Today, on the first day of spring, the City Farm family education centre will launch a poll to choose the names of three new residents: two goat kids and a lamb, all of which were born in February. All are invited to suggest names for the newborn animals in the comment section under a dedicated post on VDNH's Instagram page.
The kids were born to Knopka, a half-Cameroon, half-Saanen goat, and Ivan, a Saanen goat. The young brother and sister differ from one another both in their appearance and character. The boy is light-grey in colour, restless and playful. The girl was born completely blonde, but since then her fleece has grown darker and turned greyish brown. Unlike her brother, she is more calm and cautious. From their very first days, the babies were held in a separate room and given a special diet, which entails their mother's milk administered by a zoologist from a nursing bottle. This is an important part of the nurturing process: and in this way, the kids will get used to people more quickly so as to not be afraid of them at all. Today, the kids' diet also includes hay, grain and vegetables. They have grown a lot in the first month. Once their immune system is sufficiently developed, the kids will be moved to an enclosure with other animals.
The day after the birth of the goat kids, a new addition appeared in the family of two other City Farm residents: Nastya the sheep and Byasha the ram, who had a red and white female lamb. The baby has almost doubled in size in the first month of her life. All this time, she was in the enclosure with her mother. At first, she only drank her mother's milk, but now she also enjoys 'adult' food, such as hay, grain and vegetables. The girl is very attached to her mother, who, in turn, is protective of the baby and only rarely takes her for a walk to the other inhabitants of the enclosure. However, with each passing day, she grows more and more accustomed to her new home, and very soon she will be ready to meet City Farm visitors.
In accordance with our tradition, the names for the newborn will be chosen by Instagram users. From 1 to 5 March, visitors to VDNH's official Instagram page are invited to suggest name ideas in the comments under a special post. City Farm staff will select four names for each of the animals that they consider most suitable. At the final stage, all will be invited to vote for their favourite option in the Stories section. The results will be announced on 6 March, and followers with the top-voted suggestions will be given City Farm certificates granting a free visit to the centre for three people.