TOWNSEND, MASS. (WHDH) - If you’re wondering what to do with your old Christmas trees and wreaths, one farm in Townsend is encouraging area residents to drop theirs off — and their goats will do the rest.
“They love it. They eat the green part, they eat the foliage part, they don’t eat the bark off the trees or just the trunk at all,” said Kaitlyn Weko, of Shay’s Flock of Fun Farm. “They leave that. They play with it though.”
The Townsend farm has been collecting trees and wreaths from the Fitchburg area and giving them to their goats.
“We just decided to give them one of our Christmas trees one year (and) they devoured it,” said Shay Hernandez. “They loved it.”
Weko added: “It’s a really good idea. It’s recycling something. You use it for Christmas, and now it’s getting a second use feeding the animals, which is very nice.”
The trees and wreaths are a good source of fiber for the Angora goats.
“There have been times we’ve gotten 70 to 80 Christmas trees in one year, possibly more,” Hernandez said. “We like to disburse them to other farms as well.”
The Townsend Fire Department also collects and drops off trees from the town. But the trees have to be inspected. Any trees or wreaths with chemicals sprayed on them will be rejected.
“We look at the bark to make sure there’s no spray marks going down the bark or the underside of the needles,” Hernandez said. “They don’t get anything that looks odd to us.”
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