One Thing After Another

Is it me?  Do I just naturally encourage excitement and adventure in life?  Is it because the dogs just had their rabies shots?  Or because in my last post I said that I couldn't wait to see what the day would hold?  Maybe I shouldn't joke about never having had a "dull moment". Today was no exception.

When I went out to bottle feed the babies this morning (I do that first thing because they've gone all night without eating) I had a sense that something was not quite right - you know, that confused feeling that you just can't put your finger on - before your brain kicks in and your eyes focus? I blame it on not even having finished my first cup of coffee.
I saw THIS

and wondered, "What's she doing in here?"  Then I began to look around and noticed that other goats were not where they belonged. Specifically, the mama goats were in the "nursery" with their babies. Now, how did they get in here? I was still a little confused, and started to mentally blame my son for having left the gate to the adjoining pens open, but then it occurred to me...

THE MOMS HAD STAGED A BREAK-IN!  Blossom had flipped the latch on the gate, pulled the gate in towards her and they all squeezed through to be with their babies!

Each night I separate the nursing kids from their mamas. In the morning I milk the nannies and then open the dividing gate to let the tide rush in. It's my favorite part of my morning routine. As I walk towards the gate the moms walk with me calling for their children, and the babies, on the other side of the fence, stop their frolicking and race for the gate. Once it opens there's a mad dash to find the correct mama and eat breakfast!

 These pictures don't do justice to the fun, feeding frenzy that takes place - you'll just have to come in the morning and see for yourself!

Needless to say it took a little while to get everyone sorted out and back where they belonged, and I was shocked when I began to milk to see how much those little babies had eaten overnight! They must have gorged themselves! I was at least a gallon shy when I finished!

Remember this?

I mentioned this handy little device in THIS article. I use it to keep the goats out of the milking stall - I don't know why I hadn't thought to use it on the adjoining gate. Probably because they had never opened it before!

So here I was, already frustrated, and I decided to run and do something quickly while one of the goats finished up her grain. When I returned I found my milking bucket upside down, on the ground in the dirt. Oi Vey! Thankfully I had already poured the milk, but I did have to go back to the house and clean everything again.  By the time I returned to finish milking the last few does I found that they had tired of waiting and had wandered out into the field to the roll of hay. Usually they all wait around until the last goat is milked before heading out to graze.  About now I've had it and have decided that the title of this blog post will be, "SELL THE GOATS! SELL THEM ALL!"
I did finally finish milking - around 11, brought everything into the house, strained, bottled and chilled two gallons of milk. Lately I've been getting about three gallons each morning - one I make into cheese, one into four quart bottles of fresh, delicious milk that we bring to town to sell, and the third I set aside for the babies' afternoon feeding.

It was only a matter of minutes later that I heard a huge commotion outside and walked out onto the porch to investigate...

TO BE CONTINUED....

Back From the Dead

                          See this goat? This is Jett. He was born on Wednesday.

On Thursday he was dead. At least, I was sure he was. Don't worry - he's not.

This is his story.

When I found Jett and his sister Wednesday morning, newly born, I immediately sensed something was wrong.  I honestly thought they were dead. They were lying on the ground, Jett sprawled out and his sister (yet to be named) curled up. When I lifted him up I was reminded of a term I had heard before - Floppy Kid Syndrome. He was lacking muscular strength and was limp in my arms though he could stand. I brought both kids over to their mom, who had never nursed before and was a little nervous. As you can see in the picture, the female began to head in the right direction and nose about while Jett hung back and never did show any interest, even when I placed him under his mother's udder. He was clueless.
I brought the three goats into another pen so that I could watch them together, to be able to milk the mama so that she wouldn't become engorged and to bottle some of her fresh colostrum to feed Jett, which he did accept. He did ok throughout Wednesday.
On Thursday morning friends stopped by and, as you can see, Jett was taking the bottle, though not greedily.

Several hours later I returned with another bottle to feed Jett, (you should feed newborn goats every four hours for the first week or so) only to find him lying in the barn, stretched out, limp, listless, eyes glazed. Again I thought he was dead and was surprised to find that he wasn't. I tried to feed him but he wouldn't take the bottle in his mouth. I forced it in but he wouldn't suck. I sat on the barn floor with this poor little goat in my lap waiting for an imminent death. After a bit I decided to lay him down, off the ground on a table in the shade while I ran inside to look up Floppy Kid Syndrome to see if there was anything else I could do.  Here's what I learned.
Floppy Kid Syndrome, (FKS), generally occurs 3-10 day AFTER birth and is characterized by lack of muscle control and an unwillingness to nurse. Treatment is sodium bicarbonate and tube feeding.
But upon further study I saw that there is another newborn malady called Weak Kid Syndrome, and this occurs right after birth. This can have a variety of causes: prematurity, cold, wet weather leading to hypothermia, smothering or crushing by other goats, but the symptoms are akin to FKS : inability to stand and nurse. The prescribed treatment is to warm the goat and to rehydrate it.
I had no hope for the survival of Jett. When I laid him down on the table it was just to keep him out of the dirt and away from flies. When I walked back outside, low and behold he was standing on the ground alert and ready to eat! I still can't believe it.
Today is Friday. Jett spent the night in the warm house; Bob woke up and fed him during the night. He sleeps alot, but he stands and he eats. And, against all odds, I think he's going to make it!

