A Horrible Season

I keep telling you that I hate “the end of summer.” It’s the worst season because of the goats’ health. I swear it’s the time that everyone gets sick.  You might remember that it was a year ago tomorrow that Pluto had to go to ISU for a blood transfusion because of the anemia caused by worms and copper deficiency and stomach issues from the coccidia.  I can’t believe he actually came through it and is my sweet little wether now.  I am glad.

Pluto

This year, Penny’s knees are bothering.

Penny

Gidget, Bonnie and her girl, Socks, all had bottle jaw.  They were treated for worms, and Socks also got copper.

Bonnie

Now I can’t sell Socks, so I was waiting to take the rest of the March kids together, but then Tink had diarrhea.  I treated her for worms and gave her some copper.

Tink

Clover didn’t get bottle jaw or diarrhea, but she is completely anemic and tired, so I moved her up north.

Clover and Moira

I’m debating on whether or not it’s time for more copper for everyone with all these problems.  I need to give copper to any of the kids who haven’t had it yet because I don’t know when I’ll get around to selling them now.

Vinnie and Venus

Cupid has gotten a tiny bit of color back in her spots, but she’s not anywhere near as orange as she was.

I might be ready for winter.

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That Time of Year

It is once again that time of year that I dread.  It’s the end of summer.  Every year, it gets harder to go back to work and leave the farm.  We are still in full production mode with the garden.  I can’t keep up with everything, and the tomatoes have barely started.

I’m still milking.  I’ve almost got a year’s supple of Mozzarella in the freezer.

It would be nice to have lots of milk to play with and try some cheddar cheese, but the four girls I’m milking seem to be drying up.  By the way, that adds a whole level of fun to getting up and ready for work in the morning.  I’m going to miss my lounging with a cup of coffee after I get done milking.

Ava

I really want to wean Joy, so I can milk Zinnia since the other girls are slowing down.  Zinnia wants to come in, and I’d let her just come in if she brought her girl with her because Joy is still a little sassy pants.  But she won’t come in the door.

Joy (by her mom)

Then I get retired goats, like her grandmaa Haley, trying to bust in for some sweet feed.

Haley

It’s also hard going back to work with the older goats. Stormy is looking pretty rough trying to stand up, so I decided it was time to start her on the anti-inflammatory meds also.

Stormy

Luckily she like peanut butter crackers, too.

This was literally a test cracker to see if she’d eat it.  Definitely a yes!

It’s also that time when I have to decided if the random days of diarrhea are from worms or copper deficiency.  It’s a symptom of both.

Hilda

I have several whom I think could just drop dead of a heart attack at any time because of anemia from the copper deficiency. I really wish I could have known what was going on when I first tried to find out.

Vinnie

Even after the copper, Cupid doesn’t seem to be getting her dark orange spots back.  Although, I do think there’s a couple that look like they have a little more color. I’m just afraid of killing them by giving them too much.

Cupid

I still have a few of my March kids on the farm, and I won’t have a chance to sell them until next month sometime.  Some of the are looking good.

Poki

Some you can see have a fishtail from the lack of copper.

Wendy

Then there’s a couple that just look horrible.  I hate to even try to sell them looking like this.

Tootles

Then there’s Tink.  I can’t keep her head out of the fences, so she had to have a horn apparatus put on before I go back to work.

Tink

I also need to look at my fragile June babies.  They seem to get hit harder by the lack of copper than the March kids. Sadly, Bambi lost her baby due to the combination of copper deficiency and worms.  I have wormed all of the June babies, and still they are not growing well.

Button (Aphrodite’s baby)

I am also afraid they are too small to give copper yet.  I need to balance their needs with the needs of their moms.

Cookie and Marge

I’m leaning towards weaning them.  It will be eaiser on the moms, and hopefully, they will eat the sweet feed if I shut them up north.  That’s not a given though.

Marge

Pluto ended up with the blood transfusion last year because he refused to eat the minerals or sweet feed.

Pluto

It’s just the time of year that has me crazy with worry.

A Dipstick

I am still going crazy trying to figure out a schedule with copper. I already shared Fionn and Betty Lou got a third round of copper making 6 grams since the end of March.  Fionn is better.  The diarrhea is gone.  He’s still completely anemic, but it takes time for the body to generate red blood cells.  He’s still critical.

Fionn

Betty is better, but she completely anemic again.  They are both thin.  I really don’t know what to do.  Betty is already looking like she’s losing ground with the fur on her nose, and it was just getting grown back in.  They can’t seem to get caught up before they are declining again.

Betty Lou

Then I noticed Cupid has white spots.

Cupid

She’s not supposed to have white spots.

November–just after she arrived at the farm

Just a couple of days ago

I’ve been checking everyone’s eyes to see where they are with anemia, and they are looking really bad.

Maggie

It looks like I’m going to be giving everyone another round of copper.  The exception might be my girls who are getting milked because they are eating sweet feed twice a day, and it has a lot of copper in it. I’ll have to check each one for eye color and then decide with them, or they might get a smaller dose.

Cutie (itchy foot?)

I’m also seeing signs of deficiency in some of my March babies.  Most are holding their own, but a couple are really starting to look bad.  I’m not sure what to do with them.  Hopefully, most of the boys will get sold this weekend, and I’ll have to figure out something for the others.

Peanut

Hopefully, Cupid gets her color back, and then I can use her as a kind of dipstick for when their copper is running out.

This is crazy.  I was told two grams every six months, and they should be good.  This will be six grams for everyone in just over four months.  I am still petrified of giving them too much and overdosing them, but I don’t know what else to do because they are still clearly lacking in copper.