FREEPORT – Little kids and animals have this thing for each other.

That was evident on a recent Thursday morning at Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Freeport, which hosts a weekly “Farmer for the Morning” event. Pre-schoolers from Freeport and area towns, guided by Wolfe’s Neck Farm livestock educator Richard Hodges, had a blast looking at and petting animals in the barn, and feeding the big flock of turkeys out back. The fascination was mutual. When a goat peered through its stall at little Maya Walsh of Freeport, she pranced with delight.

Hodges sees it all the time.

“Preschoolers are really easy to get into things,” he said as he fed some 300 turkeys. “I’ve got to give these turkeys a little food so they don’t scare the kids too much being really hungry. They are hungry this morning.”

Hodges told the youngsters the proper way to feed the goats.

“We raise goats to get milk,” he told them. “The milk we get from these goats is actually better for our tummies than cow’s milk.”

Sophia and Nico Lopez of Portland were new to the farm, as well. What did they like most about it?

“That there’s cows,” Sophia answered.

Hodges told the children about the farm’s Mangalitsa pigs, which have curly hair.

“Pigs do eat a lot,” Hodges said, as he fed them. “They’re pigs. Pigs are pretty smart. Most farm animals wil go to the bathroom anywhere they want. Pigs have a little corner they use. They’re not super friendly, so let’s not try to pet them.”

Next, Hodges and the children fed the chickens and looked for eggs.

“Chickens are more friendly,” he said.

Kari Jenkins, youth and family programs manager at Wolfe’s Neck Farm, said that Hodges is a good fit for the Farmer for the Morning program.

“The kids do chores, and get a sense of the farm,” Jenkins said. “They go into the gardens, and he takes them for a walk. He’s really great here. He’s just a wonderful educator.”

Jenkins said that Farmer for the Morning is a “drop-in” program. Visitors leave donations in a little model farm, inside the barn.

Little Maya Walsh of Freeport gets excited as a goat peers out at her through its pen during the weekly Farmer for the Morning event at Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Freeport. Walsh, 1½, was making her first visit to the farm.  Richard Hodges, livestock educator at Wolfe’s Neck Farm in Freeport, feeds the hungry turkeys early so they won’t be so rambunctious when the little children who visit the farm on Thursdays feed them a little later.  

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