Baby animals call Spring Valley’s living history farm home

Visitors will hear a “moo-moo” here and “oink-oink” there at Spring Valley’s Volkening Heritage Farm this spring.

The 1880s living history farm, 201 S. Plum Grove Road, welcomed two calves and seven piglets late February.

Friedrich, a brown Milking Shorthorn bull calf, and Friederike, a black Simmental Milking Shorthorn cross heifer calf, were born in the barn to resident cows, Heidi and Lottie.

The mother cows left Heritage Farm for cow training and returned last spring. After a busy summer and fall entertaining visitors at events, the cows were artificially inseminated by a Milking Shorthorn bull. The energetic calves now spend their days running around their stables and consuming milk while their mothers relax outside and greet more visitors with a “moo.”

“It’s exciting to have new animals on the farm,” said Evan Zimmerman, farm operations coordinator. “Young animals are always a hit with kids at the spring and summer events.”

The hog house also welcomed new tenants in the form of seven piglets. The six black-spotted pink piglets and one pink-spotted black piglet are Tamworth Berkshire crosses. The odd pig out resembles his Berkshire boar father while the other six piglets resemble their Tamworth sow mother.

The piglets, born from Heritage Farm’s very own pigs, weighed only a few pounds at birth and have doubled in weight during their few weeks alive. The seven piglets spend most days resting under a heat lamp and drinking milk from their protective mother. When spring blows into Schaumburg, the piglets will be ready to spend their days frolicking in the mud of their pens.

“We are hoping for another litter of piglets in the summer,” said Zimmerman. “The second batch will be Berkshires.”

The grounds at Heritage Farm are open daily. The visitor center and interpretive program will begin April 1.

The new animals will be featured at Springtime on the Farm on April 22.

For information, call (847) 985-2115 or visit www.parkfun.com.

Ÿ Send Your news to nbrcalendar@dailyherald.com.