Meet the Goats — Merrymac Farm Sanctuary

Alex came to MMFS in 2023 at just a couple of months old. She is a shy girl who loves her herd mates. Her unique markings are so beautiful. She is a smaller goat and likely a Toggenburg mixed with other breeds. She was rescued with 13 others from a goat dairy in New Hampshire that shut down. Alex and her herd have an incurable virus called CAE (caprine arthritis and encephalitis). This disease typically passes from mother to kid thru milk. Unfortunately, a lack of testing for breeding goats means that CAE is very common in goats even though it is entirely preventable. Our goats are closely monitored for symptoms and make sure they have supportive care when needed.

Alfie came to MMFS in 2023 at just a couple of months old. He is a super sweet and friendly boy who loves attention. Alfie is easy to spot because he is all black with no other markings. He is a medium sized goat and likely a Toggenburg mixed Nubian and possibly other breeds. He was rescued with 13 other goats from a goat dairy in New Hampshire that shut down. The entire herd has an incurable virus called CAE (caprine arthritis and encephalitis). This disease typically passes from mother to kid thru milk. Unfortunately, a lack of testing for breeding goats means that CAE is very common in goats even though it is entirely preventable. Our goats are closely monitored for symptoms and make sure they have supportive care when needed.

Bonnie joined MMFS during the late spring of 2024 when her family had given up on goats and she was headed towards being culled. Her history of having meningeal worms has impacted her neurological ability to walk perfectly, but she still gets around quite well. Bonnie is around 12-14 years old, but has a very determined personality to still be present in just about everything going on at the sanctuary. She LOVES people, and most likely when visiting the sanctuary you will be greeted by her. We have worked hard to bring her health up to date which had been neglected. Her feet were very overgrown, and she was very underweight.

Chester and Willow came later in the winter of 2022, as a concerned citizen was working on rehoming the most severe goats from a local neglect case. Both were under weight and Willow had a broken leg that had been allowed to heal without care. Today they are doing much better. Willow was able to regain the use of his front leg because he had time to heal here without being bullied, and he had proper nutrients helping him finish growing.

Eeyore is a 5 year old Nubian goat who came to MMFS from a New York farm and needed a new life. He is positive for a goat virus called CAE, like much of our herd. Keeping him in the best living conditions will be very important to controlling this disease and keeping him in good health. We are needing to work to get him back up to date with veterinary care.

Jar-Jar came to MMFS, in the winter of 2022, from a very loved home and had wonderful care. Unfortunately, his owners were making life changes and he needed a new home. We were very happy to provide him with a safe and permanent one!

Maeve is a friendly girl who came to MMFS in 2023. She loves attention and a good scritch. Maeve was formerly a milking and breeding goat with 13 other goats, from a goat dairy in New Hampshire that shut down. She is now retired from that life. The entire herd has an incurable virus called CAE (caprine arthritis and encephalitis). This disease typically passes from mother to kid thru milk. Unfortunately, a lack of testing for breeding goats means that CAE is very common in goats even though it is entirely preventable. Our goats are closely monitored for symptoms and make sure they have supportive care when needed.

Norma-Jean was an unexpected surprise of Billie-Jean (her mom) that MMFS got this past spring of 2024. We took in a large group of goats from a dairy closing down in 2023 and Billie-Jean was one of the adults who joined us. We noticed her belly growing during the late winter and suspected she might be pregnant. After ultrasounding her we saw we would be having a baby in the springtime! Norma-Jean was born to BJ, and we have loved her every day since then. It is so nice when a baby goat can grow up with her mom and nurse, and not be taken away because her mom has to go into milk production. May they live a long life together having each other!

Pixie came to MMFS during the busy spring of 2024. There was a call for a farm sanctuary to step up to help out a goat farmer that had a baby needing more focused time to help with some soft tissue defects from a traumatic birth. Pixie was born out of a very young mom, and she was a very large baby. When she arrived at MMFS, she was unable to walk well on her legs. We consulted with our vet and worked each day massaging her soft tissue. Through many months of massage and four rounds of antibiotics we have a strong healthy girl who now prances and jumps all over the farm, and one would never know she had any problems. This is why sanctuaries are so important. We give each animal their own time to heal and be who they need to be. Learn more about Pixie’s Story

Sassy is a very sweet girl who loves attention and scritches. She came to MMFS in 2023, and we can't help but love her "sassy" nature. She's a bold and stubborn, and always first in line for snacks. Sassy was formerly a milking and breeding goat with 13 others from a goat dairy in New Hampshire that shut down. She is now retired from that life. The entire herd has an incurable virus called CAE (caprine arthritis and encephalitis). CAE plus years of breeding has been extra hard on Sassy's body. Unfortunately, a lack of testing for breeding goats means that CAE is very common even though it is entirely preventable. Our goats are closely monitored for symptoms and make sure they have supportive care when needed.

Shadow was rescued in 2023 barely escaping a horrible neglect case left him with permanent foot issues. Extensive foot rot and lack of trimming used to make him walk on his knees when he got tired. But thanks to proper care, he is a healthy goat. He recently had a surgery to remove an abscess and he is doing well healing. He is a friendly guy who is sweet as pie. His favorite snack is a banana!

Vivie (short for Vivian) joined MMFS in 2023 at just a couple of months old. She is a bold and independent girl who is our resident escape artist. We often find her in other animals' pens checking out their breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We can spot Vivie across the barn because of her airplane-like ears that are so cute. She is likely a Toggenburg mixed with other breeds. She was rescued with 13 others from a goat dairy in New Hampshire that shut down. The entire herd has an incurable virus called CAE (caprine arthritis and encephalitis). This disease typically passes from mother to kid thru milk. Unfortunately, a lack of testing for breeding goats means that CAE is very common even though it is entirely preventable. Our goats are closely monitored for symptoms and make sure they have supportive care when needed.