SOUTHINGTON — Hartford isn’t the only place in the state with goat fever.
Bradley Mountain Farm offers a full slate of activities and events featuring goats.
“We have a great goat nanny population, we have 450 goat nannies and they give us a lot of fun ideas for things we can do with the goats that are family friendly for kids,” said Anneliese Dadras, owner of Bradley Mountain Farm. “It’s fun for us, as herders to see people enjoying the goats in a different way.”
A “different way” is a good way to describe what Dadras and her son Kiyan have started at the farm.
They offer a volunteer program, host goat therapy on Saturdays, and hold “open farm days” where people can come and hang out with the goats. They also hold a hulazen — a combination of hula and yoga — and on Sunday’s feature goat yoga.
“We have a circle and we get all the goats around,” said Kiyan Dadras about goat therapy. “The herders, we have these little Bo Peep herding staffs. and we’ll go and keep the goats in the circle, while people just relax and meditate almost.”
Within the past couple of months, the farm decided to open its door more to the public.
“It’s fun for us because our goats are so tame,” Anneliese Dadras said. “We have had people with them since their first day, since they were born, so for us goat yoga was just a great way to highlight our herd.”
“Plus, our goats are super friendly,” Kiyan Dadras added. “We just have little babies who will jump on people while they are doing downward dog and it’s just awesome like that.”
The reception for all the programs has been great, said Anneliese Dadras.
“It’s been awesome, we just had someone that is autistic at our last open farm day and just to see the face of somebody brighten when they a giving a goat a bath and they’ve never done it before,” she said. “We have had kids here that have never even touched a goat before and just to see them come alive, some people just say that they’re having a hard time at home, they’re having a situation and they come here and they don’t even look at their phone. It’s just so much fun.”
The duo said they are fixing up the houses on the farm and plan on hosting weddings, events around Thanksgiving, and the holiday season.
“It’s really a magical experience,” Kiyan Dadra said.
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