Losing goats is never easy -- especially when they're babies. Rascal was 7 weeks old and died from cocciddia; Judd was two years old and died from excessive stomach worms. Both incidents were preventable.
But, you know, I observe the herd several times throughout the day and both of these little guys looked healthy, alert, and ate along with everyone else. They gave me no clue as to what was going on with them. No clue from the edge of the fence, that is.
Lessons learned: get in there, get a hold of your goats, physically check their eyes, their poop, and their temperature; maintain the logs, watch for trends; know which goats have 'tendencies' or 'weaknesses' then retire them. The emotional and financial devistation will be worth NOT breeding these guys again.
OK. We've had goats since 2003 and have learned things I didn't know existed. Just to mention a few: Didn't think I could give injections, didn't think I could pull a baby, didn't think I could sleep in the barn, didn't think I could ... . (You fill in the blank.)
The objective for having goats is to have goat milk for our skin care products (soaps and lotions for now). The objective is NOT to have so many goats that they don't have room to run, graze, and be healthy. We're reckoning that we'll be reducing our herd production next year.
We'll be making a few changes next year; but we're not really sure what they'll be yet. Please stay tuned so you can help me decide.
Thank you for all your support.
Warmest regards, Pat Allen, MidWife
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