The End of Summer

I have long said I dislike the end of summer–the time from the middle of August until we get freezing nights.  This year it is way worse than usual.  Maybe it’s poor pasture quality from the drought. I don’t know why it’s so bad.

Margarita

I do know part of the problem is all of the babies we had in June.  It has certainly reminded me why I started syncing my girls to have as many kids over spring break as I possibly could.

Howie

The June babies are not as healthy; they are anemic and more susceptible to parasites.  And they just don’t grow as well.

Mooch and Masey

And their moms are in bad shape.  For years, before I found out about the copper deficiency, I talked about how they just gave everything to their babies.  And they do, but they just don’t have anything extra to give those kids.

Cutie is anemic and has horrible bottle jaw.

And I don’t know why it’s so bad this time of year, even after four years of getting copper.  I had rather hoped it wouldn’t be so bad with June babies this time.

Cinnamon and Bambi

I checked eyes on several goats last week and they looked good only to have them quite pale now.

Moose went from good to pale in just a few days.

I am about ready to call it quits the way things are going right now.  Hopefully, I can get a whole load of June kids sold next week, which will give me more options for penning and shelter, and I’ll add more copper to my adult goats. It’s been a rough month for their health.

Another Round of Copper

I did give copper to all of the goats before I left.

Copper capsule hidden in a peanut

It was not made easier by some bratty goats like Bubbles who decided to chew it up and spit it out in pasture.

Bubbles

It didn’t turn out quite as well as I had hoped.  When I had to shift to using the pill pusher instead of peanuts, the pusher came apart, and I “pushed” part of it down Ava’s throat with the copper capsule.  I had to call the vet, and he did say that since it was smooth, it was probably a non-issue.

Ava

I luckily had a pill pusher I could use to finish giving it to the rest of the goats.  But I’m at a loss.

I did find a replacement baller that should not be a problem.

Copper Works

I still, after several years of dealing with the copper issues in the herd, still feel like I’m always guessing.

Caroline introducing Ducky to the mineral block.

Like–why some goats go bald so quickly.

Flower

But I will say, in the last week I’ve noticed my three girls with hair loss are all growing hair again!

Haley

Look at those tiny hairs coming in!

Cinnamon

Flower

Yay!  Now I just hope I can keep them going in the right direction.