I lost my baby!!! Ok. I've posted before that we have Boer goats. Healthy and absolutely beautiful, no problems at all until the drought last summer. I've been checking them for anemia like a maniac ever since as we suddenly had intestinal parasites! Wormed everybody this spring, but 2 does had done some sneaky dirty deed and were closer to kidding than I thought (they were supposed to stay away from men entirely but that's another story) and I've been playing catch up ever since. Kidding is stressful enough that the worming didn't take well. They were lean also because nobody around here had enough hay either. So I cannot seem to get them all healthy and lost one in the heat this afternoon!! The does get healthy the kids weaken: the does weaken, the kids get healthy.
Had weaned, treated, and separated them and was feeding everyone extra, but the electric fence stopped working right so of course the kids got back to the Moms. They had been apart long enough to do some good so we changed our focus to the fence, just being careful to monitor everyone. They were all doing well finally until last week and their pasture dried up. Out popped more worms and down they went. With all this going on everyone else in the herd is healthy and holding their own!!!
Anyway, I've been so glad to be reading about all these kindred spirits and their critters I just had to bawl a little. thanks in advance for letting me! It has been such a fight to outsmart and keep ahead of these guys enough to take care of them. They spit out the liquid meds, fight over and spill the solids. I think I've got 'em healthy and the pasture dries up. AAArghh. Whiiine. Whimper.
Kid Heartbreak!
Grownut, I have strong shoulders for you to cry on. Kinda soft too with all the extra fluffiness that is on them. You have my sympathy.
GG
Thank you! Your fluffiness is also appreciated!! I just can't stand it when I'm the one to help them and I don't succeed, though I know that can be unreasonable. If they had all been affected I would feel like maybe I needed to change my ways entirely, but now I just feel like I've neglected something...
I'm so sorry for your loss. Please don't blame yourself. It's heartbreaking when you lose a kid but it does happen. It sounds like you did everything your supposed to do.
As far as trying to locate hay, there's a website you can go to http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=online&subject=landing&topic=hay
You can access this to find people selling hay.
Sue☺
Grow so sorry to hear about you loss. It is nice to have a place to come to for comfort and advise, without all the drama. Please dont be hard on yourself, sometimes it is just how it happens. Nothing you could have done. Try craigslist to see if you can find any hay. Also look at the bulletin boards at the local feed store for people selling hay, also ask the person behind the counter.
Thanks Saandy (Sue) and Tia! We managed to grow most of our own this year, but last season nobody had any to sell. We didn't get any, the people we buy from had half what they needed to overwinter. I've never seen people feeding baled cornstalks, but that was everywhere here. The hay we finally got had been rained on or something so it took three times as much and a lot of prayer that nobody got sick from bad spots in it. The last bit was brought in by truck from Oklahoma.
I'll take down the link though.
I think the worst part for me about the kids is knowing what they've actually had medicine-wise and can take. Our goats are all over us and impossible to get away from except from about 1-4months of age, then it's almost impossible to catch them as they run and hide with the rest of the herd's full cooperation. I guess I'm really hoping somebody has a magic trick out there that makes 'em easier to handle and treat.
I didn't mention (and probably should for the rest of you goat people out there) that our does each refused to nurse more than one kid this season. They were apparently picking and choosing because they didn't have strength for two. Happened to several others in the area I talked to as well. After a ton of goat colostrum and kid formula we still ended up with one kid per doe. BUT all of the does that did this are healthy and fat, as are their kids.
Sorry to be such a downer posting here, but I kinda feel like whoever wants to learn from this should have the chance. I'm a rabid gleaner of info from anywhere and everywhere so this is how I repay people. Hope it's useful.
And the opportunity to listen in on all of you and occasionally comment is really welcome. I'm probably going to have to join and become a fully blooded and vetted DGer...:) -Kelly
This message was edited Jul 30, 2008 7:32 AM
Yes they can be boogers to catch. I cant understand them just nursing 1 kid. Anything change for them, such as weather, feed? Are you also milking them? Sure hope things are going better.
Most of them kidded in February so it was a starvation tactic, I think. They had been through 8 months with little or no decent forage by then due to the drought. Usually we're good here through the end of October but everything died last year end of June. It's better but I think we're still playing catch-up. Siiiigh.
I understand now, yea that would do it. Bless your heart. Really hope things will start to look up for ya, is there a way you can stock up on hay, for just in case. You say you got hay last year or this year from oklahoma?
Yup. Year before last we were sending it to you.(the fires?) Last year Okla. returned the favor. We're stocked up mostly from our first cutting and should have enough if we sell all the billies we plan to. Everybody probably would have been fine with a couple of weeks more rain but once they weaken after a year like last it just seems to get crazy.
Y'know my grandma used to say "Bless your little pointed head." Usually after we'd been pretty thick-skulled though.:)
Very good, it just makes one feel good all over to share and have it returned. I know a few years back we had a bad drought and we didnt have any hay. It was going for over a 100 bucks a round bale.
I like your grandma's saying.
Terribly informative to read about feed quantities and worming. Thanks for the thread.
Kelly in Moxee
Kelly, so sorry about you losing the kid. I didn't know the drought had that much effect on them. The two we had to get rid of last fall, I found out both died in February. I was heartbroke and cried too.
BTW, yup, you're going to have to join DG...I need a nearby mentor! ;)