Documenting an Unknown Goat Illness

Day 1: Sunday
I saw him before I heard him: a brand new baby goat. I missed the birth by a matter of just a few minutes - he was still wet, partially wrapped in the placenta, and hadn't cried yet. Bob scooped him up and washed and toweled him dry. It was warm enough that it really wasn't necessary - the mom would have cleaned and dried him - and it was a bright sunny day, but he was born in a particularly sandy spot so it was nice of Bob to clean him . I was a little concerned because the mom - Maude - was lying down and not showing much interest. I would have chalked it up to exhaustion after birth, but usually new moms are overly interested in their babies, nudging and cooing to them, and we had had a similar disinterest from another nanny earlier this spring and it didn't end well. I tried to calm my fears and be extra observant.
 A bit later we went back to make sure the baby was nursing. the mom was still making no attempt to bond or to show the baby the direction of her teats. Bob and I worked to put the baby on to nurse and eventually he did. Maude seemed irritated - not in pain, but not interested in having him suck on her. She moved away and laid down often.
I continued  to check to see that the baby was nursing and because he wasn't crying I hoped that perhaps mom needed just a little more time to bond. After all, it had only been a few hours.



Day 2: Monday
Maude is spending more time on the ground lying down than I like. She should be up and fussing over her baby. The baby seems content though and is lying next to his mother. I assume that he is nursing while I'm not watching. She is somewhat listless and not interested in eating.


Day 3:  Tuesday
Ok, now I'm concerned and ask Bob to check on her before he leaves for work. He brings her fresh cut branches with new leaves before leaving for work - a delicacy, and he gives her two shots of Thiamine. After milking I go check on them and decide to take the baby away. He is sleeping next to his mom, but he isn't acting as though he's getting enough to eat (though she seems to be producing colostrum - not much, but sufficient.) By day three a healthy baby goat should be playful and he isn't showing much vigor. I force feed him a half bottle of warm milk and he drinks it all greedily. Maude still has not eaten and is not getting up on her own. By afternoon she is falling over onto her side and is unable to right herself. I know now that it is not a Thiamine deficiency, which is not uncommon in goats.
Because we had a goat that had these same symptoms once before I'm afraid of what's ahead unless we can accurately diagnose and treat this sickness.  Previously I researched everything I could find to try to help the goat but could not find a proper diagnosis according to the symptoms. We gave her shots of penicillin twice a day for two weeks, which eventually seemed to help, but in the end it was not enough.
The only thing I could find that was remotely similar was a necrotic udder mastitis which is caused by a bacterial infection, but Maude's udder is fine - no swelling, heat or cold, no hardness, and I believe the baby kept her drained so there is no engorgement, which are all signs to look for with mastitis.
I did find one illness called "Post pregnancy Disease" which, seemed impossible because it is generally caused by  poor feed and too much or too little grain. We feed our goats Perennial Peanut hay - the highest concentrated protein source for hay in the area, and what I believe to be the correct amount of grain each day, but because both of my milk goats began showing the same symptoms immediately after kidding I've decided to treat for Ketosis - the post pregnancy disease.
According to what I've read, there is an inability for some goats to take in enough calories to support both her and her baby(s). The signs are similar to what Maude is displaying: loss of appetite, dullness, separation from the herd, staggering (she isn't getting up to stagger, but she is falling over)...
 I've begun treating with a Karo Syrup/Molasses 2/1 drench: 20-30 ml every two hours. I'm also cutting more fresh tree branches and I'll give her some electrolytes next time I go out there. Thankfully she is drinking greedily.

I was so hopeful. I really thought that this might be the correct diagnosis and treatment - not only did I have the ingredients on hand, but I started it right away. Perhaps if we had given her a shot of Penicillin this morning...
Maude died tonight at 7:00 with her head in my lap.  Her baby is fine - bottle feeding like a champ!

Homestead Life is not always easy.