Ferguson’s New Baby Goats

The veterinary curriculum at Ferguson’s BioMed magnet program includes everything an aspiring veterinarian needs to succeed. Students learn how to care for, assist, and treat various animals. Every day, students participate in hands-on practical learning activities in which they conduct the everyday chores of caring for the animals on Ferguson’s Farm. 

Students in this program study about animals in class and practice fundamental skills on the school’s farm animals before volunteering at a real veterinarian clinic, where they apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world context. During the vet program, students are sure to enjoy the cute baby goats they care for.

Havana, mother of the baby goats, is the goat of the school’s previous tutor, Bianca. The current mentor and senior, Sara Bedoga, was then approached about the baby goats and their names. It was Sara’s idea that the names of the young goats should not contain geographical reference points, such as Havana. 

The idea of using names that hadn’t been used at the barn before was appealing to her. There are lists of names of many sorts, such as Greek gods and goddesses. She wanted to make her own category of names, so she figured that because the school didn’t have any animals linked to weather yet. She came up with a handful of names, one of which was Storm, the first weather category name. 

Reign was another name Sara came up with. In the case of Reign, the name speaks more about the goat’s position as royalty, but it sounds like rain, so it falls into the weather category.

Initially, it was challenging to come up with a name for the third newborn goat. For a time, the team couldn’t get ideas out of their heads. However, at the end of the day, a previous goat named Luna was mentioned in conversation. Sara liked Luna, but she couldn’t use the name as it was already taken. ​​The third goat was named Star after Rashel Vazquez, sophomore, suggested a name reminiscent of Luna and Sara had taken a liking to it.

“It was so cool that I got to be a part of the naming process! The baby goats are super cute and the fact that I get to see them grow and take care of them makes me so happy. The names are something the school has never done before, so now it feels extra special,” sophomore, Rashel Vazquez said.

The vet program’s responsibilities include ensuring that the goats are lively. Being silent for an extended period of time is a dangerous clue that something is amiss, especially when they are so young and should be up and exploring.

Because the baby goats are not yet able to feed themselves with more solid foods, they are bottle fed. After milking the mother goat, Havana, the student will bottle feed the younger goats. Because the goats are not yet mature enough to eat hay, they may eat by approaching their mother, Havana, and drinking directly from her. The students keep a close eye on the young goats to ensure they are eating and maintaining a healthy weight.

The newborn goats have discovered that when the students open the door, they are permitted to come out and normally roll about in the ground. They occasionally try to eat leaves, but they lack the necessary teeth. Because the goats are teething, they are chewing on just about everything.

Considering the goats are not yet fully developed, monitoring certain regimes or motor skills is not possible. However, there is one thing you can count on from them: cuteness! Training veterinarians are constantly drawn to the goats and look forward to coming to school to watch them grow and play as time passes. Students and school staff as well look forward to watching the baby goats grow and spreading their goat love throughout the entire school community.