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BARNYARD BABY BASH
Photo
Delorean Jones, left, a MetroParks agriculture educator, holds a duckling for Emilee Ague, 1, of Austintown and her dad, P.J., during Sunday’s farm animal baby shower at Mill Creek MetroParks Farm in Canfield. The duckling arrived Friday.
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
CANFIELD
Mill Creek MetroParks opened its farm for the season Sunday with a baby shower for the new arrivals.
In recent weeks, triplet goats, twin lambs and more were born at the farm on Columbiana-Canfield Road.
“It’s recognizing the fact that there are baby animals here at the farm now,” said Brenda Markley, agriculture education manager for the farm. “They are here [Sunday] and all through our season. So this is kind of like the kickoff thing that spring is here, babies are here, and the farm is now open.”
To go with the theme, visitors were treated to cake and punch, and baby-shower decorations were hung in the barns.
Children lined up to hold a chick or rabbit. They also had a chance to sit on a tractor, climb on hay bales or take a ride on the park’s new trolley.
“Everybody’s tired of the winter and ready to come out for the spring,” Markley said.
Jessica Hall of Niles and her friend Sammi Prosser of Poland agreed. So they brought Hall’s nephew, Joshua Hall, 3, to the event.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Prosser said.
The farm is nice, Jessica Hall said.
“I didn’t even know it was here,” she added.
They saw pigs, chicks, goats and calves, but Joshua’s favorite was the baby draft horse.
Brock Chandler, 8, and Jason Parsons, 6, had a chance to bottle-feed a baby goat.
They said it was fun. Jason was surprised at how fast the baby drank.
“He’s loud,” added Brock.
Jason said they played on hay bales and were able to pet a calf and hold a rabbit.
Petting the chicks was Brock’s favorite. He said they were “really soft.”
“They’re going to grow up to be a big chicken,” he said. “We saw a little one that hatched today.”
This was the first time the Kinsman family visited the farm, said their mother, Amanda Chandler.
“I love it,” she said. “I think I like it more than the kids.”
The farm hosts the event annually on the first Sunday of April, unless it conflicts with Easter. About 3,500 to 4,000 people were expected to attend this year’s shower.
The barns at the farm are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through October.