rachels.haven's Journal

[Baymule]

That is wonderful news on your husband’s sight. Insurance companies hate people. I’ve reached that conclusion through wrangling with their indifference, throughout my life. Car, home, life, but the worst is health. Too bad that the insurance won’t cover the medication that actually works. But at least y’all figured out the side effects and got the right medication for Mark.

A cow. Maybe the doe kidding will take Dan’s mind off a cow-somewhat.

A new trimming stand will sure help with working the goats. I got my sheep working equipment here a couple of weeks ago from my sons house, then Thanksgiving, with 9 people coming to spend the weekend and a few more for the day, but Cousin Covid showed up and I had to cancel everything. Thanksgiving sucked. Covid only lasted a couple of days but I had to do the responsible thing and quarantine myself for what basically amounted to a head cold. Anyway, I’m hoping to get it set up soon and start working sheep. Poor sheep haven’t been properly worked in over a year. A few have terrible feet. I have a milking stanchion that they hate. I think it’s the open expanded metal. I’ll have to ponder on that, sure makes trimming feet easier.

Your pig journey should be rewarding. Never had AGH, but everyone who goes, loves them.

 

[farmerjan]

I am so very glad to read about your husbands sight getting better by getting him the medication he needs. That is so great.
God Bless Dan with his cow obsession....
Hope that things get worked out with Aiden's attention issues....

@Baymule , sheep do not like any footing that is not solid beneath them. If nothing else, cut a piece of plywood to use on top of the metal grating in the milking stand. Or get a stall mat, like for horse trailers, and put it on there. It will give them better traction also.

 

[Finnie]

Wonderful news about the better eye medication!

 

[Baymule]

@farmerjan the sheep really don’t like see through flooring. I’ve been rolling it in my head on building a wood stanchion. They can step off the sides of the milking stanchion I have. I’m thinking of solid sides with drop down hinges. I have to get my equipment set up and get started on my sheep.

 

[Bruce]

Can the doctor prescribe the brand name drug specifically with a note to the insurance company that the generic was causing health problems, specifically the kind of problem the drug is being taken for?

I had to have my doctor prescribe a drug as capsules because the insurance company wouldn't pay for the SAME DRUG as pills. Makes no freaking sense.

I know the companies want to go the cheapest route possible but from what I've seen in the paperwork I get there are tiers of drugs, higher tiers cost more, but the insurance company could pay at least part of the brand name drug and you would pay less than out of pocket retail.

 

[rachels.haven]

Can the doctor prescribe the brand name drug specifically with a note to the insurance company that the generic was causing health problems, specifically the kind of problem the drug is being taken for?

I had to have my doctor prescribe a drug as capsules because the insurance company wouldn't pay for the SAME DRUG as pills. Makes no freaking sense.

I know the companies want to go the cheapest route possible but from what I've seen in the paperwork I get there are tiers of drugs, higher tiers cost more, but the insurance company could pay at least part of the brand name drug and you would pay less than out of pocket retail.

We tried that. Insurance company decided we needed multiple letters approving him for the generic over and over and over. We also had the doctor call them himself. No dice.

 

[Baymule]

Insurance-necessary evil.

 

[rachels.haven]

Insurance-necessary evil.

Protection money.

 

[rachels.haven]

Today one of my lamancha bucklings decided we needed to spend some time with the vet. So he opted to get Goat Polio. Here's some footage. He's currently still shaky on his feet, but he's up and eating and is hopefully on the mend many pokes later (and many more to go).

Sorry about the breathing in the first one. Not a fun surprise.

 

[rachels.haven]

We mostly only have nice bucks now. One of the lamancha bucklings I brought in turned into a courter of people and I got tired of trimming his hooves, cleaning hay feeders or water troughs et c with him blubbering, courting, pawing and trying to jump me...so I sold him to someone getting started in lamanchas with full disclosure for 12 giant pumpkins. They are already lining up $100 stud servicing because his pedigree is so nice. And I don't care because life is too short for crappy male goat behavior.
The nubian head butts randomly if he can get behind you (or another goat, or the hay feeder, or a post, or the gate...), so he may be going soon too but he's so dense I'm still trying to get my head around it...
I miss having a big, dignified, older standard buck around. I almost bought one, but his biosecurity testing wouldn't get back in time for transport. He sold to the next person the day I backed out of the sale he was so nice.
Sad, but I don't want to bring anything in.

I've been advised by other people who own lucky*star's bucks to get my buck collected. The genetics are good enough I'll probably be using them again and again over a long, long time and people always want to buy them if you advertise apparently. Maybe someday soon I can get Sweet Pete and the dwarf bucks I brought in this year collected so I can put straws in the tank.