rachels.haven's Journal

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,614
Reaction score
14,968
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
Single buck from Lamancha Epimetheus Lace. Picture when doe's cleanings are finished.
That brings our total up to 7 bucks, 1 doe, because the world does not have enough hippity hoppity, humpity bumpity. It's almost time to start banding some boys and making processing appts for fall.
 

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,614
Reaction score
14,968
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
Summer needed the vet yesterday. Another big bill, but I got banamine and dex in big bottles and the vet can tell me to use them over the phone now if something like this happens again, and she discounted me a little for the emergency call. Summer either started having an allergic reaction to something on Thursday or she's got some kind of tumor in her throat that started acting up then. The first will settle down with steroids and anti inflammatories, the second is a death sentence. She's not better today yet, but vet said it could take a while. We'll see. Hang in there Summer. If it's a tumor, there's not much I can do. On Thursday when this started I both started giving them new hay and gave her a second mastitis shot (the one that will help Ava's udder rash not spread to other goats). Vet says either one of those could have been it. I'm going to go pick up some new hay today after DH comes home from a crazy long road biking adventure (usually about 2 hours) and giving them lots of pellets today. Meanwhile, I finished DS#1's schoolwork with him...

Removed a scur from my black lamancha buck. I had banded it earlier. It didn't fall off and kept scrolling into his temple, so I went to wire saw it off and off it popped. RELIEF. I also collected a fecal and drew blood from him to get his Johnes nonsense broken down to me by the vet-if he's really false positive, negative, or positive and just not shedding. That's heading off to waddl either today this afternoon if it doesn't pour too bad or tomorrow morning (cornell is not doing testing right now). If he's positive even if he's just not a shedder he will be put down and his body disposed of somehow. The town will not let us bury anything on our land and burn permits are for winter only. The buck pen will be quarantined and rigorously tested OR just right off castrated and sent for processing. I'll decide that later. NO JOHNES ALLOWED. Of course the does will be watched and tested aggressively in that case too, but they get very little if any exposure to the bucks per year. Also, everyone besides this guy and the buck I couldn't get a vein on everyone was very negative on their yearly ELISA test, so I don't know for sure what's up.
No one leaves here except for the processor until I get this resolved, I've decided after much thought.
 

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,614
Reaction score
14,968
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
Thanks. I doubt he's shedding at least. Several of the goats came back with .00000 or however many places on their antibody test. It's normal to have some traces of antibodies-as long as it's not over a certain amount they're negative and will never be positive and they can ride up and down in that range. But to have nothing suggests they've never encountered the bacteria at all, and some of those "0" goats are his pen mates, so I'm not AS stressed out by this as I could be-puzzled, perhaps, but not panicked. I just need to be concise and decisive if anything needs to be done.
 

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,614
Reaction score
14,968
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
A downer evening. Summer is worse and has begun mouth breathing and gasping. The Banamine and Dex we've got on board aren't helping.
Less bad but still not good is that I milked Lace...sort of. She has one finger length teats, so I pinched a few cups of milk out of her to try to even her out while worrying about/listening to Summer breathe. Lots of rain. The hay I got from the farmer's exchange is very coarse and full of yellow straw but no dust and the goats are okay with it.
 

rachels.haven

Herd Master
Joined
Jun 7, 2016
Messages
3,614
Reaction score
14,968
Points
533
Location
zone 7a
She's still with us this morning. More mouth breathing. Life is not fun or her right now.
I'm not sure yet what this area requires you to do with the body. I was going ask the vet. In Iowa we had rendering/livestock disposal trucks, but I can't imagine New Englanders allowing such an eyesore on their roads, nor have I seen any. Not many feedlots or practical people here.

New England wants people to "farm" (keep) pretty horses. Horses die, and horses are big. There has to be some protocol to follow for a 130 lbs goat that is not as big. Summer wouldn't care what I have to do with her body if she dies. Summer is a goat and wants to live so I'll do whatever necessary after the fact.

I'm probably going to call the vet again today, and will get that information on disposal. She'd already said that Summer either was having an allergic reaction and the meds would help calm it and break the cycle or she probably had throat tumors and that would be the end of her, but one last check that there isn't anything else to do shouldn't hurt. It's not going to be good and it will probably mostly be a call for disposal info. Depressing.
 

Baymule

Herd Master
Joined
Aug 22, 2010
Messages
36,411
Reaction score
113,994
Points
893
Location
East Texas
I’m really sorry about Summer . It doesn’t sound good for her. At least we can bury our animals on our property. We have lost 2 beloved dogs, 2 ewes and lambs. My favorite ewe is buried under my garden gate. We have 2 very old horses in bad health. They will be buried here. That will require a backhoe, but will be worth it to let them live out their days and stay “home”.
 
Top