Mobile homesteaders welcome their next generation of goats

Steve and Lisa McBride’s homestead welcomed four new baby goats: Ida Mae, Cornelia, Henry and Alberto. The homesteaders say being present for their birth never loses its magic.

Baby goats being born ‘never loses its magic,’ McBrides say

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News · Posted: Jul 01, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 1

Congratulations! It’s a — goat! Four of them, for these Mobile homesteaders

21 days ago

2:45

Steve and Lisa McBride are no stranger to animals. They keep ducks, turkeys, honeybees and goats. And the cycle of life continues with the recent welcoming of four new baby goats. The CBC’s Elizabeth Whitten stopped by to visit Ida Mae, Cornelia, Henry and Alberto.

The spring is a time for renewal for two homesteaders on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula.

On their property in Mobile, the McBrides keep goats, honeybees, ducks and turkeys, using them to produce their own food. It's a part of a cycle of regeneration.

And this year that cycle continues. The couple recently welcomed four new baby goats: Ida Mae, Cornelia, Henry and Alberto.

"The best part of the spring is when the baby goats come," Steve McBride told CBC News.

The newborns are their third generation of goats. The McBrides say it's always a special event.

"We've been through it a bunch, but it never loses its magic. It's still always one of the most exciting days of the year around here," said Steve McBride.

Ida Mae arrived on April 3, followed by Cornelia 10 days later. Henry came along on May 4 and Alberto entered the world on May 10.

A little black and white and brown goat with grass in his mouth. — Alberto, who is just four weeks old, is a goat that doesn't like to sit still, says Steve McBride. (Katie Breen/CBC)

"I love baby goat season. I think it's the best time of the year. You get so many different characters and so much love," said Lisa McBride.

"I was here to catch two of them when they were coming out. So that's always one of the things I enjoy a lot, is being able to be on hand and when they come, dry them off and help out."

The McBrides use goat milk for drinking, making cheese and ice cream. The goats also pull their weight by eating the grass to keep it trim and devour leftover scraps, which helps cut down on food wastage.

Carry on

But part of the cycle includes saying goodbye.

The girls will stay with the McBrides to be part of the next generation of milking goats, but the boys will travel to their new home together on another property along the southern shore.

"It's always hard to say goodbye. But every year we get new goats," Lisa McBride said. "The cycle continues."