Campus was buzzing with excitement as animal lovers gathered in front of the Dairy Store to hang out with baby goats.
LSU’s Dairy Store featured a series of petting zoos on March 21, bringing farmyard fun to LSU. These petting zoos allowed students to meet a variety of farm animals that are being raised at the LSU Farm. Friday’s petting zoo starred a mother goat, Poppy, and her two-week-old kids: Daffy and Daisy.
Poppy and her babies stood on display as dozens of eager hands reached out to pet them. The names of baby goats were selected by the audience, but the mother was already named. The audience decided on Daisy and Daffy, short for Daffodil, to stick with a flower theme in the family. The kids clung to their mother at first, but they warmed and began to get more comfortable with the crowd.
Mary Dum is a digital advertising student at LSU and the communications intern at the Dairy Store. She is in charge of advertising every event held there. Mary said that after working at the Dairy Store, she has seen more animals than ever before. She shared some information on each goat as she walked around holding the kids so that the crowd could pet them.
“It kind of surprised me how you don’t have to be afraid of them,” Dum said. “At first I was a little afraid of them, because I’ve never held a goat but they’re very cute.”
The previous petting zoo featured three mischievous piglets named Alvin, Simon and Theodore, named after the three famous chipmunks, who also arrived unnamed. The piglet’s names were picked by the LSU Dairy Store staff. The three little pigs ran around their enclosure, snorting and squealing as visitors pet and took pictures of them.
“They’re helpful with the animal science students, in order to do research and learn from them, and that sort of thing,” Dum mentioned. “So, they’re well taken care of.”
In case you missed the last two petting zoos, there’s one more chance to pet some animals before heading off for spring break. On Friday, March 26 the Dairy Store will feature baby cows for its final petting zoo event.
“I just hope they expect to have a good time to come and pet a baby cow, because that’s like, once in a lifetime,” Dum said. “I feel like not many people have baby cows to see. So I’m excited for people to come next week in order to see a new animal they’ve never seen before.”
LSU’s Dairy Store is giving students and visitors the chance to interact with farm animals on campus so whether you’re an animal lover or just need a break between classes, mark your calendars and don’t miss out on your chance to pet a baby cow.
