6/18/09

One week -- so far, so good

After Alba's kids failed to develop, we were concerned about Dreamy's trio. (Alba is Dream's first born.)
The necropsy report on little Heldig indicated that the problem was a lack of selenium.
The only veterinarians available locally haven't been much help; horses are their main practice and they don't know much about goats.
So Barb has been consulting with other goat farmers and scouring what little literature is available in an attempt to guess the right amount of selenium to inject.
Too much is poisonous and too little means that the goats shut down.
We were especially concerned about Opie (Opus I, formerly known as White Guy), who seemed to be exhibiting some of Heldig's symptoms.
But he's feeding well and at one week old he and his siblings are thriving, thanks to Barb's BoSe (Vit E & selenium) and B complex shots.
The kids love to climb on a straw bales in their barn
even if sometimes they aren't very graceful.
After an extended romp, it's time to squish together for a nap.
They have especially enjoyed their first adventures outside the barn
learning how to drink water out of a pail
browsing with mom,
and running madly back and forth.
Opie isn't showing any further signs of his earlier scrawniness and fatigue.
In fact, he now outweighs his sister and brother.
We won't feel completely at ease for another couple weeks, but right now the kids seem to be thriving.
Artie and Tammy enjoy their outings, too, even though they don't spend much time on the ground.
They're scheduled to move to their new home on July 9th. Things will be quieter around the barn when the Hellions are gone, but the newbies will probably be just as rambunctious by then.
Things have warmed up, finally, but we're still very dry. Barb has to water the gardens by hand.
To get cross-ventilation of cooler air in the goat barn, Barb cut openings in the north side. Luckily, there's no Blackhoof owners' association to enforce aesthetic regulations.
The goats appreciate both the breeze and the opportunity to keep track of what's going on outside.Because the poor apple trees were being denuded by natural disasters
whose names shall remain Majority and Niblet,
we fenced the trees in (and managed to cut through the underground electrical cable to the barn in the process of pounding stakes).
The fence has withstood one assault so far, but needs to be modified a bit to keep the predators off the trees for good.

6/12/09

Triplets

Dream was getting so huge well before her June 14 due date that we figured she would either deliver early or explode.
She went into labor on the afternoon of June 10 and seemed to be taking her time, so the Farmers went back to the house for a coffee break.
They returned to the barn to find that Dream had popped out a doe and a buck in quick succession.
While Barb was toweling goo off the newbies, another buck arrived.
Dream kicked in with the grooming
and the kids cleaned up real good.
The midwife did some instructing about how to get on in life
and administered the crucial selenium/Vitamin E shots.
Desiree, the doe, is strongest of the trio.
She's lively, curious, and good at nursing from Dream.
The two guys (officially nameless until we're sure they're viable) are more worrisome.
They have a harder time hanging on to Dream's teats and resist being bottle-fed.
Everyone has been gaining weight, though, and they seem perky enough.
Brother and sister in a little confab.
We're rooting for Spot and White Guy (unofficial temporary designations) to live long and prosper.
Meanwhile, the other members of the herd continue to enjoy an endless salad bar on their daily outings.
Tammy Waynette tempts fate by sticking her head into Majority's pen and giving him the raspberry.
On June 5, Tammy and Artful went for a ride north on Highway 35.
Tammy was a bit spooked at first
but they soon settled down to enjoy the scenery.
Artie took the opportunity to nibble hay off the ceiling of the Goatmobile, which also serves as a hay wain.
Their destination was the Diamond Willow Assisted Living home in Cloquet
where they entertained the residents by allowing themselves to be petted
and by pooping and peeing on the patio.
They also earned their keep by trimming bushes.
Vying for title of "cutest critters in the goat barn" are a billion baby red squirrels
who are bold and absolutely fearless, eating out of the goats' grain dishes and sipping from their water buckets.
Here one threatens to take the snow-blower out for a ride.
Orioles are still visiting the oranges attached to the light post
as, too, is the occasional hummingbird.