Strawbery Banke Museum- Baby Animals: Heritage Breeds at the Banke

Description

Strawbery Banke welcomes Spring (and school vacation week for some) by opening early to showcase a variety of more than a dozen heirloom breeds of Baby Animals (and their moms) that would have been familiar to earlier generations. The event, which takes place under a tent on museum grounds, April 22nd through 30th is a family-friendly opportunity to learn more about domestic livestock typical on coastal northern New England farms from the 17th century to present day.

Peter Cook, who assists with the coordination of animals for the museum's NH Fall Festival, is curating the event, securing breeders from NH, Maine and MA farms who are expert in heritage animals including lambs, kids, calves, piglets, bunnies, chicks and ducklings. The participants answer visitors’ questions, explaining the developmental needs of the babies, the various aspects of husbandry that are required to raise them and why they have chosen to preserve these sometimes-endangered domestic animals for future generations. Many farms are family projects enthusiastically supported by multiple generations of caretakers. The emphasis is on educational and interpretive information but there will also be opportunities to interact with some of the animals who are accustomed to being handled.

The Baby Animals event showcase heritage breeds of livestock that became popular during different centuries as settlers from the UK, Ireland, Europe, Africa and South America contributed to local agrarian cultural heritage. Among the 15 or more types of animals participating are:

• Newly-hatched baby chicks, turkeys and ducklings in specially-constructed viewing brooders. From Yellow House Farm in Barrington NH.
• Gloucester Old Spot pigs that arrived in New England in the 1900s and are often referred to as “orchard pigs” for their delight in foraging in fall groves; and
• Belted Galloway cows, known locally from well-established herds in northern New England by their distinctive markings. Both from Bittersweet Farm in Lyndeborough NH.
• Large Black pigs, once almost extinct. From Double-H Pig Ranch in Berwick ME.
• Soay sheep, one of the oldest domesticated animals known to man and now quite rare. Native to the St. Kilda group of islands west of the Outer Hebrides. From New England Heritage Farm, Sandown, NH
• Clun Forest sheep, an old breed from Shropshire in Northern Wales, introduced to the US with migrants from Nova Scotia. From Riverbank Farm in Salisbury NH.
• Jacob sheep, identified in the Book of Genesis and prized in New England for their soft dark fleeces that are ideal for many weaving projects. From Hogwash Farm, in Norwich VT.
• Nigerian goats, introduced to the US in the early 1900s and very popular in New England as they are easily-trained large milk producers that are easy to keep in small areas. From Tiny Hill Farm, Milton Mills NH
• Oberhasli-Icelandic goats. From Beau Chemin Preservation Farm, Waldoboro ME.
• Alpaca from  Elf-Paca Meadows Farm, Rochester NH
• Rabbits from Cottontail Rabbitry in Lee NH
• In addition to the animals, visitors can participate in family activities in some of the historic houses and the TYCO Visitors Center where hands-on weaving programs will take place. Figtree Kitchen Café is open daily, throughout the event.

“Strawbery Banke is dedicated to interpreting life as it was lived on Puddle Dock from the earliest times of settlement,” said Lawrence J. Yerdon, president and CEO of Strawbery Banke Museum. “We look forward to sharing information about domestic barnyard animals that would have been familiar to past generations but are not so ordinary today. Besides, who can resist baby animals in the Spring?”