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ragdollcatlady
Herd Master
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Hi, Thanks for asking....
I've been busy, this week especially.
February 16 started our kidding season with Delilah, a first time freshener. She did great, had buck and doe twins, almost dry, by the time I got home.
I felt really bad as they were in the worst pen. With the crazy, insane amount of rain we have been having…(it never rains here!!!
)... that one pen was an absolute swamp and I had been racking my brain trying to figure out how to refence and move some animals without leaving anyone without shelter. I temporarily moved the new mama to a small Nigerian kidding pen that I had converted from a chicken pen, last year. She is a boer, so I worry about kids getting stepped on in tight quarters, but she was very cautious of her new kids and they did great.
Then on the 18th, Bailey kidded triplets in the back pasture, also had them up and mostly dry by the time I got home.
2 bucks and a doe, but the 2 smaller kids were showing signs of selenium deficiency. It was evening already so I called and got an appointment with our vet the next day. Took the kids for a ride, got BoSe injections and asked them to order 2 bottles for me since they didn't have any more in stock. Ran the kids home and rushed back to work since I was the only licensed tech on duty that day. I got home a couple hours later to find the biggest buck kid lateral and cold.
Ran him inside, stimulated him, situated him near a heater with blankets then ran outside to help Rigatoni deliver her twin girls..... which she took her sweet time about. I think there was about an hour between kids. She acted like she was done after the first one, but I didn't feel right so I waited. Rigs lets me pet her, but kind of begrudgingly so I really didn't want to have to sweep her if I could avoid it. I was almost ready to when she started to deliver another kid. But this one stopped progressing with only part of her head and one foot showing within a bubble that clearly had some meconium in it, meaning she was delayed too long already. I had to get a hard grip and give a really hard pull to get her out, but the kid finally came and we got her up and running OK. She is also showing deficiency signs. I feel terrible because I know I should have gone to fresno months ago, and had someone examined and then gone back for more BoSe (they never have bottles ready for purchase even though I always ask in advance) so it means 2 trips, but I have been wrapped up in all kinds of other life worries and time just slipped by, so no one got preventative injections this last year.
In the meantime I was running back in every 10 minutes or so, trying to get the buck kid inside, to respond. I tried Karo syrup, B complex, banamine, and dropping a little bit of colostrum in his mouth, but he never tried to suckle or swallow. For a little while he looked better, but he ended up having a couple short seizures and passed during the night. That was the one that looked the sturdiest and seemed the strongest, though he hadn't eaten from mom when I was watching. I had observed the other 2 eating and I had squirted colostrum in his mouth several times the night and morning before the vet trip, trying to be sure he got some anyways. Some kids do eat when I am not watching, so that alone only caused me a little concern. He was up and rooting around moms chest most of the time and those kids usually figure it out eventually. It is possible it was from deficiency issues as well.
I got the call today that the BoSe is in so I will try and make it up and back on my lunch break tomorrow.
This morning, I took Delilah out back with her twins and they immediately went up to Baileys 2 babies and wanted to play. Baileys are still being a little babyish, but when I came to check on everyone at lunchtime, the 4 kids were all crashed together in the doghouse. I saw all 4 of those eating well at dinner time and Rigs kids were content so I know they were well fed.... Rigs is a milk monster and her kids are always the best fed on the block. That girl really earns her keep.
I had been wracking my brain about how to change the pens around and I finally figured it out. I stole the cattle panels from the jr boer does pen and I took apart the swamp yard fence and ran all those panels across the top of the yard. I moved the boer buck, Beautiful Beast, and the bigger boer does, Bailey and Rigatoni, to the back and moved all the dairy girls to the front, I left the 2 Jr boer does and Blueberry Melanie in with the dairy does. So now I get crazy rushed when I bring the wagon out to feed. Whoopsie immediately jumps on the top for the best snacking spot. Most of those girls are on the sales list anyway, so hopefully it will be a temporary situation. One nice thing is that both pastures are full of green weeds. great for supplementing diets.
I have someone coming out for a couple Nigerian does on sunday and Armani went home a week ago.
My truck was in the shop again for a code light being on, turned out to be an o2 sensor, so I had them change the spark plugs since she was there already.
The washer and dryer are working out quite nicely.
On a personal note, I saw via facebook, that another of my exes family members passed. I checked with my kid that lives here, he hadn't heard yet, so I sent messages to all the other kids, condolences to the ex and a couple of his family members. The kids from that family are elementary age....losing their grandma and dad within mere months of each other. I am very sad for them. I will send flowers on behalf of my kids again of course, not much else to do.
I've been busy, this week especially.
