SPRINGVILLE, N.Y. — If you haven't taken down your Christmas tree yet, you could feed it to the goats at Let's Goat Buffalo. They are hungry and like the needles. Other parts of the tree get used at the farm, too.
Tuesday afternoon, 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik found out how you can donate your tree to the goats.
"You can bring your tree up and feed it to the goats yourself, meet the donkeys, the ducks, the chickens," said Jennifer Zeitler, Owner of Let's Goat Buffalo.
Let's Goat Buffalo is once again collecting Christmas trees for the goats to enjoy.
"The goats love the trees because they are fun and delicious. As the goat carer, we really like the fact that there are a lot of nutrients and vitamins in the trees and they can act as a natural dewormer for the goats as well. So while they're enjoying the engagement, we like the health benefits for them as well," said Jennifer Zeitler.
Jennifer Zeitler says they use every part of the tree at the farm.
"The goats do their job first, eating the everything green off of the tree, and then we will actually use all of the skeletons of the tree for other purposes around the farm as well. Things like fence posts, siding on buildings, and then we even mulch what's left for bedding for the animals as well," said Jennifer Zeitler.
This not only keeps the trees out of the landfill, it helps the farm cut costs.
"Lumber and wood is expensive, so to be able to reuse something that people would be otherwise throwing away is just a part of our value of sustainability and just a really convenient way to help us build around the farm as well," said Jennifer Zeitler.
Before you donate your tree, make sure it doesn't have any decorations left on it.
"We'll do a double check, but it helps us if folks do that first as well. And you should know where your tree came from. It shouldn't be sprayed with any paint. Sometimes trees will have colorants on them. It shouldn't have any fake snow sprayed on there and if possible, if they know where it's come from just to make sure they haven't had any like flame retardants sprayed on them. That helps us make sure that the goats stay safe," said Jennifer Zeitler.
Zeitler got the idea to collect Christmas tree donations for the goats from another farmer a few years ago.
"And we reached out to the community about three years ago for our first tree drive and had an overwhelmingly amazing response, perhaps too big for where we were at at the time. But now that we have our own farm space, there's really no limit and since we're now able to really use every part of the tree, it's awesome to get as many trees as we can," said Jennifer Zeitler. "The address is 7512 Genesee Road in Springville, New York. We are right near the 219, so for folks that are coming from the city, you would get off the Genesee exit, take a left, and we're the second driveway. We're really, really close."
Let's Goat Buffalo also shares trees with other local rescues and farms.
"It's very hard to watch goats eat without smiling. They're just a really social, really funny animal, so it's enjoyable," said Jennifer Zeitler.
If you would like to drop off your tree, Let's Goat Buffalo is having an open house this Friday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. You can also drop it off anytime at the front of the property.