Week-old goats draw a crowd at Westmoreland Fair

A pair of week-old goats have become mini celebrities at the Westmoreland Fair.

Brothers Zane and Gunner Temple picked up the pair — named Queen and Bubba Jr. — Tuesday morning so youngsters and adults could get a look at the two kids and pet their soft fur. It’s been a good opportunity to provide some farm life education to visitors at the fairgrounds, they said.

“I’m glad that we were able to bring them,” said mother Sam Temple of Mt. Pleasant Township. “A lot of people don’t get to see this type of stuff.”

The family got dairy goat Pepsi for Zane, 7, to show at this year’s fair. But after she got pregnant, they had to change the class in which she was entered. Temple said she was hoping Pepsi would be able to hold off on giving birth until after the fair.

But on Aug. 12, they came home from Bullskin Township Community Fair to find the two newborns.

“I go in the pen and turned around and saw them,” said Gunner, 10, adding he was surprised.

The tiny pair has certainly delighted passersby from their pen in the goat barn, resulting in plenty of oohs and aahs. Sam Temple said they’ll likely keep Queen to show at next year’s fair and sell Bubba Jr.

The kids joined about 20 other animals, including steer, pigs, dairy goats and a turkey, that Zane and Gunner entered in the fair to represent Temple Brother Livestock in Mt. Pleasant Township. The boys are the fourth generation in their family that has participated in the Westmoreland Fair.

“This is something they look forward to but their interaction with people is our big thing,” Sam Temple said.