February 16 started our kidding season with Delilah, a first time freshener. She did great, had buck and doe twins, almost dry, by the time I got home.
I felt really bad as they were in the worst pen. With the crazy, insane amount of rain we have been having…(it never rains here!!! )... that one pen was an absolute swamp and I had been racking my brain trying to figure out how to refence and move some animals without leaving anyone without shelter. I temporarily moved the new mama to a small Nigerian kidding pen that I had converted from a chicken pen, last year. She is a boer, so I worry about kids getting stepped on in tight quarters, but she was very cautious of her new kids and they did great. Then on the 18th, Bailey kidded triplets in the back pasture, also had them up and mostly dry by the time I got home.
2 bucks and a doe, but the 2 smaller kids were showing signs of selenium deficiency. It was evening already so I called and got an appointment with our vet the next day. Took the kids for a ride, got BoSe injections and asked them to order 2 bottles for me since they didn't have any more in stock. Ran the kids home and rushed back to work since I was the only licensed tech on duty that day. I got home a couple hours later to find the biggest buck kid lateral and cold. Ran him inside, stimulated him, situated him near a heater with blankets then ran outside to help Rigatoni deliver her twin girls..... which she took her sweet time about. I think there was about an hour between kids. She acted like she was done after the first one, but I didn't feel right so I waited. Rigs lets me pet her, but kind of begrudgingly so I really didn't want to have to sweep her if I could avoid it. I was almost ready to when she started to deliver another kid. But this one stopped progressing with only part of her head and one foot showing within a bubble that clearly had some meconium in it, meaning she was delayed too long already. I had to get a hard grip and give a really hard pull to get her out, but the kid finally came and we got her up and running OK. She is also showing deficiency signs. I feel terrible because I know I should have gone to fresno months ago, and had someone examined and then gone back for more BoSe (they never have bottles ready for purchase even though I always ask in advance) so it means 2 trips, but I have been wrapped up in all kinds of other life worries and time just slipped by, so no one got preventative injections this last year.In the meantime I was running back in every 10 minutes or so, trying to get the buck kid inside, to respond. I tried Karo syrup, B complex, banamine, and dropping a little bit of colostrum in his mouth, but he never tried to suckle or swallow. For a little while he looked better, but he ended up having a couple short seizures and passed during the night. That was the one that looked the sturdiest and seemed the strongest, though he hadn't eaten from mom when I was watching. I had observed the other 2 eating and I had squirted colostrum in his mouth several times the night and morning before the vet trip, trying to be sure he got some anyways. Some kids do eat when I am not watching, so that alone only caused me a little concern. He was up and rooting around moms chest most of the time and those kids usually figure it out eventually. It is possible it was from deficiency issues as well.
I got the call today that the BoSe is in so I will try and make it up and back on my lunch break tomorrow.
This morning, I took Delilah out back with her twins and they immediately went up to Baileys 2 babies and wanted to play. Baileys are still being a little babyish, but when I came to check on everyone at lunchtime, the 4 kids were all crashed together in the doghouse. I saw all 4 of those eating well at dinner time and Rigs kids were content so I know they were well fed.... Rigs is a milk monster and her kids are always the best fed on the block. That girl really earns her keep.
I had been wracking my brain about how to change the pens around and I finally figured it out. I stole the cattle panels from the jr boer does pen and I took apart the swamp yard fence and ran all those panels across the top of the yard. I moved the boer buck, Beautiful Beast, and the bigger boer does, Bailey and Rigatoni, to the back and moved all the dairy girls to the front, I left the 2 Jr boer does and Blueberry Melanie in with the dairy does. So now I get crazy rushed when I bring the wagon out to feed. Whoopsie immediately jumps on the top for the best snacking spot. Most of those girls are on the sales list anyway, so hopefully it will be a temporary situation. One nice thing is that both pastures are full of green weeds. great for supplementing diets.
I have someone coming out for a couple Nigerian does on sunday and Armani went home a week ago.
My truck was in the shop again for a code light being on, turned out to be an o2 sensor, so I had them change the spark plugs since she was there already.
The washer and dryer are working out quite nicely.
On a personal note, I saw via facebook, that another of my exes family members passed. I checked with my kid that lives here, he hadn't heard yet, so I sent messages to all the other kids, condolences to the ex and a couple of his family members. The kids from that family are elementary age....losing their grandma and dad within mere months of each other. I am very sad for them. I will send flowers on behalf of my kids again of course, not much else to do.
But thanks for the giggles at the thought! I have been known to use my ample bust as a "shelf" to balance and snuggle tiny baby animals on more than a few occasions. It really is the perfect place for them.
Actually.... I'm just a recycler and it fit perfectly in the box, so that is what you got. 
