nodira Meliboeva

  • Ivan and his brother Alfie were adopted from a breeder using goats for their milk to make cheese, soap and lotion. Most babies are removed from their mothers and raised on powdered milk. Males or bucks are sold for meat or pets however most end up as food. The females are kept and bred to continue this process. We do not condone this - goats deserve to live out their lives without being used by people for products.

    Sponsored by Valerie Thornton and Linda Coleman

  • Starr is a Saanen goat. She is Comet's mother. Saanen is a Swiss breed bred for milk. Starr was purchased at auction for our sanctuary. She was not socialized as a baby so she is not trusting of people. It takes a lot of patience to get her to trust anyone enough to get close. She will occasionally take a treat though.

    Sponsored by Holly Neyland

  • Sponsored by Rachael Dailey and Jennifer Bradshaw

  • Michael (brown) is sponsored by Riley O’Casey and Amy Robinson

    Olaf is sponsored by Judith Johnson and the Helmick Family

    Michael & Olaf are litter mates. Their momma, Felicia, sadly passed away a few weeks after they were born.

  • Shadow and his sister Coco were given up by a family who was moving. Shadow is a shy boy but once you start petting him he realizes how much he loves the attention!

    Sponsored by LaShanda Jordan, Linda Coleman, and the North family

  • Gus is part of the herd taken in with Marta, Tori, Cinnamon, Grace, Buddy, Grover, Stella and Piper.

    Sponsored by Carrie Nelson

  • Sponsored by Caitlin Masson and Jennifer Littau

  • George came to us when his twin died. He was very lonely and his owners decided it was best to rehome him. He has adjusted to his new family. George is one of the biggest mischief makers. He can slide by us like smoke to get into our feed shed and get into all of the bags. He loves to make a mess!

    Sponsored by Kara Hines, Matthew Robbins, Linda Coleman, and Bea Natalucci

  • Momma Stella gave birth to Matilda and Cleo here at the farm in 2023.

    Sponsored by Angela Stoufer

  • Sponsored by McCall Christman and Stephanie Brown

  • Saffron and Sunny were born here at the farm. Piper is their momma.

    Sponsored by Anne Engelhardt

  • Buddy

    Sponsored by Sid Chodhary and Amy Garst

  • Sailor and her sister Starr came from an auction. Did you know that there are auctions weekly across the United States where animals are bid on? Usually these animals become food or are used for dairies for milk and cheese. Sailor was not socialized as a young goat and is still very scared of people. Take your time while you are here visiting and try to make friends with her.

    She had a baby shortly after coming here as most does at the auction are pregnant. Her baby is Selena. And because she was born here she is well socialized. See the difference when you visit.

    Sponsored by Holly Neyland

  • Cleo and her sister Matilda were born in 2023 here at the farm. Stella is their momma.

    Sponsored by Tom Spitznagel

  • Piper is mother to …

    Sponsored by Beth Lang

  • Rosemary

    Sponsored by Beth Lang and Brenda Combs

  • Tinker came to the farm in spring 2024.

    Sponsored by Cynthia Riddicks, Friday Johnson, Kathie Keller, Leanne & Riley

  • Ash (dark brown) is sponsored by Forest & Tara Charmot and Lauren Hoover.

    Socks is sponsored by Elizabeth Jones

    Ash & Socks are litter mates. Their momma is Tory.

  • Matilda and her sister Cleo were born at the farm in 2023. Their mother is Stella.

    Sponsored by Alex Schneider

  • Sunny and Saffron? were born here at the farm. Piper is their mother.

    Sponsored by Caroline Schellhas

  • Grover

    Sponsored by Beverly Hicks

  • Dante came to the farm in late spring 2024.

    Sponsored by Julie Phillips, Ainsley Stabler, and Kathie Keller

  • Octavia (white face) is sponsored by Annette Dobson

    Ophelia is sponsored by Nia Rowlison

    Octavia & Ophelia are litter mates. Their momma is Cinnamon.

  • Tory is one of the goats that came with Piper, Cinnamon, Marta, Stella, Grace, Gus, Grover, and Buddy. She is the mother of Socks and Ash.

    Sponsored by Vickie Nitschke and Linda Coleman

Goat Q&A

  • Goats have a propensity to climb on basically anything, from cows to sheds, to tree branches. Why? Domesticated goats originated from wild goats that lived in the rocky terrains of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. Those mountain goats had to keep their balance crossing high-up cliffs and ledges—a skill that was passed down to their modern-day ancestors.

    Climbing is also fun and games to goats. Mother goats let their babies jump and climb on them. No other adult goat in a herd will let a baby climb on them. This means, baby goats climb on "family" and if you let them climb on you, you are considered family (a good thing). To a goat, climbing is fun, fun, fun and their way of playing. goes here

  • Head butting in young goats is play: play, as part of practice to become an adult (like all child play is). If you push a kid's head, they will push back in play. Never push on a goat's forehead. You do not want to encourage this because you do not want a mature goat to want to play with you in this manner, because someone could get hurt. This is because older goats head butt to play, but more often to fight. They will fight between themselves to establish dominance and they will take "pot-shots" at smaller goats to show them who is boss

  • Goats like to be petted! But it can be a little different than petting a dog. Goats like their front chest and underarms scratched. You can pet their head but this is a more sensitive area for them as they cannot see above their head and if they don’t know you that well, it can make them uncomfortable. So be gentle when petting their heads. They especially loved to be scratched between their horns (or where their horns would be if they don’t have any).