Buster

Some days I want to quit.  I work so hard to keep my animals happy and healthy, and it seems like everything just works against me.  I hate feeling so helpless.

Buster

I finally got Aurora to a point where she was healthy enough to go back out, and then it was Tony.

Aurora

Now he’s healthy enough to go back out, but now it’s Buster.

Tony and Pluto

I’ve wondered for about three weeks if he was sick, but I couldn’t pinpoint anything, and I told myself I can’t really be so unlucky to have another llama with ulcers.  The symptoms are so subtle.  There’s weight loss, which is hard to tell on a llama sometimes.  All three of the llamas with the main herd lost some weight over the winter because it was a horrible winter.  I finally have all the llamas so I can feel them and check their weight whenever I walk past them, but it’s hard this time of year because they spend so much time out in pasture.

Buster

Another symptom is for them to lie down more than they should, and I did notice him lying by the fence, but I told myself he wanted to be back with Aurora because they are bonded and the other two are snooty towards him.

Aurora and Buster

One day last week, I didn’t see Buster with the other two girls on the bottom, so I walked the whole thing looking for him, and when I got back to the barnyard, he was just standing in the barn with them. I caught him and he was a little bit thinner, but I couldn’t check anything else because he decided he was having none of it and pushed through me.  I couldn’t hold him.  He was strong and fiesty and acting fine.

Odie and Buster

Then on Thursday, he came back up to the barn, but he was ribby thin.  He was weak and unsteady on his feet.  I checked his eyes, and he was completely anemic.  I wormed him, and built a pen around him in the barn, so I could make sure he had food and water, but he wasn’t eating.

Buster

He died the next day.  I can only assume it was either worms or a bleeding ulcer (which is my true suspicion in hindsight).  He went so quickly.  I feel horrible, and I am so frustrated because they are hard to tell when they don’t feel well and there’s nothing I can do really to prevent it.  It’s primarily stress, but the crazy up and down temperatures are enough to stress them enough to give them ulcers.

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Just Some of the Animals

Odie and Maybeline

Sidney with her two boys (Can you tell which one is adopted?)

Sky

Gouda’s eye is all better!

Buster

Margarita and Peanut

Rocky

Penelope and Pepe

Harley has really stepped up for Cupid since she lost Lily.

Weekend Work and Wondering

This weekend has been busy.  I’m trying to get caught up with things out in the barnyard.  That means I’ve been working on cleaning out my bigger pen in the chicken coop so that I can move Mama Phoenix over there.

Mama Phoenix

The pen in there is about twice the size of her little rabbit hutch.

She can’t be out with all the other birds (they are nasty and would probably kill her), but she can see them and get reacquainted.  We’ll see how it goes after that.

I’m trying to work my way through trimming hooves on all the goats.

I’ve actually done Caroline and Clover for the second time.

Caroline

I was a bit worried about doing Harley with her bad back end, but we did it!

Harley

I also poured all the kids and big goats on that side of the barnyard for lice.  I didn’t see them on all the goats, but it was enough.  I’m guessing it’s because they are still low on copper.  Parasitism is one of the symptoms of low copper.

Cinnamon

I checked the goats on the other side, and they were fine.

Betty Lou (She is now my oldest goat.)

I am also trying to figure out what to do with Tony and Pluto.  Pluto was supposed to be healed from being banded by now, but he just had his balls cut off and rebanded, so I don’t want anyone picking on him.  And they’re goats.  That is not likely to happen.

Pluto

Tony is eating and has gained enough weight that I think I could probably let him out, but once I do, I’m not sure I can get him alone to eat.  I’m sure he won’t be able to get his three quarts of llama feed each day.

Tony

Then I still have Aurora on this side.  I might be okay with letting them be together and hopefully make a cria.  I guess.  But I still just worry about her.

Aurora

I also want to get her back with Buster.  They miss being together.

Aurora and Buster

I just don’t know how to get her over there without mixing goats, and I am still feeding my moms a lot of extra food.

Blaze with Bandit and Trooper

So many decisions…