GREAT BARRINGTON — Christmas may be over, but the goats at Hokaheh Farm are just starting to receive their presents in the form of old Christmas trees.

For the past eight years, the farm’s 27 goats have repurposed discarded trees as a seasonal treat. Goats love to forage, but winter makes that difficult, said John Condon, who helps manage and care for the animals at the farm, which is owned by a friend.

John Condon, the caretaker at Hokaheh Farm in Great Barrington, spent time with the goats on Wednesday as they snack on donated Christmas trees from the community. “I’d really like to thank everybody for the trees they drop off,” Condon said.

“They’ll eat some of the bark off it, and they’ll chew the little branches that the needles are on,” Condon said. “Sometimes, they’ll demolish the whole tree, and other times they’ll only nibble at it.”

Community members can contribute to the tradition by dropping off trees at the end of the driveway at 329 North Plain Road in Housatonic anytime throughout January. Donors are asked not to drive down the driveway and to remove all tinsel and ornaments before dropping off trees.

Visitors are encouraged to leave their Christmas trees at Hokaheh Farm’s farm stand in Great Barrington for the resident goats to snack on after the holiday season.

On Wednesday morning, the goats nibbled on the pine of about six small trees that lay in the snow throughout their play area. The pine is a nutritious treat, rich in vitamin C, containing some vitamin E and providing good roughage for goats.

Without Christmas trees, the goats have plenty of hay, but the pine is a special treat that they seem to enjoy.

“It’s nice because they love to forage and they can’t this time of year, so it’s like the foraging is coming to them,” Condon said.

So far this year, about 20 trees have been dropped off at Hokaheh Farm, though most arrive during the last two weeks of January. Condon said the farm does not advertise accepting trees after January, though late arrivals sometimes appear around Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day and, once, as late as Memorial Day.

Nebula, a Nigerian dwarf goat, checks out the best branches to eat from a donated Christmas tree at Hokaheh Farm in Great Barrington.

If a tree is too dried out or decomposed for the goats to eat, it does not go to waste and is used as kindling for the burn pile.

“I’d really like to thank everybody for the trees they drop off,” Condon said.

Chewbacca, a Nubian goat with an impressive underbite, checks out one of the donated Christmas trees for the goats to snack on at Hokaheh Farm in Great Barrington.

The tradition started in 2018, when Condon posted on Facebook welcoming anyone to drop off Christmas trees. The post went viral with more than 100 shares, sparking a hectic few weeks as the farm gained attention. More than 100 trees were delivered that year.

“It just blew up,” Condon said.

Recycling Christmas trees by giving them to farms is a beloved tradition among animal caretakers, Condon said, adding that it’s important to “share the love” by checking with a local farm before dropping off a tree.

Nebula, a Nigerian dwarf goat, eats the tastiest branches off of a donated Christmas tree at Hokaheh Farm in Great Barrington.