Ginger's kidding thread

[madcow]

Thanks for the wonderful comments everyone. Everyone at this forum is so special to me. To make us feel better brought the youngest granddaughter Sarah over (13), who was also grieving at the future loss of a friend moving away at the end of the school year. She hadn't see the babies yet, so just seeing Edna for the first time didn't represent another loss to her. Edna was even better than a few hours before when I checked on her and was already kicking up her heels and hopping around like a baby goat should. That just makes your heart feel better watching her, knowing she was so doing well and so much better. Having Sarah here and being with her was good therapy for all of us. We all made each other feel better by the end of the evening. She's a really good kid for a teenager. That's what good country living does for you and your kids. It was a blessing to have her here and we are so lucky to have them live so close by.

As far as Ginger getting a shot for selenium along with the kids I believe the vet just went with what symptoms he found in the kids. I did tell him that she has very brittle, dull hair, but I suppose that could be caused by a lot of things, including parasites, which we will be testing for in a couple of weeks.

As far as Ernie was concerned the vet also found that he likely was having a digestion problem that he wasn't sure what it could be. He had a hard lump in his stomach that shouldn't have been there and he probably wasn't digesting the milk properly. In hindsight he didn't seem to nurse very vigorously and he was likely in an even more weakened state with not enough to sustain him. I think he just wasn't going to thrieve from the beginning and the problem caused by the injection just hastened what would have happened anyway with the passage of time.

I am putting this behind me and moving forward with a continued and renewed fervor to take good care of our goats. Thanks for listening to me ramble. It has made me feel better.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Glad to hear you are managing it well.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

It is great that you were able to share something so wonderful with someone that only saw the fun side. Helps to keep us in the moment.

Seeing the babies suddenly come alive when they have the BoSe was incredible for me. It was such a stark difference.

I also had my vet check out my mama goat when my kids were deficient because it is just logical. I will say that now, when I give the BoSe I usually give a copper bolus at the same time and within a few days, coats shine up and they seem more active. This time of year it is really wet here and my goats all had some eye discharge. I was sorting out how to address that, but within a few days of the injection and bolus, the eyes cleared up. I think they needed the boost to their immune systems from the vitamins and minerals.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[madcow]

Ginger and little Edna, whom we are now calling ET, because those were Edna's initials, are really doing well. Ginger is back to her usual self after the birthing and is doing a great job with little ET. Little ET has gotten lots more active and playful after her injection of selenium. Still have big sister, Trixie, in the chicken run. I'm pretty sure Trixie is pregnant, as I've been watching her she has gotten larger around and has a developing udder, which was nonexistent when we got her about 7 weeks ago. I've not really seen her come into esterus since we've had her, unless it was silent. So pretty confident she's pregnant. That means another goat with no due date! Sigh.......

Not sure if I can put Trixie, Ginger, and ET together yet. Ginger has broken some of the chicken wire to the chicken run butting with her head at Trixie when she's close to the fence and ET. We had to put up some wood to reinforce it before she broke through or someone gets cut on the wire. I think I'm going to give ET another week or so before bringing Trixie into the mix. She's still just really little and wouldn't be able to get away from Trixie fast enough to protect herself. I think she needs more time.

We've got to get our larger goat pen up soon so we have more room for all these critters.

How does a buck do with just chickens as companionship, or does he need another larger animal for company?