Wehner Homestead

[CntryBoy777]

Sure hope things continue to improve and the progress grows by leaps and bounds....
With all going on here at our place keeps me a bit behind....but, I'm trying to keep from getting too far behind.......gotta work on Gabbie's riding ability, if we gonna be traveling....

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Yesterday was an interesting day. Got tired of the mean rooster so he went to refrigerator camp last night. He will be supper tonight. To be honest, it’s the first time DH and I processed a chicken on our own. I hope I’m faster next time!!!

Pretty sunset after a quick rain...

 

[mysunwolf]

I love stories of mean roosters becoming chicken dinner

 

[Bruce]

Good weather there tomorrow!

I'm sure you will be faster the next time. The first time for most anything is always slow and careful, don't know what you are doing. I'm sure you learned a bunch this time.

 

[Rammy]

Sounds like a yummy rooster to me. I had a few roosters here that insisted on being the guest if honor at the dinner table. The one out there now seems to have gotten the memo and hasnt gotten himself invited......yet.
Beautuful sunset. All you need now is a cold brew....

 

[Wehner Homestead]

He didn’t make it to the table tonight. Something else came up so he’s resting in the fridge until tomorrow.

Perdy managed to get herself caught in the big doe feeder! Very upsetting to me and her!!!! I was attempting to retrieve the bottles for CeCe and Sparkle that the wind blew off the feed freezers and behind them this morning when they were empty and heard a baby goat yell. I can’t help but check and I’m SO glad that I do!!! It’s saved Sparkle and maybe now Perdy.

That feeder is also a section of fence panel on an angle with no ends for hay. We’d tried a mineral block as an extra option and it’s only served as a step into the feeder for Jasmine. I’ve even gotten cute pics of her. Today wasn’t cute!! Perdy’s head and right front leg were outside the panel and in the pen while her left front leg and rest of my her body were still in the feeder itself. She was somewhat supported by some hay but due to the spacing and the back having nothing solid, she couldn’t get her footing on the livestock fence that’s lined with goat panel. Anyway, I worked for a minute and got her freed. She was very weak and unsteady. I didn’t feel any immediate breaks and she was trembling in my arms. Nellie wanted her so I set her down and she moved to nurse but Nell wouldn’t stand. (She’s lowest on the totem pole and having kids didn’t give her any extra drive for self defense.) DH was at work and I had three human kids in the house so I brought Perdy in with me. I put a diaper on her and handed her to DD1 to hold while I got meds for her. I couldn’t find our banamine (maybe I used the rest on a Sparkle??) so I called the vets and arranged for DH to pick up more. I then gave Perdy some nutridrench with a syringe that she absolutely sucked down! At this point, DH was late getting off and said he’d just grab McD on his way home with meds. DD1 held Perdy while I took bottles back out to Sparkle and CeCe (very late for them and they let me know!) Perdy sat on my lap while I ate supper so I could monitor her. I even listened to her lungs. Her breathing sounds “off” to me. I’m not accustomed t listening to goat lungs but I’m very guarded about her survivability in this situation. We took Perdy out after supper and put Nellie on the milk stand and she nursed for what seemed like a REALLY long time. (I’m not sure that Nellie was standing very well for the girls to nurse since she’s a target by Caramel in the doe pen.) We put Nellie and her girls back in their kidding pen so that we can monitor Perdy for intake and recovery and the other two nursing. If we have to keep them separate until weaning we will. Perdy doesn’t seem terribly steady on her feet still and her breathing seems different than her sisters’. I’m not sure what to think. I’m fearful of broken ribs or some type of internal injury. It’s very possible/likely that one of the other does butted Perdy while she was stuck. She has a very rough scrape along the rear portion of her spine and a small puncture in the posterior of her right leg (possibly from a rough piece of hay??) I just don’t know. She’s so small and she’s a goat. There’s only so much that can be done. Even if I took her somewhere, there’s only so much that could be done and it would cost a small fortune for a 5# goat kid that isn’t even two weeks old. It makes me sick!

DH has already taken down Sparkle and CeCe’s hay feeder. He also removed the mineral “step” to the hay feeder. He’s also pulled up plans for different hay feeders and will be making some with solid sides and backs as soon as possible.

Needless to say, we didn’t disbud the bucklings tonight. That’ll have to be done tomorrow. Ugh! I’m not looking forward to doing this now. Perdy has me a mess!

Miss Perdy when I went to get Nellie out of the pen to put her on the milkstand. (Her diaper is still visible behind my thumb.)

 

[Rammy]

Poor baby!Hope she will be ok. Can the vet take xrays to see if she is hurt internaly? Goats sure can get themselves into trouble cant they?
Definitely will be keeping fingers crossed hoping the little darling gets better soon!

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Poor baby!Hope she will be ok. Can the vet take xrays to see if she is hurt internaly? Goats sure can get themselves into trouble cant they?
Definitely will be keeping fingers crossed hoping the little darling gets better soon!

Our vet could but they’d just tell me that it’s probably a waste of money since she’s so small they won’t be able to read it well. If she did have internal injuries, we’d probably just end up euthanizing her as the only treatment possibility would be at Purdue 3.5 hrs away. She doesn’t appear to be suffering. If I think that she is, I won’t put her through that. Accidents happen, I just hate them with a passion. The big thing will be if she makes it through the night.

I’ve been home all day and went to the barn several times as is my usual routine. I even made extra trips since I was trying to get the stuck bottles out. (They kept going into that small opening on the rear lower corner where the compressor is when I’d use a stick to move them. They are tok heavy with feed in them for me to move and I needed the bottles to come out between the two because of the way the freezers are sitting.) I don’t think she was stuck terribly long as I would’ve heard her. To the best of my knowledge, I was out there about 1.5 hrs before when I got DD1 off the bus...

 

[Latestarter]

Goats Some of them seem to have a death wish. They sure can get themselves into predicaments... I sure hope little Purty, Perdy is OK and no serious permanent damage was done. I know exactly how you feel. The littlest one here somehow got herself all wound up in the lowest two runs of a cattle panel here yesterday and was screaming her head off. Luckily, I was out there at the time with the big girls as they were out grazing. I ran over and got her legs and body untangled and was completely surprised that I found no broken bones. She was gasping in pain but settled down after being held for a bit. I then gave her to her mom, CC, to nurse a bit. She seems OK today.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

We got what looked like kite string off one of my November pullet’s foot too. It was starting to tighten down! She’s fine now. Of course we spotted it while I had CeCe and Sparkle on walkabout. Needless to say, Mom was distracted with catching the pullet and cutting the string off while the girls acquainted themselves with the electric fence! Poor babies! Not what I had in mind as we’ve been keeping our distance from it thus far.

Sparkle is definitely mama’s girl though. I ran to the house to get scissors while DH held the pullet and Sparkle raced behind me. When I wouldn’t let her in with me, she ran around the corner to the window (that Queenie had looked in) and leaned on it to see me! She was so excited to see me when I calve back out 5 seconds later that she ran all over the barnyard while lapping back to me as I made my way back to DH and the pullet with each circle.