Since Rocky Returned

I swear I spend as much time dealing with cats as I do taking care of goats right now.  The kitten came with a sneeze, and he had been injured.  I think he’s probably going to have about an inch of his tail amputated when he gets fixed.

Salem

That, along with being little, seems to have prevented him from getting all the food he needed.  So when I got him on the kitten chow and canned food, he got diarrhea.

Salem (3+ months) and Tiger (8 months)

We’ve been dealing with all of that stuff.  He’s now on meds for the diarrhea and antibiotics for the sneezing, and he’s doing much better.

So much better that my plants might not survive, and he’s definitely got some static going in that fur.

Rocky came in with lots of sneezing and he’d lost a couple of pounds (luckily he was fluffy when he got out).

Rocky

He was just hiding and looking miserable.

He started on antibiotics.  He’s also doing much better now.

But trying to deal with all of this has been a lot of work. Luckily Bob is just cranky.

Bob Cat

And Tiger is just a great cat.

Tiger

My plan of keeping him occupied with the kitten has really been largely successful.

He really is a great cat.

Hooves Before the Cold

Hoof care is never ending with a herd this big.  I try not to trim once the temperatures are constantly below freezing–I don’t want to damage that newly exposed live tissue.

Coral

Before we get too cold to trim hooves, I’m trying to get everyone done.

Perdita

For some reason, I keep having girls show up by the milk room door who usually don’t come over here.

Penelope

I was positively shocked when Bambi came over and just walked in.  Of course, I felt really bad when I put the collar on and started trimming because she was shaking with fear the whole time.  Poor girl, but she should be good to go for a while.

Bambi

And then there are those goats who got their hooves trimmed and now think they should get to come in every time I open the door to the milk room.

Flora

The weather has been warm enough the first part of winter break for me to get all of them done!

I even caught Daisy!

I wasn’t really looking forward to a couple of them though. They weren’t quite as bad as I thought they were going to be.

Athena will be horrible.

Some goats are good; some goats are really naughty.

Freddie and Xerxes

And then there’s Xerxes who will have to take care of his own hooves or one of us would end up severely injured (hint: it’s me).  Luckily, he does a good job of keeping his hooves looking good.

Casey

Casey does too.  Lemuel still needs to get his head stuck again so I can catch him.  Otherwise, they are all done.

Giving Aurora Extra Feed

Now that the days are shorter and when it’s cold (it’s been roller coaster temperatures lately), the llamas have been coming up, so I am trying to give Aurora some extra feed.

She’s quick to stand at the door and tell me she wants fed.

It’s not easy.

Odie, Maybeline, Haley (behind), and Aurora

Once I tried feeding her after all the goats but Pretzel had gone out to pasture.  That little stinker butted the pan until she knocked it down and got to eat Aurora’s feed.

Odie, Pretzel, and Aurora

I have to hold the pan and shoo everyone else away.  The. Entire.Time.

It is very, very challenging to get her extra food, but I’ll keep trying.

Sometimes, the goats run back out to pasture for their last bit of browsing for the night.

It’s yummy!

Then I can just hang the food out there and let her chow down!